Hello my long-lost loves! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was lovely & warm. I'm excited about a big project coming up in the new year and I need your help finding awesome families to model for me!
I'm looking for families with children ages 0-5 who are available in late January or early February for a photoshoot in San Jose. To be considered, please email me with a few photos, contact info, and the age of the child/children.
"What should we wear for family photos?" I get asked this question every time I book a family photography session. I have lots to say about this, so I thought I would put together a little post for y'all. The boys are asleep, it's Monday night, and Pinterest just isn't cutting it tonight. So you're in luck- Here are a few tips to make your family look naturally awesome.
Tip #1- Keep it Simple. This is the nice way of me saying no words, logos, brands, characters or pictures on your clothes. Not even a little logo by the chest pocket of your shirt. Logos and designs are super distracting. And you'll be much more pleased with your photos over time if you're not a walking advertisement. Solid is probably best, stripes are totally ok, and patterns are sometimes ok if done well.
Tip #2- Not too Formal. Be yourselves! Think about wearing a slightly nicer outfit than you usually do. Also think about the location… you don't want to be all dressed up if we're taking photos at the park. You don't want to be all dressed up if we're taking photos at your house.
Tip #3 Color. Please don't get all matchy-matchy on me. Think about coordinating different shades of a color, or similar colors that compliment each other. I would choose your outfit first- I'm making the assumption that you're the mom reading this ;) and then help with your spouse (if necessary… some dads can totally rock this out on their own) and kids (see Tip #4). It's so important for everyone to be comfortable in what they're wearing and generally speaking, the moms are usually the most self-conscious and critical of themselves. So make sure mom is super happy in her outfit. (Feel free to get your hair done… I feel downright amazing when I take the time to go to Drybar and get my hair all done up smooth and right).
Tip #4 Getting your kids to wear what you want… Ahhhhh, this is tricky, right?! Guess what? You can't make them wear something they don't want to. If you have a little fashionista or a stubborn love bug, let's keep the kids happy and give them a choice of 2 things. Give yourselves enough time to get ready so that you don't have to rush the little ones and make sure everyone is fed before the photo session ;)
Tip #5 (optional!) Shopping. Again, totally optional. You can definitely minimize your cost by planning around what you already own. But if you're looking for something new, I'm generally pretty happy with Anthropologie, Zara (kids, too), J. Crew (crewcuts!), Flora and Henri, Olive Juice Kids, Kidscase (euro alert), and Mini Boden. My super favorite splurge clothing companies for kids are Fith (sold at Cotton Sheep, SF), Neve and Hawk, and Wovenplay. Cool online retailers for kid clothes: Thumbeline, Estella, Poppys Closet, Little Vida, and Trommpo.
That's my list. Hope this helps… is there anything you'd add? Share any other ideas in the comments. Here are a few photos from a photo session last year for some inspiration.
I'm fresh off the plane from Palm Springs and the Camp Mighty event and I'm super proud to let y'all know that I've already unpacked my suitcase. Boom. I'm nearly certain that I've never unpacked my bag on the same day as returning from a trip. Heck, I still have a bag half-unpacked from a trip a few weeks ago. I even had a baby with me so I deserve double points because I unpacked his stuff, too. Generally I'm a bit scattered. But Camp Mighty was such a nice retreat for me. While it was a work trip (official photographer, holla!) and I had my baby, I loved every minute of it. And loved all the attention that my super sweet baby got. He was a champ, for sure, and deserved every bit of that attention. Special thanks to my friend, Angela, whom I brought with me to enjoy the event and help a bit with the baby.
I went to Camp Mighty last year (blog here, here, and here) and loved the motivation and inspiration it brought into my life! Here is a great description from their website: "Camp Mighty is Go Mighty in real life…an annual retreat for bloggers, Go Mighty members, online content creators, and life list enthusiasts who want to do good for themselves and for others. Each year more than 150 people attend Camp to trade ideas, gain motivation to start new projects, and find the support that can help make things happen." Here's my Go Mighty list of things I want to make happen. And here's my Life List on my blog from last year. Here are a few photos from my jammin' awesome weekend.
Soundtrack to this evening's post: M.I.A. & Supertramp
my super-trooper Camp Mighty baby!
Larry (6 Word Memoirs), Maggie (Go Mighty), and Piper (Orange is the New Black) taking a very proper self-portrait (ooh, I have a hard time saying 'selfie'). Larry founded the 6 Word Memoir Project and his shirt rules: "Our prision visits were surprisingly romantic."
My pal's 6 Word Memoir:
"Quit job
Found love
Reinventing life"
"Are you taking a photo of my wife's leg?" And then I was instant friends with Leah and Simon from agirlandaboy. Love them!
Anna Dorfman, of Door Sixteen, talked about how Life Lists really aren't her jam. She showed us this rad Chuck Close video. And yes, she's just as cool in real life. I was too shy to talk to her. Damn, Kate! UGH.
Just in case we didn't think Palm Springs could be any more gorgeous, we were treated to an amazing full moon!
Mid-Space Party, Lori decides to go for a swim instead. She is stunning. The End. We can all go home now. 
Leah & Simon spacing it up!
We all wrote 5 goals we want to accomplish and posted them on the back wall. We were encouraged to read others' goals and leave notes if we had ideas on how to help them accomplish their goals. But a few, very special tags just had lovely words of encouragement and they made me so happy!! My list can be seen here. I think I'll write a post about my 5. Because I need help. And accountability.
Closing dinner by the pool. Yes, please.
And this is me, carrying my sleeping baby around. Tamara (@TamVanHorn) said something super rad to me on The Twitter today:
@jetkatphoto is the epitome of "strong enough to bear the children- then get back to bidness" #campmighty #whoruntheworld #Girls
thank you, thank you. Luckily, I have the most wonderful baby and he makes it easy. 
Best "business card" goes to The Paper Mama. Chelsey nailed it with these wooden rings she handed out.
And then we checked out of the Ace and came on home. Lickety Split. Cheers, y'all.
I was delighted when Shilpa emailed me to ask me to come photograph her family! She has a 6 week old baby, and almost 4 year old. Everyone was so happy and giggly. We did some photos at their house and some at the park across the street. Here are some of my favorites.
