Saenz Family Christmas

So what can I say about the Saenz Family Chirstmas shoot? One thing I can say is that it was a very fun challenge. Why a challenge? Because there were 20 people on this shoot. This has got to be the biggest group of people that we have shot at one time. However, I must say that the shoot went well. It was also good to see some old friends. Some of these guys I knew when they were little kids, a few others I hung out with and one I knew from a distance. But I consider them all good friends.

This was the second shoot we did on Christmas Day. It was very very cold outside and I was concerned about the kids taking off their jackets every time we were ready to shoot. Then I remembered that most of them are from North Texas, so I'm sure this weather was nothing for them. They all did great and were very patient. The children were easy to work with. Sometimes when I find out that I am working with children, I brainstorm of ideas to settle them down or keep them from getting distracted. Not the case with these kids. They were very calm. But, I must mention Noah was funny and definitely gave these pictures some character. He was making me laugh a lot. What a fun day.

To the Saenz family, Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your Christmas Day. We enjoyed it and it was fun.

Be sure to look for more pictures from this shoot on our Facebook page and look for the behind the scenes video to be posted soon on our YouTube channel.

Joey Navarro
J&P Photography

Tey Christmas Shoot

These are Priscilla's grandparents, Perfecto & Macaria Tey. Yes, his name is Perfect, and he always reminds us of it. I have known grandma and grandpa Tey for a very very long time. They are two very loving people. Grandpa Tey loves to pass out tracks and crack jokes. Every time I see him he has a new joke. I always wonder where he gets them from. We had a lot of fun with they on this shoot. Mainly because grandpa Tey is always making us laugh. He is such a comedian.

Also on this day we shot Lydia and Matthew Tey. They are Priscilla's aunt and cousin. I might also mention that Matthew is my daughter's favorite person. She always asks for him. Lydia is also a blessing to our family. She is the one who always encouraged my wife to do good in school and to work hard to accomplish her goals. These two will always have a special place in our hearts and family.

Below are the two behind the scenes videos of these shoots.

Joey Navarro

Baby Dillon

On December 9 we took pictures of little baby Dillon. What a joy it is to work with little babies. Little Dillon was such a good little boy. He was wide awake for the first part of the shoot. He looked right at the camera every time that we snapped a shot. After a good long while he had had enough and fell asleep. Little Dillon's photos will be featured on our website. He did a great job for his first photo-shoot.

Joey Navarro

Domonic & Dezerae

Just yesterday we did a shoot of two great beautiful children. These are the children of two good friends of ours. You may recognize Domonic & Dezerae from a previous shoot we did about a year ago. These two kids were fun to work with yesterday despite the very very cold weather. Little Domonic was focused and ready to shoot. He has a serious look on his face in most of his pictures but don't be fooled, he was having a great time. Dezerae was having a good time just picking flowers while we were out there. But when it was time to shoot, she wanted to take her jacket off and be right next to her big brother. You can really tell that these two kids have a great bond and love each other very much.

The weather was very cold so we tried to hurry things up. Never did any one of them complain about the chilly temperature. They were both ready for the camera. The final products from this shoot will be a little more artsy rather than traditional. Here we have posted two sample photos but you can see the entire album of this shoot on our Facebook or MySpace profiles in a few days. These pictures will also be featured on our Website. Stay tuned and check back they are looking great.

Joey Navarro

Saenz Christmas Shoot

This past Halloween we went to San Antonio to spend it with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. While we were there we did a Christmas shoot for them. Sorry for the late blog, but this is the first chance I have had to post a few pics of their shoot. We went to the River Walk to shoot and it was a challenge trying to find a spot that didn't have so many people walking behind or even in front of the camera while we were shooting. We found a few places that were nice and free of people.

Every time we go to San Antonio our daughter Lauren always looks forward to playing with their two daughters Lily and Emily. They have a beautiful family and we are glad to have them in our lives. Jon and Sarah, take care, God Bless and we'll see you soon.

Love you guys

Joey Navarro

Lara Family Christmas

Just yesterday we did a family Christmas shoot for the Lara's. There were 15 people altogether and yes it was challenging. However, it was so much fun as the whole family was very funny, welcoming, warm and friendly. Even though we shot them as a whole and then as individual families we still moved quickly. My wife and I had pre-planned this shoot for about 2 weeks. We knew every location we were going to shoot at and in which order we were going to shoot. All days before and after the shoot were looking to be great sunny days, but the forecast for the day we were shooting was set for 50% chance of rain. Of course, that would be my luck. We scrambled to look for alternate indoor locations as we did not want to cancel or postpone. Someone upstairs must really have mercy on us because on the day of the shoot it rained hard and heavy all morning right up to about 2 hours before the shoot. The weather forecast called for clear skies after for the rest of the day. The weather cleared up and even left us with great ambient lighting. The weather was beautiful for our session.

To the Lara's: Thank you for the opportunity of allowing us to be a small part of your Christmas this year. We hope you will have a blessed and wonderful Christmas. May God Bless you all. My wife and I enjoyed the time we spent with you.

You can see the behind the scenes video below or go to our YouTube channel to see more videos. J&P Photography YouTube

Don't forget to pause our music player to the upper right side of our blog page so that you can hear the music from the YouTube video.

Joey Navarro

LeeAnn & Phillip

On November 22, 2009 we did a shoot for a friend of mine. I have known LeeAnn for a long time and I am happy to hear of her recent engagement. This engagement shoot went very well. Again, we moved quickly through several locations in the downtown area of Corpus Christi. It still amazes me how every shoot is so unique even though we may reuse a location for several shoots. When we met up with the couple we asked if they had any suggestions before we got started. They had complete confidence in us to let us be creative with this shoot. With that we moved to our first location. We shot there for awhile before we decided to move due to many mosquitos. LeeAnn and Phillip did so well that I didn't even know they were getting eaten alive while I was shooting. They did not want to interrupt me so that they could scratch or just swat the mosquitos away. I felt bad, but beauty is pain, right?

We moved around and tried some locations that we had recently scouted and had never used before. LeeAnn and Phillip were fun to work with. As we walked to our shooting locations a passerby asked if we were with the Associated Press. That was a little weird for me. I mean, when you see a photographer, who really thinks, "Hey, I wonder if they are with the Associated Press?"

LeeAnn and Phillip, you were a delight to work with. My wife and I had a great time with your engagement shoot. We would like to wish you both the best of luck in the future and all the blessings in the world. May God continue to bless your lives and your upcoming marriage. Hope we get to work with you again in the future.

Congratulations to you both.

Joey Navarro

Brittany

On November 21, 2009 we did a second shoot of our niece Brittany. She has been wanting to do this shoot for some time now. We did this shoot late in the day, close to dusk. The natural lighting had a very warm tone. The weather was cold and very windy. Poor little Brittany was very cold and shivering. In between shots we had to get a sweater on her to try to warm her up. During the shoot she had to try to look natural and think warm. All of my team had sweaters on while Brittany had to brave the weather for the sake of the shoot. She did great.

To finish off the shoot we went to Chapman Ranch to take pictures right smack in the middle of the street. We would walk into the middle of the street and try to get as many shots before we had to run back because cars would speed past us. As people would pass us they would look at us like we were crazy for being so close to traffic. I did not think that it would be that busy. I've traveled through there many many times and never saw as many cars as there were out that day. I guess that would be my luck.

Thank you again Brittany, you are becoming a pro. Till next time.

Joey Navarro

Sandra & Matthew

Well, we are a little behind on our blog. On November 15, 2009 we did a shoot for Sandra and her son Matthew. We had a lot of fun on this shoot. It is always fun and a challenge to shoot small children. They are so unpredictable. Matthew was great and was all smiles for the camera.

We shot at several locations and little Matthew hung in there for every second that we shot. At one point he wanted to see every picture that we took and then wanted to take some pictures of his mommy himself. What do you do when a small child wants to borrow your camera because he wants to take pictures of his mommy? Well, you give him your camera, of course. We let him take a few pictures, with us helping him hold on to the camera. He was having a blast. Then I looked over at Sandra and she had a very nervous look on her face. I told her to relax, our camera would be fine.

The shoot went very well and we all had fun. Sandra, thank you for giving us the opportunity to shoot you and your son. Hope you enjoy your pictures and look for you video to be posted on YouTube soon.

Joey Navarro

Eunice Green

Yesterday we had the pleasure of meeting Eunice and her sister Lidia. Our shoot was scheduled for 930am. Eunice was there before we were and was all ready to go as soon as we did arrive. Eunice was a lot of fun to work with. She was very lively and energetic, friendly and professional. I don't know how much experience Eunice has in modeling but it seemed to me like she has been doing this for a long time. She was completely focused and knew what she wanted from this shoot. Her stamina was excellent. Eunice was like the Energizer Bunny. She just kept going and going and going. I think I asked her if she needed a break several times and her response was, "I can do this all day."

My wife and I both agree that Eunice has such a natural beauty, talent and passion for being in front of the camera. We had a lot of fun and we hope we get to work with Eunice again. Watch for her photos to be posted soon on our Facebook and MySpace profiles. And of course the behind the scenes video on YouTube. 

Joey Navarro

Family Christmas Photo-Shoot

This past weekend we went to San Antonio to spend Halloween with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law. We had a lot of fun as we always do when in San Antonio. My wife and I decided that we were going to take one of our Family Christmas Card Photo's there this year also. Every year as we look for a place to take our Holiday Photo we are challenged with the task of taking the photo ourselves. It wasn't very hard the past two years as I would just place the camera on a tripod, set the self timer and then run around and sit next to my wife and baby. But now Lauren is bigger and won't sit still very easily. The good thing is that we were also taking pictures for my sister-in-law and her family for their Christmas Picture as well. This was beneficial to us as my brother-in-law could just take our picture while they were there.

We thought about locations where we could take pictures and finally ended up at the River Walk Downtown. The challenge was finding a location where the shadows would be minimal. There are a lot of trees on the River Walk which in turn makes a lot of leafy shadows on your face. We were all dressed in winter-like long sleeve clothing. The thing is that in early November here in Texas it isn't very cold yet. In fact the temperature was 89 degrees. Everyone walking around was staring at us like we were crazy for wearing winter-like clothing. Once they saw us pull out the camera they understood what we were doing. All in all it was a lot of fun.

I have posted one of the pictures taken that day and will update this post with more pictures if and when we decide to take more photos for Christmas Card possibilities. Thank you Jonathan for taking these pictures for us. You did a great job.

Joey Navarro

Desiree

Yesterday we worked with a model from Edinburg, TX., named Desiree Ashley. We spoke with Desiree earlier in the week and decided that we were going to do a tropical themed shoot. We scouted and scouted locations around town and finally decided on one. Of course the shoot was going to be outdoors as we generally like to shoot. On the day of the shoot we had all gear cleaned, batteries were fully charged and media cards were empty and ready to go. We set out for our destination and decided to leave early to find a second shooting location in the downtown area. That is when we came across The House of Rock in downtown Corpus Christi. I walked in to ask the owner if we could use one of his outside walls as a backdrop for our shoot. He said "Sure, and if you'd like you can use the inside as well, you are more than welcome." I walked around inside and saw the nice bright red floor and immediately knew this was the location. We canceled our original location and decided to shoot at The House of Rock. One problem, I left all my lighting equipment at home, clear across town. I generally don't take my lights when we are shooting outdoors. The shoot was scheduled for 4pm and it was already 3:45. So what do I do? Yes, I jumped in the car and made a quick run home. I called Desiree and luckily they were lost in town and still needed to book a hotel room. This gave me the extra time that I needed to get my gear. I made it back with enough time to set everything up before Desiree got to the location. The shoot went great inside The House of Rock and then we moved outside and down the street for the second half of our shoot. So needless to say I will always carry my equipment even if I think I may not need it because you never know. Desiree was great to work with and took direction very well.

Desiree, thank you for your time and driving up to Corpus Christi for our shoot. It was a pleasure working with you. We wish you all the best of luck in your future ventures with your modeling career. We hope that our shoot will help you in some way.

You can find Desiree's album on our MySpace page next week and of course her behind-the-scenes video on YouTube and Vimeo soon.

We would especially like to thank The House of Rock for allowing us to use their venue for our photo session.

Joey Navarro

Lo Q.

Today was a great day for us. Today was the day that we officially did our first model shoot. This is a new area for us. We had contemplated doing modeling photography for a long while now. We never did modeling because we didn't know what we were doing and to be honest we still don't. Hopefully as we acquire new clients in this field we will get better.

Lori was the first brave soul to shoot with us knowing that we are not experienced in this field. She was a pro and completely patient with us. This session was both fun and educating. The shoot was scheduled for 12 noon and one hour before it started to pour rain. Priscilla and I got a little nervous thinking that we may have to change the time of the shoot or worse, cancel it altogether. The rain only lasted about 20 minutes and then it cleared up to become a beautiful day. The shoot went on at 12 noon as planned.

We had so much fun with this shoot and even went a little trigger happy. We filled up several cards before calling it a wrap. Lori was great to work with. We will definitely book her for more shoots. Lori, thank you for your time and working with us. We hope you will come back for a shoot again in the very near future. More pictures of Lori's shoot will be posted on our MySpace and Facebook profiles soon. J&P Photography on MySpace, J&P Photography on Facebook. Also, look for the behind-the-scenes video coming soon to YouTube.

Joey Navarro

Halloween Masquerade...

Last night was interesting. I have shot Paul before but this was the first time we did a costume shoot. The theme was definitely Masquerade meets Sweeney Todd. The shoot was a lot of fun as they usually are. The music playing in the background definitely set the mood for a shoot that lasted well until midnight. I also had an assistant that didn't let me lift a finger. All I had to do was ask him to do something and he did it. Thanks a lot Ben, you can assist me on shoots anytime.  Editing these photos will be a lot of fun. We are also putting together a behind-the-scenes video of this shoot. Stay tuned for more pictures. You will be able to see them on our MySpace and Facebook profiles as these photos may not make our official website. J&P Photography on MySpace

Joey Navarro

Brittany Flores

Yesterday we took photos of my niece. She is turning 16 this month and I still remember her laughter as a little girl. The shoot was fresh and exciting. Brittany is simply a natural in front of the camera. We were glad to take photos that will be a part of her memories for years to come.

Priscilla Navarro

Our shoot with Brittany yesterday was fun. It started off with a location in the downtown area that we usually don't visit much. We then went to the Solomon Ortiz Center for our second location. The sun light was not really cooperating with us there so we didn't stay long. On our way to our final destination we spotted this rustic wall along the back street of Heritage Park. That spot was a great shooting area except for the multitudes of mosquitoes and the ugly stench of sewer. Our last stop for the day was along Ocean Dr. A place that we had used in the past but never thought to walk around to the back side where we found a nice open spot with the Gulf in the background. That place was nice, breezy and quiet. We will definitely use it again.

Brittany was great to work with. She was a little nervous in the beginning but quickly warmed up to having the camera in her face. She has a natural look that works great on film. I remember Brittany when she was a very little girl. She has grown and blossomed into a beautiful and caring person. I'm sure we will get to work with her again in the future. We have a short behind the scenes video of our shoot with Brittany. You can find it here Brittany Behind the Scenes... Please take a moment and watch it.

Joey Navarro

The Zuniga Family

Today we had the pleasure of taking family photos of some good friends of ours. Today's shoot was great for us because we had the opportunity to shoot at an exclusive town club location. My wife and I have been trying to get this place for over a year now. Our previous requests had been rejected by management in the past. But for this shoot we decided to try again and still didn't really think we were going to get it. I showed up yesterday and talked to the manager with a mindset thinking that I may be wasting my time and hers. Then to my amazement she said "Sure, but you can only shoot for 1 hour." I don't know what it was that convinced her to let us shoot in their lounge but I didn't give her time to reconsider, I said, "Thank You" and left right away.

The Zuniga family was great to work with. After we finished with our hour at the town club we proceeded to an outdoor location. We went to the rocks across from the university and the wind was so rough we knew this wasn't going to work out. So, back to the downtown area we go. The weather was beautiful today, very cool with no humidity. It was a perfect day outside.

In closing, we want to thank the Zuniga family for the opportunity to work with them. It was a pleasure. Danny, Brandi, you two are a beautiful couple with two beautiful children. Hope we get to work with you again in the future. Mark, Alex, you two were great today. Thank you again for Priscilla's birthday gift. It is greatly appreciated.

Joey Navarro

Little cousin...Samantha

Today was the first shoot we did since making this blog-spot. We had the pleasure of working with one of my family members...Samantha. This is the first time that we have worked with Sam (as we all call her). Picked her up early and headed out to get the day started. First we took her to one of our familiar locations which turned out to be a not so good choice. As soon as we got there we were attacked by big blood hungry mosquitoes. Needless to say we left just as quick as we got there. Then we were off to a more open breezy area of town. Temperatures today reached about 95 degrees and we did quite a bit of walking to get to some of our locations. I must say that once we were shooting, Sam was very comfortable in front of the lens and needed very little direction from me. Through all the walking, mosquito swatting and hot, humid conditions, Sam was a trooper. Our experience working with her for the first time was great. My wife and I enjoyed it.

Sam, thank you for being an excellent client today. Your pictures turned out great. We look forward to working with you more in the near future.

Joey Navarro