Oragne County Wedding Photographer Jen OSullivan » mom

NOT Keeping Up with the Joneses (EXTENDED FAMILY)

Jen — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 18:54:16 +0000

My best friend and sister for life, Cindi with her two sons.

Part 7 of the 12 part series on balancing your life.

When you are single your family are your mom, dad, and siblings. When you are married your family is your husband (and kids if you have any) and everyone else is extended family. The hard thing about any family not living with you is that they become their own issue to keep up with in your life; and a very important one, too. I list this group right after your home. Spouse is first, then your kids, then your home, then your extended family. Sadly many people get the first two out of order. They would say their kids come first, then their spouses, their home, and then extended family. The reason this is bad: kids will grow up to not understand what a healthy relationship because you are catering to them first. They need to see that they cannot infiltrate the solidity of you and your spouse. This will build a very strong relational foundation for them.

So, onto your extended family. While important, they can, and sometimes will impose on your life too much. They need to know your boundaries and everyone needs to respect them. Okay, who am I kidding. Extended family can get kind of messy. We all have our issues, however the best way to tackle them is to let people know how you are feeling. It is not important how they interpret what you say, but that you are okay with your relationship with them. As a business owner you will need to let them know how they can support you.

Also, be very careful what you do and don’t do for your family. What I mean by this: they will expect you to do everything you do for your clients at top dollar for them for free and without thanks. My advice: 1. do everything for free without thanks and move on. 2. Do nothing at all and move on. I have a policy with my family. If the event is important enough where they want photography, they need to ask me, otherwise I may or may not show up with a camera. While I love shooting anything and everything I do sometimes like to just hang out. Could you imagine if your brother who is a doctor had to do mini check ups with every family member at Thanksgiving? It would never happen. Your family can easily expect too much without saying a word. On the flip side they may not want their photo taken at every gathering. Where you think of it as a huge benefit, they think of it as “Here we go again with the family photos. Do I have to?” Pick your battles wisely with your family. Be generous but don’t expect any pats on the back. You are stuck with them for life.

Click HERE to read how I tackle the CAREER issue.

Click HERE to go back to the beginning of this topic.

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Copyright © 2010 by Jen O’Sullivan http://www.jenosullivan.com
Beverly Hills Wedding Photographer, Jen O’Sullivan is a boutique wedding photographer who specializes in portrait journalism.
Jen O’Sullivan Boutique Wedding Photography | 357 South Robertson Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California, 90211 | 310-494-6547

Baby Photos: newborn at 1 day and 11 days old

Jen — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 08:18:02 +0000

I got the privileged of photographing Baby Maddie on her first full day home. What a treat! I then set up a photo shoot for my students on day 11. The thing about newborns is they change so rapidly from week one on. My lens of choice for a newborn session: Sigma 50mm 1.4 and Sigma 50mm 2.8 macro.

The sisters are such little mommies.

Here are a few from day 11.

So I went a bit overboard on the Norman Rockwell look, but I like it. In Photoshop create a copy layer of the image then go to Filter, Other, High Pass, and turn it all the way up. Then in your layers window select from the drop down menu overlay. Have fun!

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Baby Laila

Jen — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:42:51 +0000

Some of my past clients recently had babies! All this year. Right now I have a count of five past brides and grooms who have newborns and one on the way. I always like to do a little “easy” photo session to help capture some of those precious first faces. This is baby Laila and she is toooooo cute! I look forward to meeting the rest soon.

Beverly Hills Wedding Photographer, Jen O’Sullivan is a boutique wedding photographer who specializes in portrait journalism. She is known for her beautifully captured emotion filled moments, stunning details, and imagery that has a storybook feel.

Jen O’Sullivan, LLC | 357 South Robertson Boulevard, Beverly Hills, California, 90211 | 310-494-6547