Throwback with Jennifer Kartheiser: A Journey Through Time
Have you ever found yourself sifting through old photoshoots, reminiscing about the moments captured and the moments that shaped your craft?
First Shoot with Kayla
It was a crisp morning when I found myself scrolling through Instagram, my mind buzzing with ideas for my next photo shoot. I stumbled upon Kayla's profile,
Rediscovering My Love for Photography Through Film
After nearly two decades of shooting digital in my professional career, I started to feel... stuck.
What I mean by the word, Looks.
I base my Photoshoot on looks. So, let’s talk about what I mean and what I’m looking for when I ask a client, model, etc., to select your photo based on looks.
**April Reflections: A Month of Highs and Lows**
April 2025 turned out to be quite the rollercoaster ride—filled with exhilarating highs and some unexpected lows. Buckle up as I take you through the highlights and challenges of this memorable month!
Valentine’s Day Throwback: with Mayra
Valentine’s Day has always been a time for reflecting on love, connections, and the special moments in life. As I sat here wondering if I should post anything today, I decided to take a stroll down memory lane—and I’m so
The Oak Forest Lifestyle Project: A Behind-the-Scenes Journey of Creativity and Collaboration
When it comes to curating lifestyle photoshoots, every project holds its own unique set of challenges, inspirations, and triumphs. For me, The Oak Forest Lifestyle project was no exception, and revisiting
First Shoot with Jennifer Mestizo
Personally I’m very selective of who I work with. Because who I put in my portfolio is important to me. So every now and then I go onto some photography groups for inspiration and came across a beginner models
Getting Back in the Creative Zone for 2025
In 2024, I lost my creative flow. I was still taking pictures, but the creativity wasn’t there. Some people might say they didn’t notice any difference in my work, but I knew deep down that I wasn’t putting creative thought into it. Let me explain.
Retro Style Photography: Bringing Vintage Charm Back to Life
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of hosting a good friend and fellow photographer in my studio for a special project—a pinup-style photoshoot featuring the stunning Sarah. It’s a collaboration that’s become a regular occurrence between us over the past decade, and this time, we were capturing some truly timeless moments.
Photo-Shoot Recap 2024
So, this was another amazing year. But I do have to say it was not without its challenges, from burnout to getting back to the heart of my photography. It was my first year going to ShutterFest, and it was the first year I had not gone to ClickCon since ClickCon started in 2019.
Working with new models
When a new model expresses interest in working with me, one of my initial tasks is to determine their level of commitment to modeling. This involves understanding whether they are seeking free photos or are genuinely interested in pursuing a modeling career.
Creative Burnout
First, I’m going to say depression is a real thing and should not be taken lightly. It would be best if you talked to a professional therapist.
But today, I went to talk about having what is call: a creative block or creative burnout. I've had this happen a few times, but I never really overthought it. I was thinking; I really wasn’t into it. So, what is a creative block or creative burnout? I did a Google search by typing in (creative block depression), and this was my search result.
The Boss Lady Shoot
I have wanted to do this shoot for a long time, so when a fellow photographer asked me if I wanted to collaborate with him on an office shoot, I was totally in.
For my idea for this shoot, I wanted to be sexy and elegant and not slutty. I wanted to have a little sophisticated, sexy look. (Haha, I’m trying to keep the word sexy to about five times.)
My color palette for this shoot was black and grey, and for the wardrobe, I went with a black sheer blouse, leather skirt, and black tights. The second look was a black blazer, lace bodysuit, and plaid skirt. So, I searched Amazon and ordered the wardrobe.
I know this would push the seductive look slightly, but it would also have a touch of elegance.
Re-editing the shoot Jan 2024
This photo came up in my memories on Facebook, and I was thinking, ‘Why didn’t I straighten it up? Oh man, and the color balance was off. So, I was thinking about what it would look like if I edited with the software I use today.
Lightroom and Photoshop have come a long way since then. I think I spent about 4 to 5 hours editing that image. Yup, them was the times.
2014 edit: Lightroom and Photoshop
2024 edit: Lightroom, Photoshop, and Luminar Neo.
Why is it wrong to re-edit a photographer's image?
As a photographer or aka digital creator. As we can’t control our images being edited. We pride myself with the work we put out in the world ( social media). With the point showcasing another masterpiece. But what happens when someone change our work. This is not a good thing. Some photographers including myself spend hours if not days editing an image. But what happens when someone else edits one of your images? Well, there is nothing that you can really do. You can send a message to the person and let them know what they have done. But I can guarantee they already aware of what they have done. So, why is it that people re-edit a photographer's photo? Okay, so let me throw out some hypotheticals.
Halloween Shoot 2023
The Idea
I got the idea for this year's shoot early from a fellow photographer named Steve. Hernandez showed me this amazing AI art that he found on Instagram that was very interesting. It gave me a beetle juice look with a Harley Quinn vibe. Steve was thinking about doing this for his shoot. But it was one of the ideas he had in mind. So I asked if it was okay if I did that look.
Creative Lighting Photoshoot with Cyn-Ean
Shooting with Cyn-Ean, aka Blueberry Girl
I’ve been working with Cyn-Ean for about two years now, and she is amazing to work with. But up until last month, I learned how to pronounce her name. Her name sounds like Cyan, the color, but with an S sound. But come to think of it. The two letters sound similar. But to keep from messing up her name, I would just call her Blueberry Girl.
Black-N-White Project with Aliana
I have to say, Aliana is one of the most high fashion models I have had a chance to shoot with. I met Aliana in 2019 at a car shoot I was doing. A fellow photographer invited her to the shoot. During that time, her style of modeling was more of an urban style of modeling. But felt she had more of a fashion/runway look. But during that shoot, lowkey, I really didn’t like most of the images with her. But I seen a lot of potential in her. So, I asked her to do a shoot at my studio.
The Teacher Project
The shoot was inspired by a shot I saw on Instagram as I was strolling through my feed. I liked the idea and felt I could add my own spin to it. I was hoping to make a little income from this concept with other photographers looking to rent my space for this idea. Spoiler alert, No one was interested.