Jason Comerford Photography

The Potter Family

2012-02-12T15:19:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks!

This is my first blog post since we updated everything, so I thought I'd kick it off with a recent shoot. I had the pleasure of spending two hours Saturday with the Potter family over at Bradley Lake Park. It was the first time I've been shooting over there and I'd highly recommend it. The kids got to play to their heart's content on the play equipment and it gave us the opportunity to get photos of just Mom & Dad together. Have a look at some of what we got!

Remember, all of our family packages are 40% off right now. The offer ends March 1st.

-Jason

Getting the most out of your family photo session (Part 1)

2012-02-09T10:33:00.002-08:00

Throughoutmy career as a photographer, I’ve done many, many photo sessions with familiesand children. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 250. I worked for a while at aLifetouch portrait studio and have seen the whole spectrum of families andpersonalities, good days and bad days. I’ve seen kids happy, crying, confused, energetic,imitating slugs, along with almost every parent you could imagine to match. I’vealso seen a host of mistakes made in the effort to get a smiling photo. Becauseof this, I thought it might be helpful to give some thoughts and ideas on howto get the most out of your family photo session.

When aphotographer’s working with children, they’re generally trying to become someoneyour child can laugh at (or with, depending on the age). The best smiles comefrom laughter, giggles, or having fun. It’s different for every kiddo, but thisis why you’ll see good photographers quickly address children as individualsand interact with them. High fives, goofy voices, and even getting the parentsto play are often the best way to get them into their natural element.

You mightbe thinking, “That’s great, but have you seen my kids? What can I do as theirparent?” There are a couple of different answers. Two of the obvious ones wouldbe making sure your child has had a proper nap and has a happy tummy. Exhaustionand hunger are mood killers for us adults, so we can’t really expect it to be differentfor the kids. Playing with your children is another big smile helper. Piggybackrides, tossing them into the air, peek-a-boo—there are a million games youcould play, and chances are you know which one your child likes best. Ifchoosing an outdoor location for the photos, parks and playgrounds areexcellent options!

Now for oneof the harder ones. I understand how difficult it can be to simply get out thedoor, especially with a family in tow. But being on time for your appointmentis important for getting the most out of the day. In studio, late appointmentscause all sorts of problems and can set an entire business behind schedule foran entire day. Outdoor photographers usually have set aside a specific time foryou, and if you’re late, that diminishes the amount of time that you have totake photos. As best as you can, be on time. We don’t want to rush you, and youdon’t want to be rushed.

As far astoys and incentives, I’m going to cover that largely in the next blog post,What NOT to Do. But for now, know that any toys that you give to your childduring the shoot should be toys that you want IN your photos. Make sure they’recute, relevant to the age, and something you want to remember them with. Itwould also be helpful if it were something they could play with in an activeway. A doll would be great! An iPhone would not.

Come back next time and I’ll talkabout some of the pitfalls you can avoid during your family photo session!

-Jason

Family Gift Certificates

2012-01-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

I'd always wondered how I'd fair in a cold climate if the power went out.

If you've been watching the news at all lately, you might have seen some of the weather we were experiencing here in Washington. If you're reading this, chances are you're FROM Washington and had your power go out yourself! Thankfully, it only took about 3 days, but our own power came back on.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. I've got something new to show off.

Gift Certificates!

Looking for the perfect way to let the kids know that Grandpa & Grandma could use some photos of the new baby? Want to bless someone close to you? The two certificates available right now are for one of the two family photo sessions, and make great gifts!. Just in case you need a reminder, here's what you get:

PACKAGE I: $135
One hour session at a location of your choice
CD with 15 high resolution JPG images
Password protected gallery with your photos
available for online ordering

PACKAGE II: $250
Two hour session at a location of your choice
CD with 30 high resolution JPG images
Password protected gallery with your photos
available for online ordering

Both packages include a print release with the CD, so you can take those photos and share them with family members, print them out at your favorite printer, whatever you plan on doing. You can choose which you like in the shop, and even give specific instructions on where you want to send it and who you want it made out to. Conversely, you can always just have it shipped to your own home to address it yourself.

Last but not least, don't forget that family packages are 40% off until March 1st. That includes the gift certificates! Enter the code "40fam" at checkout to get your discount.

Until next time.

-Jason

The Family Discount

2012-01-13T23:22:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks!

I thought I'd share my yearly outing with the Peterson family. Every year, we take photos for their Christmas cards, and I gotta say that the locations are getting more and more fun. This year, we took a trip to Mt. Rainier and got some shots of everyone in the snow!

The Peterson Family

So some really good news, I have a few families express disappointment with the fact that the 40% off family deals were ending in December. Being the busy season it is, not everyone was able to carve out time for a session.

With that in mind, I'm going to be extending the special! Family photo sessions are still going to be run at 40% off their normal price. The extension is only until March 1st, so book soon! Sessions made before March 1st but scheduled for sometime after WILL get the discount.

Cheers!

-Jason

365 Project

2012-01-10T00:56:00.000-08:00

Howdy everyone!

So, it took some convincing on my wife's part, but I thought I'd take up a new challenge for 2012. I'll be doing a 365 project, wherein I'll be taking a photograph for each day of the year. The photos will be of things straight out of my daily life, be it work, play, worship, what have you. It'd be a bit silly to update my blog with the project every single day, so I'll be updating once every week or two weeks with the latest. I'll also be uploading them to my Zenfolio Gallery if you're interested in looking at past weeks.

So here we go, first nine days!

Until next time.

-Jason

The Merriest

2011-12-25T18:10:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! It's been an incredible year and we're really looking forward to the next.

Blessings to you all.

-Jason & Hannah Comerford

Christmas Specials!

2011-11-17T00:45:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks!

So we're going to be running a few specials this holiday season. In particular, all of our Family photo session packages are being run at 40% off. Details can be found here.

It's looking to be a busy season, so if you're interested in getting some family photos with us this year, try to make those appointments as early as possible!

-Jason

Aaron & Mary

2011-11-03T23:34:00.000-07:00

Howdy everyone!

So, a few years back, I started doing this whole photography thing, and opened things up to doing weddings. My first set of clients were Aaron and Mary, and it was just this past month that these two actually got married. I'm excited to see if anyone manages to break their record in coming years for longest time engaged, but we'll see.

For now, have a look at some of the shots we got on their big day!

Aaron & Mary

This one was a lot fun to attend, and probably holds my record for "Largest Family Photo" as well. There were creative little quirks here and there that told of Aaron and Mary's love and unique personalities. Probably the most memorable were the Legos at each table at the reception. I think I saw the adults having more fun with those things than the kiddos!

And, well, because they're fans, I just HAD to...

Congratulations, Aaron & Mary!

-Jason

Bad News

2011-10-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

Howdy folks,

So, have some bad news this time around. Most of you know that I was supposed to be married on Sept. 16th of this year to my fiance and photographic assistant, Hannah. On Sept. 3rd, Hannah experienced a near fatal saddle pulmonary embolism. It's a disease having to do with blood clots and, in Hannah's case, she very narrowly survived after having emergency open heart surgery. That said, the wedding was obviously delayed while Hannah had a slow and difficult recovery in the hospital. She's doing well now, but the surgery and the condition related to it have some serious implications for the rest of our lives.

Please keep us in your prayers. Hannah should be able to recover to the point where she can once again assist me with weddings, but the whole experience has definitely been trying for the two of us. Thankfully, our church has rallied around us and helped to care for all of our needs. My own family has also been deeply sacrificial of their own time, money, and talents to help us deal with the all the difficulties of bills and caring for Hannah as she recovers.

That said, keep an eye out for some future deals I'll be running. We'll be needing a little extra to help us deal with the pressure of the more immediate medical bills, so I'm going to be discounting some of my family and senior photo packages.

Thanks for all your support, everyone! We couldn't be doing this without you!

-Jason

Did you know?

2011-08-29T13:31:00.000-07:00

In what's probably a first for this blog, I have some photos for you folks that I didn't take.

But I'm in 'em!

Hannah and I got engaged! It's actually been a few months now (A very hectic and busy few months!), but we get married in just 18 days!

The question, however, is who does a photographer get to photograph his wedding? If I may, I'd love to humbly submit the excellent Gabe Van Wyhe, of Van Wyhe Photography. Gabe was the first fella to let me come and shoot a wedding with him, and I've always admired his work. (Hannah especially is a big fan of what he does)

Head on over to his blog and take a look at our photos!

-Jason

Rainy Days

2011-08-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

Raining on your wedding day? On the lake? Out in the open?

Not a problem.

Just ask Robert and Briana! I met this couple through some mutual friends and got to hear one heck of a story. Three photographers had already quit on them, bakers had backed out, one thing after another! And to top it all off, the weather forecast was telling of rain on their outdoor wedding day.

Weddings like these that remind me of how much I love doing what I do. The wedding was beautiful and I've seen few brides with a bigger smile than Briana. The actual ceremony had very light on-and-off drizzle, the small group gathered to celebrate with the happy couple all had umbrellas, and it was a blast.

The photos speak for themselves. Have a look!

Robert and Briana

Blessings on you both, Robert and Briana!

-Jason

Aaron & Mary

2011-05-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

Y'ever run into those couples that have clearly been meant for each other for a very long time? That would be Aaron and Mary. I've known these two for several years and, in fact, they hold the records for greatest time-in-advance for booking my services. By the end here, it'll have been over a whopping two years!

It's getting close. And we thought it would be a good time to do some engagement photos.

Aaron & Mary

Congrats again you two! Very much looking forward to the wedding.

-Jason

Tony and Andrea's Engagment Photos

2011-05-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

Evening all, hope your day's been going well!

I've been waiting for this one for a long time. Tony's been one of my friend's for nearing 4 years now, and it was an absolute honor to get to do his engagement photos. Tony is partly responsible for my salvation and, as such, holds a pretty dear place in my heart. Watching him and Andrea together was deeply moving. Can't wait to see these two wed!

Photos can be seen over at the Jason Comerford Photo page on Facebook.

Or, if you prefer, there's a slick little flash slideshow at [link]

Cheers, all. Next update's gonna have a surprise for ya.

-Jason

Zack & Nicole

2011-04-27T12:28:00.000-07:00

Afternoon all,

So a few nights ago I got to perform a bit of a lighting experiment. My good friends Zack and Nicole had just come back from a date and, being all dressed up, were interested in getting some photos! We grabbed some 580s and left to see what we could get at 11 at night.

We had some very interesting results!

Zack and Nicole

I gotta say, I'd be interested in giving this another shot. The problems and difficulties of shooting with almost zero visible ambient light, on conjunction with syncing the flashes, posed a lot of interesting challenges and got us some BEAUTIFUL shots! As well as the occasional happy accident.

Let me know what you folks think, I'd love to get some feedback on these! You can post on the blog below or drop me a line at jason@jasoncomerford.com

Have a great afternoon everyone!

The Butterfly Room

2011-04-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Afternoon everyone,

I know it's a bit unusual to get a post from me that's not specifically covering a portrait session of some kind, but I thought I'd like to start sharing some of my other photographic activities, maybe even recommend some fun places around Washington for folks to see. Hope you enjoy!

Last week I had the pleasure of accompanying my gal and a family of friends to the Seattle Science Museum. Now, I'll go ahead right now and give it a hearty recommendation-- I'm always a fan of museums. (More History and Science than art, which is odd for a photographer, I know) Probably one of the coolest highlights there was the butterfly room.

Now, we happened to go to the museum on a day when the first 1,000 people were being let in absolutely free. As a result, we arrived early and ended up waiting outside for a good 45 minutes. And it was COLD outside. Not quite freezing, but still a pretty chilly morning. The butterfly room, as you might guess, was the exact opposite. Warm, humid, and thoroughly enjoyable. We spent maybe a good 10-20 minutes in there (Myself having a great deal of fun with the overwhelming abundance of butterflies), and by the end of it all, I was hot and sweating.

It was beautiful, relaxing, and amazing. I've never seen so many butterflies! Landing everywhere, and so many different kinds! You'd think they'd be more concerned with the people everywhere, but no. At least once I had one land on me and just relax for a good stretch of time.

The Butterfly Room

Go and see this. It's worth the admission fee-- and bring a good camera. You won't regret it!

-Jason

Downtown Tacoma and a Happy Birthday

2011-04-06T13:25:00.000-07:00

Afternoon everyone,

So I got the chance this past week to get out and shoot with just some friends in downtown Tacoma. I've been very busy at the studio lately, so it's somewhat of a rare treat to get out and just shoot people on location.

Thankfully, it was a friend's 24th birthday and so a few of us went downtown, had some lunch at The Harmon Brewery and then took off for some photo fun!

I've been trying out some new processing techniques and, so far, the reception has been great. Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Hannah's 24th Birthday

Christmas, Christmas time is here-- time for phoootos, time for cheeeer

2010-11-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

Evening everyone!

Hope you're enjoying the cold, wet November we've been having! (I know I am, I'm a big fan of rain, even as a photographer). If you happened to be around this time last year, you may remember the subjects of today's post. I've had the pleasure of being friends with the Peterson family for several years now and this is the second year I've done their Christmas family photos. This year we went back out to Point Defiance and got some shots of the family near the Pagoda. The locale was beautiful and the weather was just right! (Though a bit cold)

We had a lot of fun, including some real goofy moments. Have a look!

The Peterson Clan

It never gets old, I love this family.

Now the fun facts, straight from the rates page:

For family photos, I offer two packages.

PACKAGE I: $135
One hour session at a location of your choice
CD with 15 high resolution JPG images
Password protected gallery with your photos
available for online ordering

PACKAGE II: $250
Two hour session at a location of your choice
CD with 30 high resolution JPG images
Password protected gallery with your photos
available for online ordering

Christmas is coming and time/spots are limited, and I'd love to do your family photos! Drop me a line at jason@jasoncomerford.com if you're interested in reserving my services.

Blessings!

-Jason

Nick's Senior Photos

2010-10-12T14:39:00.000-07:00

Afternoon all!

Today I've got some senior photos for ya. With school having just begun a few weeks back, we're starting to get more and more folks asking about senior photos. Thankfully, I just so happen to have an offering from my most recent outdoor shoot!

Senior Photos

The Senior Portrait shoots include 2 hours of shooting, up to 4 locations of your choice, extensive post processing, a CD with 15 high resolution originals, and gallery credit to purchase prints of your photos straight from our high quality printers.

Thanks for reading!

-Jason

Ajmal & Najia's Wedding

2010-10-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

Evening all,

So, as it turns out, I was blessed enough not only to have the chance to shoot Ajmal and Najia's engagement party, but they had me back for their Wedding Day!

Now despite being a rainy day, we were able to get a lot of great shots! We'll be doing the pre-wedding shots (so to speak) at a later date, so this won't be my last time with this wonderful couple. Ajmal and Najia really bring a lot out of each other and I'm definitely looking forward to getting to work with them again. Next time on a more relaxed day, no less!

I gotta tell ya, I'd love to see some more of the traditions I saw at this wedding in some of the others I do. Dance battle and bribery for the cake cutting knife? Yes, please! And the cake was beautiful, I've never seen one with the fondant done up like fabric before.

Have a look!

The Wedding Day

Now I almost forgot-- this was Hannah's second time assisting me on a wedding! She got a lot of the great shots you see here and really helped with capturing a lot of the cute candids that happened throughout the day. Thanks again, sweetheart!

-Jason

The Quinceañera!

2010-04-24T20:46:00.000-07:00

Howdy all,

I had a really fun day the other day. I got to shoot my first Quinceañera! I've been friends with the Powell family for just a little while now, so it was a huge honor for me to get to do this.

The Service

In addition, I ALSO got to take over one of the rooms to set up a photo booth. It's not too often that I had a job that requires I bring my lighting set up with me, so this was a lot of fun to do!

Poses!

Until next time.

-Jason

A walk in the park

2010-03-13T03:20:00.000-08:00

Morning all!

Well, it's not often that I get to go on a good walk and get some shooting done, just for fun. However, today, I had the distinct pleasure of getting to go and shoot with a buddy of mine. Thought I'd share some of the results, we managed to get some really good shots today!

Goin' on a walk

I'll admit, I COMPLETELY walked right past those flowers at the end. Didn't notice them until Shane pointed them out. Good thing he did, easily one of my favorite shots from the day ended up being of those!

-Jason

The Missionary

2010-03-10T23:14:00.000-08:00

Howdy folks!

Well, today I had the pleasure of doing a shoot with a buddy of mine. Ryan is a missionary with City Central Missions Base out here in Tacoma. Like many missionaries, he has supporters that he updates from time to time, and so we went out today to get some shots of him and Tacoma.

The Missionary

Until next time.

-Jason

To Arms!

2010-03-03T16:01:00.000-08:00

Howdy everyone!

I've got a bit of a request to send out. I recently sent in an entry of mine to the PDN Faces contest. Now the contest itself is judged by a panel, but there IS a people's choice section, and I'd love for some help in getting the votes in.

So if you'd be interested in helping a fella out, you can see the shot I submitted here. Voting just requires an e-mail (As it's one vote per e-mail), and I'd really appreciate your vote. :)

Cheers!

-Jason

Walls looking drab? No more!

2010-02-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

Evening all!

I've begun offering fine art prints on my website. It's a collection of the most popular pieces I've produced over the years, now available for purchase as high quality prints. Many of these pieces have won awards, been published, or simply been requested as prints at one time or another. If you've been considering an artistic purchase, or just plain need to liven up your home, go and have a look!

Fine Art Photography by Jason Comerford

-Jason

Not Quite Harrowing

2010-02-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

Gather 'round friends, have I got a story for you!

This Thursday, I got the opportunity to shoot some portraits for Skookum, a company based here in Washington that's devoted to providing jobs for folks with various handicaps or disabilities. One of their employees out on their Fort Lewis branch, Jimmy, just recently won a very prestigious award and so I was given the distinct honor of getting a few shots for the upcoming ceremonies and celebrations!

I got to head out to Fort Lewis (First time I've ever been on a military base, to be honest) and meet up with one of Skookum's reps, Marie, and head out to check out their workshop and meet Billy. Admittedly, I was a little freaked out about having to go on base, given how involved of a process it can be. At the Skookum garage, I was met by some of the friendliest people I've ever met, and I got to meet the man of the hour himself.

Billy's one of Skookum's mechanics and works pretty darn hard at maintaining a lot of the vehicles used on base. It was an honor to get the chance to meet him and a pleasure to photograph him! While I was there, I also had a chance to meet a few of the local managers and was able to get some good shots of them as well. More in the gallery!

Skookum Shots

A pretty good day, all said and done. I DID manage to drop my 24-70... not fun hearing that sickening sound of cracking glass, ESPECIALLY in the middle of a shoot. However, only the filter on the front was broken, and so I was able to remove the broken glass and keep shooting. The Canon repair center in Irvine is now giving it the once over to make sure everything's alright and still in alignment. Again, all things considered, that's a good day in my book.

Hope y'all have a good night and are enjoying the weekend!

-Jason

Photoshoot with the Gals

2010-01-17T22:42:00.000-08:00

Evening everyone! Hope you've been enjoying the weekend. Last night I got together with my gal and some of her friends and roommates and did a photo shoot. I've begun to learn and experiment with studio lighting and white backgrounds, and these would be the first fruits from that learning process. Have a look!

The Ladies

Aside from the space limitations we faced, this was a lot of fun! We had access to the biggest room in the house and so I was able to try some different things with the lighting. I'm hoping I'll get another chance to try this soon, and in a larger space.

Thanks again to my willing models! You ladies did an excellent job and we ended up getting some great shots!

-Jason

And a Happy New Year!

2010-01-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

Morning one and all! It was a busy December and I haven't had much of an opportunity to show you some of the sessions I've been doing amidst all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Fortunately, with the holidays over, I now have a bit more time to share what I've been up to.

Click here for photos

I got to spend a week out in Southern California with my family for Christmas, and while out there, a family friend's granddaughter happened to be visiting. Some photos were requested and we got to spend a few hours visiting and getting some cute shots. The above has some of my personal favorites.

I also got the chance, a few weeks ago, to go on a walk with a buddy of mine and has gal friend. More just for fun, the four of us got the chance to just walk around the park, talk, have some fun. (And meet the bravest squirrel I think I've ever seen)

Park Photos

It was an extremely busy month, but I'm glad for the reprieve the new year has brought. Looking forward to more work as the month goes on!

Explorations in Lighting

2009-11-21T20:28:00.000-08:00

Howdy all!

I thought I'd share with you some of the lighting experiments I've been trying out. Was reading some blogs the other day and decided to try my hand at constructing a cheap lightbox. I managed to scavenge a cardboard box, some tape, and a white piece of drawing paper from around the house, as well as some tissue paper from the local Walgreens. What you're seeing cost me less than $5 to make. (I used my studio lights to provide the lighting)

Click here to see the results

-Jason

The Peterson Bunch

2009-11-16T23:00:00.000-08:00

Good evening everyone!

Got the pleasure of spending an afternoon doing a shoot with the Peterson family. They're quite the bunch! It was raining on the afternoon of our shoot, so went over to the Point Defiance Zoo and got some photos on the indoor carosel.

Click here for the gallery

It was a real honor to get to shoot their family, and a real joy as well. I hope I get the chance to continue photographing them in the future.

Reminder: I'm still offering low holiday prices on my portraits for students and families, go have a look at my rates if you're interested.

-Jason

Fall Specials

2009-11-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

Announcing the fall specials for this year, I'll be running a special rate for students in the area as well as family holiday portraits.

Have a look!

-Jason

Time with the Boleys

2009-11-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

Evening all.

I got to spend part of my Sunday with the Boley family shooting some holiday photos and shots of the family together. We had a lot of fun shooting around some the local plant life in the area!

Click here for the gallery

-Jason

Grant & Marta engagement photos

2009-11-08T11:58:00.000-08:00

Howdy everyone!

This being my first post, I thought I'd kick things off right away with a look at some of the work I've been doing lately. I just recently did an engagement shoot for a buddy of mine and his gal. The Rose Garden at Point Defiance turned out beautiful!

Click here for the gallery

Congrats Grant & Marta!

-Jason