Chic Magazine Cover Contest

In the middle of re-branding I found a really cool online magazine called Chic Critique. This site is an amazing resource for women who love photography. Their articles are very helpful and inspiring. So when I found out they were having a contest to find a new image for their cover I went through my files and searched for an image I love.

It was really harder than I thought because I am emotionally attached to all my photos; I know the stories behind the shots, I have an affection for those who have stood in front of my camera trusting me to get an image that represents who they are. I enjoy every part of job and leaving my feelings aside for this was not easy.

Thank you to my lovely model for letting me submit her photo to this contest, for letting me share her beauty with the world.

Happy Friday!! 

xoxo

A weekend to remember

How lovely it is to spend time with family. Amazing what a weekend can do to a person's heart, what it can do to my heart. It took a couple of days to rekindle a fire that slowly was burning down; life got in the way and I lost sight of the end of the road, I forgot to look up and remember the darkest hour of the night lets us know that daylight is almost here.

A long drive as a passenger gave me time to talk to God and listen to His voice, ask and wait for answers. I find it amusing that His timing is not my timing and for that I am grateful because when I get my answer I know that God send it to me.

The faith of a 9 year old boy reminded me there is no way age has to do with how big our faith is. Only God can give you that faith. How can a small kid have such a big and beautiful heart? I have the blessing of having him as my cousin and I want to have his faith when I grow up.

Getting older sometimes makes you forget what illusion feels like; what it is like to feel butterflies in your stomach when something makes you happy. My 12 year old teenage cousin reminded me this weekend how beautiful it feels to get excited for even the littlest of things; her lovely smile gave me courage to dream big again and the need to feel thrilled about my work.

What a difference a weekend makes in a person's life, what a difference it made in my life. I am forever grateful of the beautiful family I am blessed with, I cannot wait to see how you keep challenging me to become a better person.

Day 6 - Vlog Challenge

Happy Monday everyone!!

I hope you had an amazing Easter weekend with your family and friends :)

If you asked yourself if I continued with the Vlog Challenge, the answer is yes!! The bad thing is that I've been bad at keeping you posted with the videos as days go by. The first series that I started with this videos is about Branding, we have covered everything from getting to know yourself before even starting to think how you want your logo or website to look like; creating concepts for your new branding; looking for a designer that fits your style and budget; approached social media and our influence in our readers/followers; and today we talked about service, how you approach your clients and follow up with them through your work and after it.



Day 6 - Branding'Service' from Jessica Chavez on Vimeo.

If you want to see the rest of the videos feel free to go over to my Vimeo website and look around, you can access here ---> http://vimeo.com/jessicachavez

Oh! And while you are there please ask them why in the world is this image of me as the cover image???

Challenge Accepted!

5 days ago one of my Facebook friends posted a link to a 30 day Vlog challenge (a vlog is a short video posted on a blog), but before jumping in I needed to think about it because it would mean a lot of work because one of the rules of the challenge is that the content of these entries has to have good content, meaning that it has to inspire, give some insight or share some knowledge to the audience. I really liked this rule because it would really make me think about the content and challenge me to give you interesting topics for you to leave this blog with something.

So here's my video for Day 1. I hope you enjoy this 30 days as much as me! If you have any specific topics you would like to see on the vlog, feel free to leave a comment!



Vlog Challenge - Day 1 from Jessica Chavez on Vimeo.

Happy Tuesday!!

I want to go to Seattle!!! + Jumping in on a Challenge

Today is the last day to submit a video for Jasmine Star's new upcoming course with CreativeLive. Though I already tweeted my video, I haven't posted it here in the blog and what better day than today.

I had a hard time making up my mind, because when I first saw it announced in J*'s blog I got excited and then got nervous. Here I had another opportunity to actually step out of my comfort zone and DO this video. The first video I ever made was for her first CreativeLive course in 2010 and that didn't got selected. At first I was a a little disappointed, but then I realized it was a good thing because I had just started my business and I didn't have something to share with the attendants.

Fast forward two years later and I'm here again trying to get a spot in one of her courses, but this time I feel more confident, I've been in the industry for two long years of experience and even though there are still tons of things I need to learn, I feel this time I have a little something to share.

Wish me luck! I really hope I get to be in Seattle with Jasmine Star, JD and the amazing CreativeLive crew!!



J*, CreativeLive, Candy and Spirit Fingers 2.0 from Jessica Chavez on Vimeo.

Happy Monday!!

PS. I might or might not have accepted a 30 day Vlog challenge... tune in tomorrow to see :)

The Assignment

I don't even remember how I stumbled on Lukas VanDyke's blog. Fast forward a couple of months later I had the pleasure of meeting a lovely girl called Susannah Green VanDyke at a P31 party and when she mentioned her last name I remembered the connection! We chatted a little and told her how much I loved a video they have were they use a typewriter!

Last week they posted a photography assignment and even though it was a cold, windy day, I convinced my best friend to be my model and I had fun photographing her.  You can see the original post here.


                                                  1. a

                                   1.b

                                                   2.a

                                                   2.b

                                   2.c

                                                  3.a

                                                   3.b

 
                                                   3.c

                                                 
                                                   3.d

                                                   3.e

                                   3.f

                                                    3.g

                                                   3.h

                                   4.a

                                                   4.b1

                                                   4.b2

                                                   5.1

                                   5.2

                                   5.3

                                 
                                   5.4

So did I have a gorgeous girl to model for me or what?? Thanks Sis for helping me out! Happy Sunday!!

Permission to be BOLD

Last week I was getting ready to go to Vegas for WPPI (an annual photographers convention), I was finalizing the details with some of my photographer friends to have them as guests during the week I would be absent. I asked 6 amazing, beautiful, God-loving girls to share something with you; I wanted them to share what was in their heart at the moment and their entries literally changed my life! Thank you girls!!!

I read each and everyone of the words in the documents they sent me, and I have to say that I was amazed, grateful, blessed by their hearts. I have only met these girls online in the Pursuit 31 community on Facebook, and yet with the way they opened their hearts to me and to you out there reading this, I felt I knew them for a very long time. They talked openly about their faith, how they are trusting God to do great things in their business, and right then and there I felt I was letting them down. The pain grew bigger when God helped me realize that I was letting Him down too.

I left for Vegas, but my heart was pleading for a way to make things better. I didn't want to hide my love for my God, I wanted to be transparent in my blog posts, I wanted to be able to write freely and openly about my struggles, my joys, my ups and downs, my blessings and my learnings along this way, but I knew I couldn't do it alone. I prayed for an answer and what I didn't know is that my prayer was going to be answered the week I came back home.

Yesterday I was blessed enough to be part of a big announcement from a photographer who I admire, not only for her work, but also for the way she writes boldly about her relationship with God. That girl is Scarlett Lillian, from Scarlett loves Stephen photographers. I "met" (read stalked) her blog, her Facebook and after being part of a webinar her husband hosted last year, I was more interested in really knowing her.

Scarlett published a book in which she shares her heart, her prayers, her journey through building a photography business with God as her CEO. There as I was still lying in bed in the morning I jumped out and turned my computer on to witness a new chapter in her life. I watched the video, read her welcome letter and tears filled my eyes because she was giving me something I longed for, permission to be bold like her and write my heart out for everyone to read.

Even though this post is getting long, I want to thank Scarlett for sharing her heart like this, for pushing the bar higher in our relationship with God; I want to thank her husband Stephen too, because he's been an incredible man standing behind her, encouraging her to get closer to her Heavenly Father and to publish this book. I am blessed to be able to share this with you! I hope to meet you soon and have an authentic Mexican dinner!

Without further due, here I share with you a video where Scarlett herself tells you about her book.
Don't forget to visit www.choosecommitprosper.com Enjoy!!




Promo video for the book Prosper by Scarlett Lillian from Scarlett & Stephen on Vimeo.