R & J Photography - The "Blog"

Getting Married?

2009-06-24T12:15:00.004-05:00

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We offer many custom options, payment plans and over 20 years wedding photography experience... Give us a call today or email us at weddings@rjphoto.net

Diva in the making...

2009-05-18T23:33:00.004-05:00

We have known and worked with Briauna since she was little. Her mom is our original "Diva" but Bri is a model in the making and has claimed her own title of Diva as well. Recently, she won every category, including the Supreme Queen title, in a beauty pageant and we couldn't be more proud!! We haven't seen her in a while though, so we decided that a photo shoot was long overdue and met her at one of our favorite spots today. The images shown here are just a few of our favorites. And Diva, as you read this, know that we love you to pieces!! And we hope that you enjoyed having time to play with us every bit as much as we enjoyed it... Just do us all a favor and stop growing up so quick!!

John & Irene - April 24, 2009

2009-04-27T00:05:00.011-05:00

Robert and I attend New Hope Church in Manvel, TX. A couple of months ago, one of our pastors approached us, asking if we would help him and his fiance with some Engagement portraits and then talk about their wedding needs.
This is a 2nd marriage for each of them, so we also did a session with their new blended family.
Images from both of these session were then used in their custom guest book.
We were excited to be a part of John's and Irene's special day! Photographing the wedding of a pastor of a large church, however, we knew that we might need a little extra help so our friend Chris Kemski of Parkway Photography came along to help Robert and I make sure that we could provide the coverage needed. Thank you for all of your help, Chris!
The wedding day started out well. It was beautiful outside and everything inside was coming along nicely. The bride and groom were both pretty relaxed and eager to get to their vows. Irene and the girls were mostly ready when they arrived, but John and the boys got ready at the church. To make their day even more special, John's dad officiated the ceremony and their 5 children served as attendants. Jay, Griffin, Olivia, Julia, and Elena did an outstanding job and even had their own vows to repeat during the ceremony, promising to help their family be strong and grow together.After the ceremony, there was a small reception at the church for all in attendance. Realizing that the beautiful afternoon weather had turned into a torrential downpour outside, most of the guests enjoyed a little extra time to congratulate the newlyweds and socialize.
Coffee was provided by Starbucks and cake was served for all present.The wedding party, family, and some of John's and Irene's closest friends then proceeded to Joe's Banquet Center in Alvin, TX, for a really nice dinner reception. The room was relaxed and the food was good. It was a special night for John and Irene and they both glowed as they went from table to table thanking their guests for being a part of their day. Towards the end of their night, they shared a first dance together and then a special moment as their new family joined them in a group hug to finish their dance.John and Irene, thank you for allowing Robert and I to be a part of your amazing day! We were honored that you invited us to share with you and witness this special time for you and your new family! To view the entire wedding click here...

KSBJ & Michael W. Smith

2009-03-18T18:09:00.003-05:00

Chick-Fil-A and KSBJ (Houston's Christian radio station) bring various recording artists to our area monthly for "Brown Bag" concerts that are free to the public. Today, to celebrate their 10th anniversary of their "Enter His Gates" program, they invited Michael W. Smith to give a concert. There was a HUGE turnout and we had a really good time. A little sunburned, but good time nonetheless. Thank you to Chick-Fil-A and KSBJ for the opportunity!!!

Today's M.C. - Tim McDermott, KSBJ's General Manager:

The crowd:

And the star of the show, Michael W. Smith:

Keila and AB

2009-03-17T21:03:00.006-05:00

OK... It's been a while since we've really done any serious blogging, but we have some fresh stuff to share that we are excited about. A couple of months ago, my niece referred one of her best friends to us for her wedding photography coverage. Keila and AB ended up booking us to do both their Engagement Session and their wedding and we were honored to be invited to share in this important time in their life!

First, we met them at the Woodlands Mall a couple weeks ago for their E-Session. They chose to do their session at the spot where AB proposed to Keila - I thought that was SO romantic! The three images below are the favorites that they chose to use at the wedding for their framed signature matte:

THEN came the big day - last weekend, Robert and I had the pleasure of witnessing the event with all of their friends and family. They chose to keep it small and intimate afternoon affair, again very romantic. Robert doesn't always shoot with me these days, so I really enjoyed his help this time. Between us, we worked hard to capture all the details and all the moments. He's still processing much of the wedding day images but here are some of our favorites:

A romantic moment overlooking the lake:Their first dance...
Details...The Hands...

A Day in the Flowers

2009-03-06T08:46:00.008-06:00

The wildflowers are coming! The wildflowers are coming! We are starting to see SOME wildflowers pop up - bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, Indian blanket and pink evening primrose. It is still just a bit early, but if the warm weather stays, the next few weeks should be great for wildflowers.

Stay Tuned for more about our annual "Day in the Flowers" sessions...

YES, we did!

2008-11-07T11:50:00.002-06:00

Change CAN Happen! Thanks to all of you who helped us support Barack Obama in his fight to the White House... FINALLY, the people have a say... No more GOP, business as usual! Things are about to "CHANGE" Congrats Barack!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-31T03:23:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Pickles and Ice Cream

2008-10-29T20:50:00.004-05:00

Today we had the privileged honor of capturing one of the most special moments in one of our dearest friends life. Krystal and her wonderful husband visited with us and enjoyed a delicious snack of "Pickles and Ice Cream" Stay Tuned for baby pics soon...

Wings Over Houston

2008-10-29T20:46:00.002-05:00

Well I FINALLY did it... I was able to FINALLY photograph the Thunderbirds. Kathi and I have been attending the Wings Over Houston Airshow for over 20 years now... Seems that every time the Thunderbirds are set to fly in Houston, something always comes up. Bad weather, 9-11, Illness... always something... But not this year... the weather was PERFECT... the birds flew in all their glory! It was a beautiful site and well worth the wait!

Heather and Richard : WEDDING

2008-10-05T23:27:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, I had the privilege of working another wedding with Joe Heiliger. I don't very often have the opportunity but I enjoy it when I am able. He and I work really well together and our styles compliment each other REALLY well! Last weekend was no different. Joe and I worked together to capture wedding memories for Heather and Richard, starting with their wedding at the Family of Faith Lutheran Church.
Coming from England to work in the Houston area, Richard met Heather on the job. As the best man told us during his toast, they tried to be discreet while they were in the office but everyone there knew - how can you deny the giggles and the flirty looks that were being exchanged? As their love grew and the decision to marry was made, their friends agreed that this was a match made in Heaven.

Heather has a passion for butterflies. Her favorite ring was a big butterfly that rested on her right hand - I've never seen anything like it before, but it was really pretty! And I believe it was her father-in-law that she said made the butterfly that is affixed to her bouquet. It was a really sentimental piece for her and I thought it was just gorgeous!

Between the ceremony and the formals, Joe and I followed the limousine for a few photo opportunities on our way to the reception at Courtyard on St. James. Following a Rolls Royce around town is a tough job, but someone had to do it! :D Here are a few of my favorites from the photo opps:

Hurricane IKE

2008-09-17T11:37:00.000-05:00

HURRICANE IKE UPDATE... WE ARE STILL WITHOUT POWER AND UNDER CURFEW. AS SOON AS THESE PROBLEMS ARE FIXED WE WILL BE BACK UP AND RUNNING... PLEASE FEEL FREE TO LEAVE MESSAGES AND WE WILL TRY TO CHECK THEM AS WE CAN... THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT AND PRAYERS AND KEEP THE HOUSTON AREA IN YOUR PRAYERS AS OVER 2 MILLION PEOPLE ARE STILL WITHOUT POWER/WATER...

Hurricane IKE

2008-09-11T03:02:00.002-05:00

Brazoria County, Chambers County and Galveston officials issued mandatory evacuation orders Wednesday as the models predicting Hurricane Ike's path moved the powerful storm closer to the area as it closed in for an early Saturday strike, KPRC Local 2 reported.

Our Studio is located in Brazoria County so we are closing until IKE has passed. Stay tuned and be safe.

Holiday Portrait Special - LIMITED TIME

2008-09-04T19:32:00.003-05:00

Can you believe autumn is almost here. That means it will begin to cool off a little and then next thing you know... The holidays will be here... Well in early celebration of the upcoming cooler weather and holiday season we have decided to announce our final session sale a bit early. Call today and book your Holiday Portrait Session today and receive a personal portrait session for you, your family or even your pet. The session will include studio or location time, a custom 8x10, and a $100 credit towards custom designed holiday cards. Sessions are limited and will book up very quickly. Call today and beat the holiday rush! 832.689.5578 or you can reach us via email at Portraits@rjphoto.net

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Sam Harris

2008-09-01T22:51:00.001-05:00

The lastest release from the great Sam Harris...

Heather & Rami

2008-09-01T01:08:00.006-05:00

OK... I know I promised to start blogging more. I kinda fell down on the job a little but I am going to give it my best effort to post more often. To start it off right, I have to tell you about Heather's bridals. We did them a couple weeks ago but, so that Rami wouldn't see them before the wedding, we had to wait until now to post them.

We started Heather's session at the studio - she had seen a few that we have done previously in the studio and wanted to start with them. We then left and went to Paraiso Maravilla in Houston. We've been there several times before and each time we go, it seems even prettier.
Heather & Rami's wedding was actually a couple of days ago on Friday, 8/29. We will post a link to their images as well as a few of our favorites in the next few days after we are finished processing them all :) In the meantime, here are some of the bridal portraits for you to enjoy :)

A new step in life...

2008-08-23T22:29:00.002-05:00

Tonight we had the opportunity to witness our good friend (and model) Jodie accept Christ into her life. New Hope was a buzz tonight with the excitement that Jodie was taking one of the biggest steps in her life. Congrats little sister... We are so proud of you...

A Wonderful Opportunity...

2008-08-20T19:26:00.003-05:00

Today I had the opportunity to photograph our good friend and Pastor Tim from New Hope Church. After a little chatting about our love for restoring classic muscle cars and our cats we headed to the shooting room to create a few headshots... Tim was so easy to work with and we were able to capture some outstanding images.

Olympics...

2008-08-15T21:31:00.004-05:00

OK... I was making a serious attempt to blog every day, come rain or shine. Then it happened. The Olympics. What time we have not spent actually working and processing images has been spent watching our favorite athletes chase the Gold at the Olympics. Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin were stunning last night!! Watching them compete in the All-Around competition... Wow! And of course, who can watch the Olympics and not watch Michael Phelps?? Robert and I both caught ourselves commenting that he is like a dolphin when he gets in the water!! The Olympics are over in a couple days though and life will go back to normal. Then, I promise to be a better blogger! :)

08-08-08...

2008-08-10T03:11:00.006-05:00

Friday night, I had the honor of helping Joe Heiliger cover a big wedding that he had booked. He was expecting 250-300 people to be present at the wedding and asked me to come along to be sure that he had enough coverage. His assistant Laura and I covered all the details and the extra stuff going on so that Joe could focus primarily on the bride and groom.
The evening started at Salem Lutheran Church in Tomball, TX. It is a beautiful church and an awesome host for a wedding! I had to tease Joe though that he'd "better love me a lot" for all that I was doing for him for this wedding - to shoot from the balcony, I had to climb a really tall ladder. I don't do heights, not even a little. But I put my fear of heights aside and faced this ladder, a ladder that went straight up. Normal ladders have at least a 30-45degree angle, right? Not this one. Straight up. Carrying all my gear, I faced it like a real trooper though.

The reception followed a few minutes away at Northwest Forest's "Settlement House". The guests were invited to participate in a photo booth throughout the evening. I've heard about this concept previously but never actually seen one at a wedding. I have to admit, it was a pretty cool concept. During the wedding, the guests are given a 5x7 print with 4 wallet-sized images on it. After the wedding, the bride and groom are then presented with a video of all of the guests during their time in the booth. How cool!

Joe and I took some time with the bride and groom to do a few portraits before the reception started. Near the "Settlement House", Northwest Forest has a replica of the Alamo. We used it to stage the portraits, first with the bridal party and then with just the bride and groom. The bride, from what I gathered, didn't care so much about the "Alamo" as she cared for the doors on the front of the building, so I tried to pull that out in some of the images. The bride had a very definite idea of what images she wanted and that made our jobs easier!

Thank you, Joe, for the opportunity to be there with you! As always, it was a pleasure to work with you, creating images to capture memories for this couple that will last a lifetime!

Helping a friend...

2008-08-07T23:18:00.007-05:00

A really good friend of ours, Joe Heiliger of J.Heiliger Photography, called last night in a panic to beg a favor. He was scheduled to do a commercial shoot for one of his clients today but had a family emergency arise that was going to prevent him from being present at the shoot. Joe knew that if we could help him out, we would. And we did. Rob drove to Tomball today to work with Joe's client, creating the images that the client needed for their magazine cover and article. The client was quite pleased with the results and Joe didn't have to worry about anything other than his emergency. Joe, if you are reading this, let us know how your emergency turned out... and know that we've got your back, brother!!

On a side note, for any of you that are reading our blog, please feel free to comment on any of our posts and let us know what you think. We love to hear from you and promise to visit your blogs and comment to you too!

Surprise!!

2008-08-02T23:18:00.006-05:00

Our 2 boys have been spending as much of their summer at Grammie's as we will let them. They came home today though. It was nice to have them home again! Our church has services on both Saturday and Sunday, so we took them to church in the afternoon. Nick, the oldest, says he prefers Saturday services because they serve pizza and sodas before the worship time starts.

This evening, we decided to surprise the boys and take them to the Laser Light show that we saw last night at the Pearland Town Center. They were having an encore presentation but the boys didn't know that. After seeing the pictures of it today, they were jealous and whining "No fair!" that we had already gone without them. The look on their faces when they realized why they were at the mall so late at night was priceless!

On this day...

2008-08-01T23:35:00.006-05:00

...in 1992, Rob and I were married. We actually started dating 20 years ago but on Aug. 1, 1992, we got married. Now, we look back and say "it seems like only yesterday!" For our anniversary, we decided to do something a little different and went to a laser light show at the new Pearland Town Center's Grand Opening tonight. My parents and a couple of friends, Rick and Lisa, went with us.
It was a really cool show! I have to tease Rob though - I took the camera to try and get a few pictures because he didn't want to hassle with it himself tonight. Poor baby just wanted a break. I took a picture of Rick and Lisa and another of my parents. Those are the only 2 pictures that I took all night. Rob was excited about the show after it started and shot most of a 2gb card. I knew he was going to do that... What has he got to say about it? He just offers a sheepish grin and shrugs.

Busy, busy, busy!!!

2008-07-31T20:51:00.024-05:00

We've had a lot going on lately! A bridal portrait session, two weddings, a seminar, and a whole bunch in the middle. First, we did the bridal portrait session on Thursday (7/24) with Heather. I can't post any of the images yet (sorry, Rami!! You'll have to wait!!) but I promise to post them after the wedding in August. We did a few portraits of her in the studio and then went to the Paraiso Maravilla. We had a beautiful bride, a beautiful location... what more could we ask for?

Next, we covered a wedding on Friday (7/25) for Rebecca and Carlos, 2 awesome friends that I wrote about previously. They had a GORGEOUS wedding and took over VIN Restaurant doing it. VIN is not your traditional wedding venue and in fact, if I'm not mistaken, this was their first wedding. I have to say though that if you are looking to have your wedding somewhere "different", you would love this place! We ran into a lot of friends at Rebecca's and Carlos's wedding, in fact I think ALL the models from Premiere Promotions were on hand to help celebrate! The theme of the wedding was "27 Dresses" and while Rebecca didn't change 27 times, she did change 4. Her bridal portrait was in yet a 5th dress. She kept the guests on their toes, waiting to see what stunning dress she would come out in next. She was definitely the star of the show! For friends and family of Rebecca and Carlos, you may view proofs from the wedding here.

On Saturday (7/26), we had the pleasure of photographing the wedding of Christy and John in Katy, TX. It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding!! We started out at Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church and followed with a reception at Willowfork Country Club. It was the talk of the night that John has liked Christy for 15 years and waited until she was ready to "see the light" and fall for him too. It was SO sweet to see them on the dance floor together - they are SOOO in love!! We are still processing their wedding images and will update soon with a few of them, but in the meantime here are a few from her bridal portrait session a couple weeks ago:

And just for John:
For those of you that don't already know, we often take "2nd shooters" with us to help capture all of the moments of the event. For both of the weddings above, our good friend Carl came along to help. Carl, I could not have done it without you - THANK YOU!!!

On Tuesday evening (7/29), Rob went to David Jay's and Jasmine Star's "Freedom to Succeed" seminar with Carl and Kenneth, two of his best friends (Rob & Kenneth are in the center photo - of course, Rob is in pink). He came home talking 90 miles a minute, excited to share all that he had learned. Among the things that he shared with me were their blogs - they are amazing! I really like what they are doing, keeping it going as more of a journal. This whole blog thing is pretty new to me but I am going to try to do a little something on it every day. Keep checking back to see more - some might be personal, some business, but I promise you won't be bored.

(Seminar photo courtesy of Kenny Kim)

~ Kathi

New E-Session!!

2008-07-13T00:15:00.003-05:00

Rebecca has been one of our best friends for several years. We met her, initially, for a photography assignment that we had (she is a model). We've been there through childbirth,divorce, and a lot in between. Now, we have the honor of being there with her as she marries her soul mate, Carlos. They are to be married on July 25 and we couldn't be more excited for them!! We thought we would share a few images from their e-session that we did last week. Enjoy!

~ Kathi