journey to my dreams

Louisville child portrait photographer

2010-07-24T18:21:00.001-04:00

I really enjoy doing the free sessions at Mama's Hip. It gives me an opportunity to meet familes I maybe otherwise wouldn't have the chance to. Here are a couple shots from this months.

C the cutie

2010-07-05T00:43:00.001-04:00

Look how cute this little girl is!

I meet so many different families, different children, different parents, etc. I truely enjoy all their different personalities, and this little one and her mama were no exception.

I had the pleasure of following them down to a little stream, as well as see little C try to eat clover flowers. (Are white clovers edible as well?)

oh man!

2010-06-13T00:02:00.001-04:00

This child is insanely cute!!! Look at him!

And these thighs!!!!

And the eyes!

Gosh! I'm so happy his mama picked me to take his pictures! ;)

E and H

2010-06-06T00:39:00.001-04:00

Meet little E, pretty little E.

This is her sister H, pictures of her as a baby, in this pink tutu, appear on many of my business cards, as well as my website.

It's so fun watching children grow up through my lens.

Louisville maternity photographert

2010-06-04T01:57:00.001-04:00

the dog

the belly

and the mama

ruby the cutie

2010-04-23T01:00:00.001-04:00

Meet Ruby! A little girl, with the cutest dresses (and smiles) in all the land!

little lucy

2010-04-16T01:16:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I met a couple families at the park to take pictures of thier little girls. Lucy was one of the little princess' I worked with.

Mom said she just recently started walking, and it showed! She had far better things to do than get her picture taken. ;) I definitely had a blast chasing her around and trying to get her attention.

little s

2010-04-14T10:47:00.001-04:00

I'm pretty sure i posted MY favorites from this shoot before, but this time I was working on the ones her aunt (that's who wanted the shoot for her) picked.

I can not get over what a beauty sophia is. Little model in the making.

the y family

2010-04-14T00:56:00.001-04:00

About a month ago my family and I made our semi anual trip to the North Carolina coast. I offered to do a few shoots while I was there, one of the families that took me up on it is an old favorite. Bella is one of the most delightful little people I've ever met!

I don't think they planned on her getting wet that day, but in typical three year old fashion, she wanted to experience the ocean with all of her senses! (well, except taste, i think.)

little miss S

2010-03-26T01:50:00.001-04:00

My family recently made a visit to eastern North Carolina, while we were there an old friend of mine asked me to take some photos of her neice, I felt honored.

What a beautiful little girl! and she had more personality than a classroom full of children combined!

Sharing the love

2010-02-27T03:13:00.000-05:00

I recently was let on to this great idea by a wonderful photographer in Dayton, OH, Erinne Fullam, who was given the idea by someone else. In any case, what’s the great idea?

I’ve been searching high and low for ways to use my talents/skills/gifts/etc. to help others. So here goes...

Once a month I will give one lucky person, family, (I guess other things are possible pending they qualify?) etc. a free photo shoot in addition to a few prints (exact quantities and sizes are TBD) just for being awesome.

The catch? well, this isn’t really a contest, but more a way of helping those that need it. maybe you know a family that struggles to make ends meet, that couldn’t even imagine the luxury of a family portrait. or a young girl that has trouble with self image, imagine how wonderful dolled up pictures would make her feel.
possibly a military family, struggling through a deployment.
the list goes on and on... (struggling business, adopting family, charity, etc.)

I do ask that you not enter yourself, but instead, enter someone else. Who do you know that a photo session would really benefit?

Now go email me at jes.deis@gmail.com and tell me all about the person you think that needs this shoot, why do they deserve this?

Towards the end of the month I’ll select a “winner” and post it here on facebook (so make sure you’re a fan!)

If an entry doesn’t get selected one month, it may still get selected later, no worries!

You can submit as many candidates/stories as you’d like.

If you do not win during the month of your entry, it will be rolled over into the following month's drawing, so the pool gets bigger as the year goes on.

You may enter as many different people as you like. :)

-jes

baby d's red hair

2010-02-25T23:09:00.001-05:00

as promised, some pictures of baby d's beautiful red hair.

but first, his proud big brother...

i just had to get a shot of d in his mamas belly cast. its amazing to think about them being inside.

such a sweet sweet little boy!

snow

2010-02-23T13:21:00.001-05:00

this lovely family asked me about taking some snow pictures the first decent snow we got, unfortunately it mented before we got a chance to get together, so i contacted them after the next accumlation and rushed over before the sun got the best of it. the kids had loads of fun and im sure the hot cocoa finish made it that much better! ;)

baby d

2010-02-19T04:35:00.002-05:00

the birth that i posted yesterday ended with this beautiful baby boy!

these particular shots were too cute not to share, but he has some amazing red hair! ill make sure to post some that show it off in the near future. :)

a's birth

2010-02-17T22:27:00.001-05:00

i recently had the pleasure of photographing this beautiful mamas birth.

strong and tough.

double print promotion

2010-02-06T17:20:00.000-05:00

for prints ordered between now and the end of april, a second print (must be same size) of any image is available for $3!!!

you could order doubles of ALL of your prints, there is no limit.

only available for the default e-surface finish.

any additional prints are normal price.

chase

2009-12-27T22:10:00.001-05:00

posts are going to be exceptionally rare for a few months, mostly due to the fact that im about to have a baby!

so, for now ill leave you with someone elses cutie that i worked with the other day.

what a handsome fellow!!!

the h family

2009-12-10T13:32:00.001-05:00

look at this face!!!!

ty

2009-12-07T21:57:00.001-05:00

yesterday i got to photograph one of the shyest, yet sweetest, thomas the train fans ever.

the m family

2009-11-19T00:07:00.001-05:00

the weather has been nothing but perfect the past few weekends. which makes the world a better place for families trying to squeeze in an outdoor portrait session before winter takes over.

this family was loads of fun! they even brought their dog along for a few shots. i cant wait to work with them again!

landon and miles

2009-11-15T21:50:00.002-05:00

landon, and his baby brother miles. cute boys, and im not sure ive seen a four year old adore his baby brother as much as landon.

landon was non stop, im fairly certain hes an aspiring model. ;)

the tear in this first one of miles is too much!

the ehlerts

2009-11-14T22:48:00.001-05:00

last weekend was BEAUTIFUL! (mid 70s, lots of sun, and trees in their full fall beauty) and i had the pleasure of shooting with the ehlerts.

their daughter was a doll, with beautiful blue eyes, so i just had to get at least one good shot that could show them off.

what a pleasure they were to work with, thank you!

katies baby

2009-11-07T21:24:00.000-05:00

a friend of mine asked me to be her birth partner, in addition to taking photos.

convincing myself it was ok to click my shutter while trying to console a laboring mama was a little hard, but im happy with the photos i got. here are a few...

will and rachels wedding

2009-10-18T01:34:00.001-04:00

these are images from a wedding i shot recently. it was the most well planned, smoothest running wedding ive ever seen or heard of for that matter. and for that, i am grateful. will and rachel were incredibly sweet and fun to work with. i hope they are pleased with their images.

the lacers

2009-10-16T03:05:00.001-04:00

i was lucky enough to shoot this young mans first birthday party, and now i get the pleasure of photographing mama before #2 comes along.

brayden

2009-10-10T05:25:00.001-04:00

i shot these about a week ago, and these are the ones the mother wanted to use for a birthday card.

this little boy had the most gorgeous eyes.

north carolina

2009-09-25T01:44:00.001-04:00

we recently visited NC and i was lucky enough to get to take pictures of an old friends beautiful children.

i also attended my cousins wedding, which was beautiful. and instead of doing the traditional birdseed and rice, they had everyone hold sparklers as they walked out. sparklers are naturally one of the most enjoyable things to photograph. way to make a wedding that much cooler. :)

fashion

2009-09-03T06:00:00.001-04:00

well, i finally redid my site, while theres still a few things that need work (like adding all the galleries)

feel free to check it out. www.jesdeis.com

the other day i did a fashion shoot for milksmartmama.com and was very fortunate to have an incredibly photogenic model. :) always helps.

here are my favorites. im sure others can be seen on her site shortly.

brand new babies

2009-08-21T16:40:00.001-04:00

i recently had the pleasure of photographing two different newborns from two different families, in the same day!!

one being 3 weeks old, the other less than 24 hours. i finally got to try out some new things, and im so greatful to these mamas for letting me play with their precious bundles.

shoots in trees

2009-07-31T22:45:00.000-04:00

i recently did a shoot with a large/extended family. it was loads of fun, in the park, and they fed me!

there were a couple amazing trees around, so we made sure to take advantage of one...

big bellies

2009-07-22T15:12:00.001-04:00

im working on images from a maternity shoot i did about a month ago. i still have a few more i like that ill finish up and post later.

little earth child

2009-07-08T01:34:00.000-04:00

while on our journey through the mountains, etc. i didnt do many portraits, but i did snag these shots of the wee one looking wee, and earthy.

2009-07-02T15:15:00.001-04:00

for the past week and a half, me and my family have been on the road. first we stopped in west virginia so i could get started on a photo documentary im working on that can be found here.

on the first day, the sky was incredible. so here is a preview that can not be found on the other blog.

mid sized bellies at mamas hip

2009-06-16T17:49:00.000-04:00

some pregnant bellies for your viewing pleasure. :)

bees

2009-06-07T15:49:00.000-04:00

since i havnt posted in so long, i decided i really need too.

so here are some awesome honey bees i photographed a few weeks ago.

ill try to post more. promise.

families are fun

2009-04-21T11:04:00.000-04:00

this is a family whose daughter i shot previously at mamas hip. theyre all beautiful and have great personalities to match.

fun in the yard

2009-04-15T02:05:00.000-04:00

another mama's hip visitor...

pretty little girls

2009-04-07T11:15:00.000-04:00

quite a few families showed up at mamas hip this time around. the first little girl (well, the only little girl of the day) was adorable!

maternity on a sunny day

2009-04-06T01:54:00.000-04:00

so i had another shoot with camila, since the weather was so uncooperative the first time around.
it was the complete opposite this time, which has its pros and cons, heres a couple of my favorites..

camila maternity

2009-03-29T19:59:00.000-04:00

yesterday i did a maternity shoot.. in the rain.
while it could have of course been nicer, had the weather cooperated. im pretty impressed with how it came out.

more of the same

2009-03-27T04:00:00.001-04:00

more from the shoot in the last post.
i promise ill have something different for my readers soon. :)

vintage bebe / chic bows

2009-03-26T13:55:00.001-04:00

yesterday i did a shoot for vintage bebe and chic bows, theyre opening a kiosk in the mall next month and plan to display my images. im pretty pumped. heres some of what ive worked on thus far..

what goes on

2009-03-14T11:30:00.001-04:00

im in nc. taking pictures. heres a taste of the fun thus far...

...more to come!

free portraits?

2009-03-08T16:46:00.001-04:00

this past thursday i did my first "free portraits" at mama's hip dealy, and was quite impressed with the turnout. 3 clients for the first shot!
it didnt hurt that they were three beautiful little girls! ;)

i look forward to more of these shoots in the future. (if you wanna check it out, its the first thursday of the month, at mama's hip, on bardstown rd. from 10:30am until 12:00pm)

new moms

2009-03-02T01:53:00.000-05:00

i will perfect the art of shooting in neon rooms, if its the last thing i do. :\ i need strobes.

editing

2009-02-22T00:58:00.000-05:00

heres another shot from the previous mentioned shoot.

and heres a little sample of my mad editing/touch up skillz... before...

and after.

ive actually got shoots scheduled for the next 4 days! (every day) heres to hoping none fall through and of course, i will come back with amazing images!

project

2009-02-17T23:18:00.000-05:00

a local photo board im a member of had a portrait project, get together with another photographer and come out with portraits of one another. here was my contribution...

ive been slacking on getting tub shots of d for... well. a year. so heres my favorite. check out that gap! i love it!

laundry day

2009-02-05T01:39:00.000-05:00

while in ohio, i was able to shoot some fashiony stuff. its been far too long...

wacom

2009-02-05T01:37:00.000-05:00

i got a wacom. should help with editing tremendously. so, i play and i play, noticing endless posibilities. today i decided to make a hand sketched rendition of this photo...

ice

2009-02-03T02:33:00.000-05:00

an ice storm in ky,

led us to ohio.

and a venture in a bookstore...

more to come.

2009-01-21T00:44:00.000-05:00

sleepy

2009-01-18T23:33:00.000-05:00

random

2009-01-16T02:21:00.000-05:00

im going to try, to make a post every day (including editing a picture, mostly old, every day)

the new business card. its double sided!

if youd like a clickable version for... whatever, PLEASE let me know. :)

recent wedding

2008-12-25T10:49:00.001-05:00

a few from the recent wedding i shot. a very quaint, intimite ceremony.

xmas

2008-12-17T00:37:00.000-05:00

ive always been a sucker for alternative process'.
and for as long as ive been shooting digital, ive been dying to find a way to "emulate" polaroid transfers.
ive even invested in this... stuff? that seemed promissing, only to find it was a lot of work for not nearly the results i wanted. :(

then, we come to now. i stumble upon a concept of putting images, printed with any ole printer, on tiles! tiles are a popular subject for polaroid transfers, and i think the results emulate it close enough for my satisfaction, especially considering the cost (next to nothing)

i will next experiment with other objects. but for now, you can see the xmas gifts a made for her dad and gma.

old maternity

2008-12-04T23:35:00.000-05:00

it was almost a year ago that i did this shoot, but for being one of my first maternity shoots, i think its fairly decent.
whats more, is i was able to photograph her homebirth a couple months later (only a month after my own) thus making it extra special.

2008-11-10T12:43:00.000-05:00

images from a shoot a few weeks ago...

poodle skirk girls

2008-11-01T18:00:00.000-04:00

the trick or treat getup...

delay

2008-11-01T00:31:00.000-04:00

sorry ive been "inactive" but, here i am. ive got several personal photos ill work on adding over time, this being one of my favorites. and ive got a shoot tomorrow, with a couple past, that need (will need) editing, so those will surface sooner or later.

retouch

2008-10-11T04:12:00.000-04:00

i was finally contacted by someone on liveperson.com. they were looking for photo manipulation.
to be more specific, they wanted the girl in the lower photo in the upper photo (she was originally in a photo all her own) so i did that, as well as some basic retouch (that cant hardly be appreciated at this size)
while im pleased with it for the most part, the girl really sticks out to me, but of course i KNOW she doesnt go there.
i asked a, she said she had no idea she didnt belong, so who knows. anyways, heres the before and after.

hannah

2008-10-10T14:36:00.001-04:00

a few of my favorites from the shoot a couple weeks ago.

random life related stuff

2008-09-26T02:42:00.000-04:00

when the power was out, b decided we needed to build a fire for cooking. keep in mind we live in the city.
fortunately (maybe not for him) it came back on monday night, so we didnt get any parking lot campfire cooked veggies or anything, but he still insisted on making a campfire in the parking lot next to our house, the result...

they made s'mores. i kept hearing fire sirens, and i just KNEW someone called the authorities and we were going to get in deep trouble for building a camp fire in the parking lot, but they never showed up.

im digging through pictures, trying to decide on what 4 i want millers to edit and print free to show me how awesome they are, so im weeding through old stuff.

this is a (fake) ttv of andis first day of kindergarten, she tends to dress so awesome a lot of the time. her hair had the rockinest haircut ever too, and i did it. :D i think ill try to mimic it on myself. wish me luck!

a with the cousins. theyre all distanced now. i just love their expressions in this one.

featured photographer

2008-09-21T11:20:00.002-04:00

uh oh, a post without pictures!

i am the "featured photographer" on a local "collective" that has over 200 members.

so i wanted to share... click me!

ttv

2008-09-19T15:21:00.000-04:00

i learned a new technique, well, sorta. basically you shoot your camera, through the viewfinder of an old camera (preferably tlr) and it comes out looking a lot like this...

of course, i own not a tlr (though i did see one at the thrift store the other day that im attempted to go back and hunt for) and well, emulating in photoshop just sounds more appealing at this point in time. so, expect more images of this nature in the future, as im quite fond of the look. (i think ill also get more into emulating various other "vintage effects" if you will.

2008-09-16T17:53:00.000-04:00

a can ride a bike!

ike remnants

2008-09-16T00:24:00.002-04:00

we just moved to kentucky, from eastern/coastal north carolina just over a month ago, and being that its hurrican season, i regularly think/thought of what my friends and family back in nc could potentially deal with, i had no idea that wed get hit worse than them (to date, this season) but out of nowhere ike pays US a visit.

in a city of over 500k, more than 400k lost power. the following images are merely from the city block that we live on.

this is just a pretty tree. :)

d swings

2008-09-13T11:26:00.000-04:00

signed

2008-09-06T04:25:00.000-04:00

here are a couple with my new "logo".

oldies

2008-09-02T14:23:00.001-04:00

im delighted to recall that picasa has a ... connection to blogger?
so, for now ill update with some oldies. this being one of my all time favorite shoots. and to think it was completely unexpected, both in occurance and in turn out. a found a caterpillar, i whipped out the camera to pass the time. and voila!

for the sake of showing my favorites

2008-09-01T21:55:00.001-04:00

in regards to family and children that is.

this should sustain anyone interested until i get the site up to par (which i hope will be much sooner than later.)

2008-08-31T03:00:00.000-04:00

well. i decided to work on more.
i failed to previously mention how amazing my new lens' are. i mean, the camera body is great, a few things have moved, but once i get the hang of it, it will be easier than before, and it feels so.... right. in my hands.
but most of all. the lenses. im amazed at how many of my shots come out beyond acceptable. typically boring hum drum shots... spectacular... ok, close. haha.

first post

2008-08-31T01:41:00.000-04:00

so ive decided to start a "blog" for my photographic journey.
it could be a journey through my life in photos, or a journey in photos through my life, or something. who knows. but here goes.....

i will try to keep photo commentary below the photo it belongs to, it may be hard at times.

zero always sleeps in this spot (or on the bed), its beside a's bed.

we went to a "worldfest" yesterday, there was a large fountain area with kids wading in it, while it didnt seem like a wonderful idea, i hate being the mean mom that keeps my child from doing EVERYTHING the other kids do (i mean, i keep her from enough, right?) so i let her play in it. i didnt even notice the sunset. i was pleased with the image. later on she got back in and busted her knee.

this is a's friend. hes very loud... and.... rude? but hes the only kid she knows on our road for now, so she ALWAYS asks if she can play with him.

im really pleased with the effects of simply adding a hue/sat layer to accomplish b&w as opposed to previous methods. thank you heather that will likely never read this.

very rarely am i happy with a picture EXACTLY how it is right out of the camera (no cropping, light/color adjustment at all), this is the firs time.... that i recall. not having to do anything but resize.

amazingly, this was only one of two photos of this particular batch i felt inclined to give a vignette.