This is what mom wrote when she emailed me to announce her newest son had arrived. I honestly laughed out loud at the email as it sounded like something her two older boys (nearly teens!) would say. I had the chance to meet little Ryan on Tuesday when he was just 12 days new. I have to admit, he is a pretty cool little guy.

A September baby needs some fall colors in his pictures….

Here he is putting his best foot forward!

errr… I mean LIVE!

I’ve had a new website in the works for about a month - technical difficulties delayed the release, but I persevered and it’s all set to go!  The new MEGGANJACKS.COM is beautiful, if I do say so myself - and packed full of new material (and a few you’ve seen here on the blog!)

I have one or two tweaks left - mostly a product gallery and a wall display idea gallery - but I didn’t want to delay any longer in getting the new site up and running.

A big THANK YOU to all my wonderful clients I’ve had the pleasure to work with - your support makes it all possible!

I hope you all enjoy the site (but be sure to let me know if you see any typos! LOL)

Every fall it seems that I shift gears here at the studio from photographing bellies to photographing families. I think it’s just that the pregnant women out there get so wrapped up in the holiday preparations that time just flies by and before they know it, they are holding their new baby bundle in their arms. I know last year I photographed several newborns in late fall/early winter where mom commented “I wanted to do a maternity session, but I just kept forgetting to schedule it!”

So pregnant mamma’s with your pregnancy brain - here is your reminder - DON’T FORGET TO SCHEDULE YOUR MATERNITY SESSION! Yes, the studio schedule is filling up with holiday sessions, but we do have some room left for protruding bellies. Just give me a call and we will get it worked out! I promise you won’t regret it!

(Oh, and a super cute story about this image - This mamma-to-be’s session was scheduled by her hubby as a surprise. I just adore thoughtful daddies!)

Downloading files from a babyJACKS Session this afternoon and I couldn’t resist this image…

More to come from this session in a few days!

All photos & text copyright 2007 by Meggan Jacks Photography

It’s like seeing double! Yes, you guessed it - they are sisters! Many of you who’ve been to the studio have no doubt seen the 10×30 collage sample of Miss Abigail - she hammed it up at her 6 month session in March 06 and her sister, not to be out done, hammed it up today! I am sure they will get a good laugh out of these collages when they are older!

Abigail wasn’t so crazy about the session today…

It took Mom, Grandma & myself singing songs and making silly noises to coax some pretty smiles…

Little ’sis was an easier customer. And yes, that is red peach fuzz poking through on her head!

All photos & text copyright 2007 by Meggan Jacks Photography

I had the opportunity to spend some time at Scottsdale’s McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park this past Monday. While it was still a little warm out (will this heat EVER END?) the park was largely deserted (it was nearly 6PM) so we had the run of the playground!

Meet J - She comes to visit me when she’s in town from Texas!

All photos & text copyright 2007 by Meggan Jacks Photography

I am working on a comprehensive ordering guide to assist clients while they are placing their portrait orders. Tonight the page I was working on is tips on choosing the appropriate size of wall portrait. I spent WAY too much time on the diagram to illustrate the various size relationships, so I figured I’d share it.

Choosing An Appropriate Wall Portrait Size

We often think of 8×10s as the standard enlargement size. I encourage you to think larger for your personal portrait collection. Print sizes starting at 11×14 are traditional wall portrait sizes, meaning that the portrait is best viewed from a distance of three feet, which is a comfortable distance for a viewer to stand from the wall. Also, think of the impact you want your portrait to have on guests in your home. A 20×24 portrait makes a statement and draws the viewer in from across the room to “take in” the image. An 8×10 portrait on the wall draws the viewer closer simply because they cannot see the image from a distance.

Below is a size reference to show wall portrait sizes set to scale against an 8 foot couch. Our Standard Wall Portrait size (20×24) is highlighted in green.

All photos & text copyright 2007 by Meggan Jacks Photography

In an online game of tag, I’ve been tagged by my friend and fellow photography blogger Kim of Kimberly Hill Photography in South Carolina. Thanks girl!

The Rules.

Post the rules before you give the facts. Post eight random facts about yourself. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag eight people and list their names. Leave the people you tagged a comment on their blog, letting them know that they’ve been tagged.

1. I was born in the town of Pocahontas, Iowa. I was a big baby - 10lbs 4oz - and my mom tells the story that it was me and some other tiny little preemie (approx 5 lbs) in the hospital nursery - I guess that made quite the picture!

2. I purchased my first camera from the proceeds of my baking business - Meggan’s Muffins. My mom did a lot of computer education classes for her employer while I was growing up and she (and her fellow educators) would order muffins from me to have as a snack during class. I sold the muffins for $5 a dozen. The most popular types of muffins were banana, chocolate chip (my fave!) and blueberry.

3. I’ve been employed as an Ice Cream & Sandwich Artist. There was a small sub sandwich/ice cream shop within walking distance of my house and I started working there when I was 15. I was quite good at making dipped ice cream cones. I moved on after about 18 months to work at Target in Des Moines.

4. I raised rabbits while growing up. They were a 4-H project for me. I raised mini-lops - so cute! Their names were Cadbury, Taffy, Snickers, Hershey, Skittles (are you seeing a trend? LOL)

5. I love cake. I love frosting.

6. The smell that reminds me the most of growing up is the smell of fresh cut lawns mixed with the faint odor of gasoline. It reminds me of my Grandpa Bogard.

7. I cannot stand the smell or taste of coffee.

8. I like to read romance novels. Mostly historical romance novels (but not the medieval era ones!) I am a hopeless romantic and I like happy endings. I refuse to watch Titanic as the outcome is just NOT happy. I prefer to leave the theater in a good mood.

I’m tagging: Kelly Surace of Adair Photography, Angela Calderon, Julia Greer, Deanna Devine, Tonya Marie

I know, it’s only 5. I feel like an underachiever.

The #1 comment I hear from my clients is “I love them ALL! How am I going to decide?!” I love hearing this, and I truly feel that it is my job to provide your family with a gallery full of images that you adore! I also want to offer an array of products that will allow you to hold on to these precious images in ways that are meaningful to you.

One of the best ways to cherish your session images is to purchase them in the Gallery Album. This sleek, black album is absolutely gorgeous. The album is approximately 10×10 and contains up to 40 5×7 images from your session. The cover features a portrait cameo and up to two lines of personalization. Both the cover and pages are durable to withstand countless page turning as you show-off your portraits to friends and family.

The Gallery Album comes as a set with a DVD Slideshow of your images and the set is available a la carte or is included with two of our four portrait collections.

I have a sample album (shown below - my “Bellies & Babies” portfolio) in studio for you to view at your next appointment. I promise you won’t be disappointed!

All photos & text copyright 2007 by Meggan Jacks Photography

Here’s my baby girl. Ain’t she cute? She’s a miniature me at the same age - right down to the subtle curl of her hair. Sadly, the curl will likely disappear as her hair lengthens and thickens - that is what happened to mine.