This year still isn’t over and while it’s been one for the records, we can still bring some holiday cheer and close it out strong!

I’ve rounded up the best Photo Gifts for all of your loved ones that I offer my clients everywhere. All items ship nationwide and I’ve also added in pricing so you know what they cost upfront.

All photo keepsakes are made with quality in mind and ship worldwide. But hurry because, after November 30th, it’ll be harder to get your gifts delivered on time.

Make sure that you’re looking at size, style, and what will give you more value for your money. I’ve highlighted some tips and products below!

---

The size you print has an impact in how your final photos will look. While it might seem like a 16x20 print is large, depending on your wall, you might have to go bigger or with a few different sized images to fill up your wall.

I can help you plan out your gallery wall so that your images make a huge statement in your home and fit perfectly with your home decor.

---

Get matching frames and print sizes that work well on any wall! Choose a mix of 3, 4, or 5 gallery frames.

---

The perfect gift is this wooden photo printed box that holds up to 100 photos inside. Get all of your favorite photos in a 4x6 or 5x7 custom wooden box.

---

If you want to gift a little mix of everything I have you covered! Print collections save you money and offer more value.

---

View more of our holiday products:

PIN THIS FOR LATER

11x14, 8x10, and 5x7 prints (frames not included).

Getting wall art for your home can be a little overwhelming and sometimes the images can be too generic or too expensive!

Which is why I’ve curated some of my most popular images and set up an affordable Wall Art Shop! Photos are printed on high quality professional archival photographic paper - which is a fancy way of saying the photos are printed on really great pro paper and made to last.

Bring the beauty of the outside, inside starting at $15 for printed photos and $35 for high-resolution downloads of selected images.

We can’t get outside right now but you can enjoy beautiful photos from nature that will help you stay calm and bring in great energy into any room.

I’ll be adding more images as time goes on. I’ll also be adding limited editions so that you are getting a one of kind image!

Family Sessions Post Covid

How we’re going to create meaningful portraits in Puerto Vallarta

When we were ordered to lock down a couple of months ago, I didn’t want to believe it. But in an effort to help, we stayed home. Either way, flights got canceled, sessions got postponed and cancelled, and everything I knew as a photographer has been on hold.

There is light at the end of the tunnel friends: we’re coming out of lock down soon and eventually, life will have to go on in a new way, but it has to go on.

I am grateful for all of my clients that have reached out and supported me all these years in giving them something irreplaceable.

It has meant the world to me in so many ways!

But the real question remains once we open up the beaches: what are sessions going to be like now?

Much the same, actually!

I usually photograph sessions alone and so risk is reduced. I also tend to keep a good distance from clients because we want to get as much of the beach as possible! Even with close ups, I’m a good 10 feet away.

I have and will wear a mask. Especially for families with children and adults over 60.

All booking and delivery of images are done online now anyway so that will remain the same.

I will only photograph immediate families that are traveling together. This breaks my heart so much because I absolutely love multi-family sessions!

Now more than ever I believe that photography is not only important but it’s absolutely ESSENTIAL.

I believe in capturing your family. I believe in creating something irreplaceable.

I believe in giving you the most meaningful souvenir you’ll ever take home with you.

If you’re planning on coming to Bucerias, Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, and surrounding areas, let’s book your family session.

We don’t know what the future holds for us, but we can make the most of it now and create meaningful memories that last a lifetime.

xoxo,

Jackie

Here’s the thing, when digital came around in the photography world, it was new and cool and instant. It was something you could share out in the big world wide web and it seemed sooo cool.

But what can’t be ignored is that these portraits, they get stuck on a disc, USB, or sometimes don’t even get downloaded.

Old school film studios had it right: PRINT YOUR PHOTOS.

And it’s making a HUGE comeback.

“And it’s been proven. Scientifically when you see your loved ones in photographs displayed in your home, it makes for a more unified and happy home.”

Canvas gallery wraps pictured above

This means that all that time you spent researching, scheduling, going to the session WORTH IT. It will mean that your family, your memories, are appreciated all through out your home and for generations to come.

Framed prints

We’ve all been there - researching, scheduling, going to the appointment, and then walking away having to do more work than we intended. And let me tell you, Costco printing doesn’t cut it either. Those lines you see in the engineer prints means it’s not top quality.

Which is my long way of saying that as of August 1, 2019 I am going to be offering a wide range of Legacy Photo Products that will bring your PHOTOS TO LIFE.

They will hang in your home, they will sit on your desks perfectly framed and printed on the absolute best quality paper, or canvas, your choice!

I work with one of the top leading professional photography printing labs and because of that quality is of the highest rate. Be it albums, frames, prints, or canvases, your photos are Fine Art in your home. Your family, your loved ones, YOU are works of art.

And this means EVERYTHING.

Waking up to photos of your children in the living room hung up happy, smiling, and playful is what I want. Seeing photos of your family splashing in the water or running across the sand framed and hung above your sofa is pure happiness.

And it’s been proven. Scientifically when you see your loved ones in photographs displayed in your home, it makes for a more unified and happy home.

If you’ll like to get a sneak into the lookbook, shoot me an email at hello@jackielamas.com and I will send you a copy. Filled with beautiful legacy photo products to make your photos artwork in your home.

Because let’s face it: Your wall portraits make your house and home.

Walnut famed 20x24 prints in a set of three.

I am so excited to get this off the ground running!

I’ve been thinking of starting a newsletter for quite some time (ahem, like years, but who’s keeping track anyway), and when the whole fiasco happened with Facebook and their apps today it made it more concrete my decision to start a newsletter.

Social media was/is a fun way to connect and be inspired by my clients and photographers all around the world. I loved sharing the new and exciting things happening here at my computer desk, because let’s face it, that’s where all the work really happens, ha ha!

I also know that many people who come to the blog aren’t active or even on social media so I’d love to connect with everyone. I have always liked the idea of newsletters though. I just feel like they are a more direct way to connect with YOU.

I’ve chosen to send out the newsletter monthly because I think it’s more doable for me as far as work. I also think that getting an email once a month is comfortable for most people and I never want to feel like I’m spamming your email!

I’ll be sharing recent blog posts, images from sessions, inspiration, links to the current photography articles that I’ve written, and just general news from Jackie Lamas Photography!

Sign up below to get the first newsletter coming out April 2nd!

*UPDATE: I am still photographing family and weddings here in Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, San Pancho, Conchas Chinas, and surrounding areas! Contact me for more info if you would like to have more info!*

If you follow me on social media, especially Instagram, then you'll see that I've been freelance writing for a couple of photography websites. I do this in addition to my photography business which I absolutely love.

I love writing tips and tutorials for other photographers on both Digital Photography School (known as DPS) and Expert Photography. Both sites are great resources and as a fact, I used to go to them often when I first started to get help with photoshop!

It's been so nice to share what I have learned through both trial and error and real-life experience out during weddings and portraits with other photographers.  I used to feel like I didn't have much to share because I was a digital photographer and was young, and well, many other excuses that didn't really make sense. So one day, I decided to apply to write and here I am! With more than 10 articles written and it doesn't seem like I'm going to stop any time soon!

I wanted to put these links somewhere other photographers could find them so I'm putting them here on my blog with the tag Photo Articles so that if anyone ever needs to find them, they can use the search bar to the right of this page and find this post.

Thank you for your continued support in both my photography business and sharing these articles that I have worked hard on. And if you're a photographer and would love to chat about anything and everything photography, send me an email or find me on Instagram! I'm always open to share and talk :).

DPS Articles:
Visit my author page (by clicking here) to see all of the articles in one place. Currently, there are 9 articles that range from portrait, maternity, family, beach, flash, budget photography tips, and more.

Expert Photography Articles:
Tips for Lighting Environmental Portraits
25 Tips for Amateur Wedding Photographers
Tips for Maternity Poses
Engagement Session Tips

There are so many resources out on the web today with helpful tips and timelines and checklists.  But no one ever admits that these brides are usually first time brides!  As a bride, it's tough to start the planning process let alone create an entire itinerary for a 16 hour day.  Yes, you read that right, 16 hours!  It's a long day and most people don't realize that it goes in flash and so many beautiful moments happen in the blink of an eye.  

View fullsize

This is probably the most asked question I get during a client meeting.  

The answer: at least two hours.  

Sounds like a big chunk of time out of your day?  Keep reading to see why you need those two hours on your wedding day.

1.  HAVING A BUFFER

During your day anything can happen.  Anything from arriving late to not having your makeup and hair done at the set time.  Or maybe you simply needed to eat breakfast, shifting the timeline back 30 minutes.  In which case, I'm completely all for it.  I rather have a fed bride rather than a hungry bride and 30 minutes less to photographer her.  Anyway, as you can see, there are so many unforeseen things that can happen during the day and having those two hours in reality turns into one and half hours or *gasp* one hour.  

A real story: I once had a bride get to her portraits an hour late.  Rather than sitting around and waiting, I was able to move the itinerary around and photograph the groomsmen first and some family portraits.  This way, I was able to move that hour to after the ceremony and create some great photos for my clients.  If I didn't have a buffer, we may not have gotten so many images from the wedding.  

Having a buffer to allow for amazing photos of you and your hunny is indispensable. As photographers, having that wiggle room helps us to really take our time in framing, posing, and letting us roam the location for great light and unique spots.  If we're running behind, then I need to work quickly on my top 3-5 spots and bang out the photos and create something amazing.  And get you to the church on time!  If we're ahead of time, then I know I can experiment more and create something that's different, unique, and maybe toy around with ideas that otherwise we wouldn't have the chance.  

2.  ALONE TIME

Your day is full to the brim.  Full of wonderful moments, family, friends, and everything inbetween.  What your day doesn't have a lot of is ALONE TIME with your hunny.  Most brides don't realize this until the day of.  Between getting ready with your girls to the infinite line of hugs after the ceremony, your day is filled with people.  And while this is the whole point of a wedding - sharing with friends and family- you have to share the day with your hunny too.  

It doesn't matter if you're doing the portraits before the ceremony or after, having this alone time is so important for the two of you because it'll be the only time you'll have truly alone.  

Seems selfish?  NO WAY!  Having your guests there to celebrate with you is important, however, being able to relish in your love together for a moment, all alone, while taking some crazy beautiful photos sets the day apart.  When you look back on those photos you'll remember being alone.  You'll remember how it felt when that photo was taken, all the excitement and love toward one another.  Photo after photo will make you want to go back to those two hours when you kissed with tender love.  Just the two of you.

3. MORE PHOTOS

Needless to say, having enough time for just the two of not only makes you feel more excited, it also lets the photographer take their time.  I love to take my time creating something unique and timeless for my clients.  To take all the love they have for each other and make it tangible through photos.  Which also allows for more photos of the two of you.  Gone are the days of your grandmother's wedding portrait - standing together holding hands facing the camera and smiling.  

Having this amount of time lets us explore, go places, experiment, and have fun!  And who doesn't want to have fun on their wedding day? 

More time = more photos.  More ways to remember and relive your wedding day over and over again.  

---

Now, don't worry, I usually take care of the itinerary for my clients since it's probably the last thing they want to worry about.  I make sure that everything runs smoothly and we can get the amazing photographs that my clients want.  Don't let anyone talk you into having less time for your photos.  It's important not only for alone time, but for having a buffer, and creating more great photos of the two of you!  

After all, your flowers won't last and your dress will go into storage.  What is left are your photographs making your wedding unforgettable.

Did you like these tips?  Share them with a friend or comment your tips below in the comments section, I'd love to hear your thoughts!  

Happy Saturday!

The morning of your wedding can set the tone for the entire day.  I've compiled some tips so that you have a great morning full of laughter and happiness while you get ready to walk down the aisle and say I Do to your soul mate.  

These tips also help your photographer capture the day beautifully with lots of details so that you don't forget how you felt that morning.  That's what is so great about photography, it really does capture the feeling of your day and when you look back, you can relive those feelings again and again! 

1.  GETTING READY ROBE

Having a special robe while you're getting ready makes the day even more special.  A special robe makes the whole experience feel like a spa and creates that spa like atmosphere! And if you can get your bridesmaids to participate with getting ready attire, then it feels like you're all at the spa together enjoying and taking advantage of being pampered.

View fullsize

2.  GET READY IN A HOTEL 

Getting ready in your home can be a more cost effective solution, however, getting ready in a hotel room can take away the stress of having to clean up after and coordinating everyone to get ready in your home.  The photos in a hotel room are also much prettier as they always have great window light and decoration.  They also provide lots of spaces to photograph you, the bride, by herself in beautiful settings without.

View fullsize

3.  HAVE EVERYONE DRESSED BEFORE YOU GET DRESSED

This tip is so important when it comes to your photographs.  Having your bridesmaids and your mom, and who ever is going to get you ready be dressed and ready to go.  Everyone looks beautiful and there is nothing to distract from the moment of getting their friend ready for her big day.  It's special and only happens once, and when everyone is ready the photos are effortless and beautiful.  They also look great inside of your album to help tell the story of your day.

View fullsize

4.  THE NIGHT BEFORE IS IMPORTANT TOO

This is technically the night before but can affect your day in so many ways.  Drink plenty of water so that you are refreshed the morning of your day.   Try to do a relaxing activity and allow all of your thoughts to float away.  Stressing out about any last minute details of your day can really wreck your mood the next day.  

View fullsize

5.  DON'T STRESS 

Don't stress out about anything on your day.  In my experience, something always goes awry on the day of... can be anything from traffic to having less time for your photos.  These things happen and it's better that you don't stress.  Take on the day knowing what is most important: vowing to love your soulmate!  That is the real reason why you are up and getting ready for your day.  When you take on the day without stressing about the day, you will enjoy every moment of it and it'll show in your photographs.

View fullsize

I hope that these tips help you when your big day comes!  Don't forget to have some bubbly as well! 

Back in 2009, I bought a template website.  It was perfect in all of it's new flash glory... But something incredible started to happen and my website became an issue.  Mobile devices began to dominate navigating the web and smartphones became the new audience.  Accommodating my flash website for mobile devices meant more money and a sub-par web presence on a 4" screen.

Fast forward to October of this year, I was in need of a new website and I began researching for a company that would offer a beautiful website with the capabilities of being as beautiful on a smartphone or tablet.  And this here is what you see now.  

Did you know that over 60% of my visitors daily are visiting on a mobile device? That means that more than half the people who visit my website everyday are doing so right from the palm of their hand!  

Let's look at some real numbers...

In the chart above we can see that only twice since my website has been mobile friendly, has there been more desktop visitors.  The rest of the year has been primarily from mobile devices!!! Check out the month of May, mobile users account for 72% of the visitors that month.  The biggest difference to date!  It's only the second week of June and we can see that 67% of visitors are through a mobile device.  

You might be saying to yourself, "Well, that's all good but why does it really matter?"  

1.  INCREASES EXPOSURE

You might not realize it but people are attached to their smartphones!  If they need something, they use an app.  If they need directions, they use maps and GPS.  If they need a question answered... you guessed it, they use Google right from their phone.  We use our phones for everything now and with bigger screens, we can appreciate bigger pictures and more content.  

Having a mobile friendly site can increase your exposure among clients that otherwise you might have not been able to reach.  Not everyone gets on a desktop computer everyday to check Facebook.  No, they do it right from the convenience of their mobile device.  I use device because it could be their smartphone or tablet.  Could even be Apple TV.  

Now imagine that someone shared your website onto their Facebook.  What happens next is incredible, people begin clicking on the link to view your portfolio online.  Wouldn't it be nice to reach all those people every day with a site that streamlines from desktop to mobile without skipping a beat?  You bet it's amazing.  

2.  YOUR PORTFOLIO IS ALWAYS ON HAND

I don't know about you but as a photographer, I have often found myself at a dinner with friends and the begin to ask about my work.  Rather than handing them a business card, I whip out my phone and launch my website.  I show them the galleries, allow them to browse through the blog, and let them play with the site while we're having dinner.  Instantly, I have connected with a potential client.  This actually happened once and I was able to convince a bride of booking with me.

Another great example is when I do hand out a business card and the client jumps onto the website minutes later.  What they see is a seamless connection between my business card and the branding of my website.  They are able to stay a while and check out the different galleries.  Instantly, they have become a potential client.  

Having a person wait until they jump on a computer to view your website is like putting money in a pocket that has a hole in it.  You lose potential clients because they won't remember later, they won't write your website address down.  What they will do is look for you on Google and Facebook and from there connect to your site right from their table at Starbucks.

3.  Google 

Google has begun to penalize websites who are not mobile friendly.  If that isn't cause big enough to make you get a mobile friendly site, then I don't know what is!  Regardless, Google is onto something big.  They are aware that most of their users are connected through a mobile device.  Google is aware that having a site that is ready for any device is crucial to its users.  What happens when you open the browser on your phone and Google something?  It gives you exactly what you're looking for:  Google's rapid search results with the same branding that Google has on desktop computers.  

I'm not sure whether penalizing websites for not being mobile friendly is a good thing or a bad thing, but I do know that what they are trying to accomplish through this new strategy is going to move the future of websites.  Make sure that you don't get left behind!

If you need to check if your website is mobile friendly enough for Google, click HERE to find out. 

---

Don't lose exposure because your website is not mobile ready.  You could be losing more than visitors - potential clients!  Use the link above to check on Google if your website is mobile friendly and stop losing potential clients now.  I know this completely changed the way visitors connect with my photography and me!

Happy Friday my friends!
 

This post won't quite be the usual list of 5 tips.  However, this will be a long list of what you should be doing when you are photographing a wedding.  Each photographer goes about their process differently and it really depends on how you are setting up your photography business. 

In the time that I've been photographing weddings, I've learned that the following checklists are good to skim over from time to time.  Helps us in not making future mistakes, which let's face it, we're human and can occur at any time!  

Make sure you click on each photo to download your own copy :).  

Pre-Wedding

So you booked a wedding, I'm very proud of you! But now you're freaking out because you're second guessing your skills.  You're most likely going to be up all night thinking of the worst case scenarios, like the bride's zipper is going to get stuck, or you are going to drop your camera, or one of a million things.  Do not fear, this checklist is going to help you get through the night and sleep like a baby.  Well maybe not like a baby, but at least more soundly and without nightmares.

---

---

Wedding Day Photo Checklist 

The wedding day can be even more stressful, especially if you are new to the wedding game. This little guide will help you through the whole day.  This is a general guide as wedding timelines can be different from one event to the next.  Make sure that you confirm the DAY OF timeline with your clients so that you know when and where to photograph each moment.  

What is most important for your clients is what you should be photographing.  It's common to read that you should photograph for publications, photograph for your blog, photograph for the album... While it's good to keep all of that in mind, getting what your client wants is the top priority.  Make sure to do this during client meetings (which is a completely separate post).  

Before even picking up the camera, make sure you arrive at least 1.5 hours early.  This helps to make a plan and get a good idea of what kind of light you're working with, the location, and introducing yourself to the make up artists and anyone else in the room.  

---

---

So that's all for the tips feature this time!  

I am also putting together an e-book for wedding and portrait photographers... it's going to be full of information and how-to with lots of tips for the new or even seasoned photographer.  What kind of information would you like to see in the e-book? Write your thoughts in the comments below!