outside your comfort zone

i was trying new things and it was taking too long
i wanna go with what i know
so.

i duno how i feel about that actually

it's good to go with what i know
but creativity lies in the unknown...
try new things
make new things
see new things
change things
create
motivate
move
change

greatness is outside your comfort zone.

Rick Marcus - Environmental Portraits

I had read in Professor Rick Marcus' bio that back in the 70's, a bus accident in Afghanistan had turned his life around. I was immediately fascinated.

So. Moments after meeting him, as we walked from his office to our first shooting location, I asked what was up with his experience in Afghanistan. Naturally.

He quickly shared how the bus was overturned, he was unconscious for days, and when he finally returned to the States three weeks later, his smashed face had healed wrong and they had to break and reconfigure something like 57 bones. He said his face is disfigured. I said he looked great. He disagreed.

Nice, smooth start to a shoot, I thought.

So I took in a breath, had him sit down, and let the ambient light of the library glide across the curves of his great face. I let the intensity of his gaze guide me at first, then I took over and his face softened and we created some nice images together.

And I really do think he looks great.

Real Estate Photography, and planning...

One of my shoots from last week...a beautiful estate in Anaheim Hills. The decorating is incredible, and what's more, is that the owner did it all herself. She was a wonderful woman with whom I enjoyed chatting as we went from room to room. I want her to come decorate my house. And make my house bigger. And build me a pool. And get me a pool guy to take care of it. And maybe another car to go in that extra garage space...or a Vespa...green, with a yellow helmet...










If you're interested in this property, contact Julie Loeb. She's great!

SF - What do you see?

It'd be safe to say I had a long week last week.

I started out at Escalate Live 2010, shooting the live video feed for Mission Visual. So for any of you that might have signed on to watch it streamed live on the internet, you were watching through my lens. Kinda fun, I think.

But more than fun, it was an incredibly insightful and motivating couple of days. Some of the speakers totally blew my mind, and two of them touched me very deeply. I'll have to expand on that impact further, later.

But it definitely kicked me off to a week of better vision. Escalate, 12 hours of solid and stimulating conversation with a good friend, getting to know better a new good friend, missing old friends, some good wine with more good friends and all the while, hustling for Lovato Images and making 14 clients and subjects completely satisfied...all opened my eyes this week to bigger and better things. The grass is definitely growing a little greener.

I woke up early on Saturday morning to drive back for a beautiful engagement session and this was staring at me through my lovely Haight apartment. I was exhausted. I still kind of am. But honestly, the grass in my yard is a little greener, my skies are a little bluer, and my work as an artist, business owner and friend is slowly but surely getting better and better. I see it that way, anyway.

But it's really all about how YOU see things. So what do you see?



Thanks again for the hospitality, Dave and Nicole. Looking fwd to spending more time with you guys soon!

Morgan Page - Portrait Photography

A good friend of mine referred me to one of his clients a few months back when he was out of town. There's nothing more rewarding than knowing that a fellow colleague trusts me to take care of his clients and then being given the opportunity again.

So Gabe at AM&S called me up again to shoot Morgan Page with their Allen & Heath Xone:Dx mixer. I don't know much about the machine or the industry for that matter, but Morgan, Gabe and I collaborated that Tuesday at Morgan's studio in Glendale to make some sweet images for AM&S and their pr.

And if you haven't heard of Morgan Page, check him out. He's doing some really amazing things.

Lovely Lana - Maternity Portraits

I've known Lana for a number of years now, and the little beauty never ceases to amaze me with her warmth and endless positive energy. When I asked her how her pregnancy was going, she shared a few aches and pains but smiled and finished with 'I'm building a baby...I'm building my best friend...it's an amazing process and I'm cherishing every moment of it.' My eyes watered up and my hairs stood on end as I appreciated the miracle glowing in front of me.

And I do appreciate maternity and the graciousness of my clients for opening up to me during that special time. It's not always easy, it's not always comfortable, it's not always fun...but for just an hour or two, sometimes just a moment or a few, these women, these beautiful women, look into my lens and let me in.

And Lana! Oh, the sun shined on her that Saturday in Anaheim Hills. And she shined right back.

And I suppose it's only fair to say that Omar was equally as awesome. After a beer and thirty minutes in front of whatever good game was on tv, he was ready to roll. Thanks, Omar and Lana, those two hours were way too fun!

All Good

I haven't posted in over a week, and I feel strange about it.

There's been a lot going on, 'I've been busy,' I've been working, I've been learning, I've been relaxing, I've been doing yard work (planted some sunflowers and sweet peas!), I've been caring for my dog, I've been shooting and editing and pushing images out the door every day. This is all good.

I took a break from Twitter and Facebook and marketing and my blog and reading other blogs and researching and my finances even email unfortunately and pretty much everything that involves me and my computer...except for uploading, editing and sending proofs and prints out to my clients. This has been refreshingly good.

The last two days I shot the live video feed for Mission Visual at Escalate Live in Newport Beach. It was an amazingly rewarding 16+ hours of drama, insight, innovation, vision, compassion and growth. And I shot it all. This was life-changingly good.

For now, I'm off to San Francisco tomorrow for 7 editorial shoots in the next 3 days. So. Blogging and Twittering and Facebooking and emailing and all that jazz that I've been lagging a bit on the last week or two...will...continue to lag. I'm going to be busy creating amazing images of amazing people in that amazing little city. This will continue to contribute to the good.

Beautiful blog posts to come. For now...me...t-minus-5-hours til departure...still to pack...still one more print order to push out the door...still waiting for the day that I really start to figure this all out...but it's all good...

Chef Katherine - Portrait Photography

Last week I shot portraits of Chef Katherine for her website. She is a chef who is starting her own private chef and catering company. And she is beyond fabulous.

I've known Katherine for many years, but it's only been in the last few years that I've gotten to know her more and I've got to say, this lady is a joy to be around. She's refreshingly warm and honest, with others and with herself and she's got a laugh that's contagiously cute. Needless to say, I enjoyed this shoot.

And I'm looking forward to enjoying watching as her business grows. She can chop a zucchini like it's nobody's business and if she handles her business half as steadily as she handles her knife, Orange County's in for a treat!

LinkedIn - Marketingish - Orange Photographer

Lately I've been working a lot on marketing with a specific focus to my online presence. Your referrals are always amazing and have helped my business more than you may know, but I need to reach out beyond my network. People need to find me without knowing any of my contacts. So the Lovato Images SEO is a little less than fabulous, but I'm getting there!

I just put a slideshow on LinkedIn...but I'm not sure I have it right. It's not loading when I look at my profile page. Does it load/work for you?

Jackie Lovato LinkedIn profile

Here's what it looks like anyway...!