Copyrights vs Usage rights/permission | Kendra Jean Photography

I have been wanting to get this typed out for some time now, but just haven't sat down to do it! It is a very common question that I see and hear: "Will I be getting all the copyrighted images" and lately seeing it alot on (new) photographers pricing, "Disc of images with all copyrights included"!!

So I am going to explain Copyright a little in hopes of clearing up some of the confusion in my little corner of the blog world.

First off:

Copyright (noun)- the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (as a literary, musical, or artistic work. 

A few thoughts about Copyright:

Just because you purchase a print, does not mean that you have purchased the copyright.

Copyright owners have the exclusive rights to their work, but they can authorize others to use their work.

Unless you have permission from the photographer, you can’t copy, distribute, scan and print, publicly display, or create derivative works from the photograph.

Copyright infringements (reproducing photos without permission) can result in civil and criminal penalties.

So to put that all in an even simpler way, if you hire a photographer that says you get all copyrights, that means they are giving up their exclusive rights to those photos, and they become yours to do as you please. And the photographer has to ask for your permission to use them in any way. WHICH, I don't believe any experienced Portrait/Wedding photographer would ever do. Maybe in a rare or occasional circumstance, and in those cases the photographer would be charging a pretty penny to give up all their rights to those images. 

On the other hand, most photographers that offer Digital files would give the client a Print Permission, or limited Usage license which would allow the client to print/reproduce those files. There are photographers that even still do not offer their digital files at all, but I do offer the digital files and along with those files, you will receive the Image Usage license that will give you the permission to bring those files and print the files in any size/amount for your personal use. All the other copyright rules still apply since I still hold the copyright to all my images.

So that hopefully explained the difference between getting the copyright to images, or getting a permission to print the images! And if you see a photographer offering full copyright make sure to ask them if you are in fact getting that ;)

So there you have a little clarification on whether or not you are getting the copyright, or a print/usage license along with some pretty pictures that I have taken from here and there :)

Here it is! | Kendra Jean Photo Class

I have been thinking about this for months and one of my goals for my business is to teach 1-2 classes a year!

It is funny because when I was a little girl(even all the way up to 5th grade!) my mom was buying us chalkboards to hang on our walls. And we would go to the school AFTER school was out for the summer, to visit our teachers while they were cleaning/organizing for the next school year, and they would give us grade books, papers, books anything they were getting rid of! Then we would have a blast for the whole summer teaching and playing school all summer! I still dream of the days that I could possibly be a teacher, either in a elementary school or a college!

In the meantime, I am going to teach what I already know to you guys that want to learn! I am so excited to be offering this and I know this class will fill up fast, so register today before the low early registration fee goes up to the regular price OR before the class fills up!

This is my first ever class and I am so excited to do this! Also, anyone with a DSLR, or any type of camera that has the option of using fully Manual mode is welcome to attend! I have a Canon, so will be primarily talking about the Canon features, but if you have Nikon or any other brand, you will still learn and you will have your manual to follow along :)


Use this button and buy your seat today! Please make sure to leave me your name/email/phone in the message box when you are purchasing your spot. Once I have received your payment, you will get an email from me confirming your spot!

I still have not decided on a Location for this class, but will let you know in an email the exact address! But I do know that it will either be at my home in North Phoenix, or another home in North Phoenix! And I know it is a little over a month away, but if you have been wanting to learn about your camera, don't wait! Or else you will put it off, forget about it, or whatever and remember too late, after the price goes up or it's full :)

I can't wait, I am so excited and could hardly wait to get this posted!!  

F.A.Q's | Back Button Focusing | Kendra Jean Photography

When I first learned about Back button focusing using the * button on the back of camera, it was a little frustrating! I was so used to using the shutter button for focusing/shooting. So when I stopped using it for focusing, it took a few days to get used to the fact that I had to focus with my thumb before I could take the picture. Now I just love it! It becomes so natural, that it is almost weird to not use it while shooting:)

In these pictures where the subjects are moving. It is a lifesaver! For this one, I just focus on the chest area where there is the most contrast.

And this one with kids running all over, again I can stay in sharp focus!


Here is how to set your camera
1. Go to custom function 4 and set it to setting 1. (setting 0 is default)
2. Turn your AF setting to AI Servo.
After you get your camera set. You use the * button that is on the top right corner of your camera


I love it! Give it a try and see how it works for you:)

F.A.Q's | Skin Tones | Kendra Jean Photography

This is totally based on your own personal style. My style is to be more towards the natual look and not too overly processed. Over the last 6 or so years, so many post processing styles have come and gone, so many new actions, or new whatever. They get over used and in a couple years or less they die off. I will admit that I did fall for alot of the overly used editing styles, one being selective coloring! I can now look back and say What was I thinking! That is how I have found my style, by trying and discarding certain things.

So with the skin tones, I use this handy little slider in Lightroom...

Sliding each one according to the direction I want to bring the image.


This one, the before is just a tad cool for me, so I slid the temp up a bit.
resulting in...


This image is a little too cool, too much magenta...

So a little to the warmer side, temp slider and a little less on the tint slider


this one again with the reddish tint, and too cool for me...



Looks so much better just a tad warmer!


Here is another example of an inside image. The image was far too warm...


So a few minor adjustments to the temp slider, to make it a little cooler worked wonders!



So there is just a few examples of getting more natural looking skin tones! If you have a specific question you would like to ask, please do and your answer could turn into the next F.A.Q post! It can be about anything you are curious about, not limited to certain areas!

F.A.Q's | Backlighting | Kendra Jean Photography

When I am shooting your portrait session, or your Wedding, I am always looking for the perfect spots to take advantage of backlighting! I love the effect it has on images, and I love that I can control how much "flare/haze" to have or not have.

Take these two for example, on this first one, we have the haze coming onto their faces...


And with a little repositioning, I got the haze out of the image!


When doing this type of shooting, the sun is behind the subject and I like to have a tree or other object behind them as well to diffuse the sun just a little. (but it works without as well)

With this one, the sun is coming in directly under their chins...

I still like that images, but again with me repositioning, I eliminated the sun from between them. And got this crisp image.


A couple more examples of how my positioning affects the amount of haze/flare coming into the image.


I also love the glow and the fact that it somewhat separates the subject from the background by getting that nice "glow" around the subjects heads!

When using the sun as backlighting I typically will overexpose a tad, to get their faces correct. This sometimes will leave some parts of the hair blown out, so you need to practice and find the balance.



P.S. Dont forget about our Mini Session Deal! See details here

F.A.Q's | Lightroom | Kendra Jean Photography

I have been asked what editing programs I use, so I decided to use my last session and show you a couple examples of my editing. I do the majority of all my editing with Lightroom, and I love it! Super fast and organized. I love being able to go through my whole session/wedding and rating which ones to keep and than going to work on that folder with only the ones that I kept. So quick. I love being able to click through the pictures with the arrow keys, moving sliders with the arrows etc. Open up a picture move a few sliders and move on to the next image. My workflow goes so much faster since Lightroom! I do still use Photoshop for some minor fixes if necessary or to do some more cropping. But, very little is done in photoshop.

Here is one image SOOC...


And this is after with a few minor adjustments on the sliders!


Again, the before...


and a few quick slides!



So quick and easy, I love it!

These are a couple images that needed a little more work than I typically do. Shooting in manual, using back button focusing, and trying to stay away from the flash, I try my best to get my images correct while shooting to save time during editing. But this day, the sun decided to stay hidden for most of the time behind some pretty dark clouds! with a few peeks of sun here and there.

I just love that I am able to adjust each photo so quickly! Stay tuned for a separate post about adjusting your Skin tones.

If you have any specific questions that you would like to see blogged about, DO let me know! What would you like to see blogged about?


Also, don't forget to take my Blog reader Survey HERE!

F.A.Q's | Wall Collection sizing | Kendra Jean Photography

Ok, you have your DVD, or you're looking at your online proof gallery, NOW WHAT!! When it comes time to looking through your images, there is always the questions that come up! What to get, what size to get, where am I going to put it! I know, because I have been asked for tips on what to do. So I came up with a couple different wall examples to give you a visual of what to look for.

Most of you are thinking of a couple 8x10s or maybe an 11x14, so in this picture I went a little bit bigger. These are Fine art Canvas Prints that are 12in.x15in. and 8in.x12in.

BUT, why not go a bit bigger and get this! these are Canvas Prints that are 24in.x30in. and 16in.x24in! What a difference

Same thing in this one, an 8in.x12in. and a 12in.x15in,

And this one in bigger sizes, these are a 16inx24in. and a 24in.x30in.!


This is a great visual, the 8x10 or even 11x14s look so much bigger in your mind! So, when ordering prints, you can always send me a picture of your wall that you are thinking about hanging your collections, and I can help you decide on sizes.

(these may not be exact, because I got the room images off of google and I have no idea how big the wall space is! but the proportions of the different sizes are accurate:) )


Also, don't forget to take my Blog reader Survey a couple posts down!

What to wear for a portrait session | Kendra Jean Photography

I always get the same question, What do I wear on the kids? How do I dress them? So I did a quick idea board for boys/girls. All of these outfits were found on Old Navy, Gymboree and Gap. These are just a few very quick finds, their is such adorable outfits for the kids, just look around. You don't have to go shopping either, get some ideas online and dig in the closets. I also, suggest that you bring a few different things that we can do a quick change.

I always say dress them in fun, comfortable clothes that the kids can run around in! The kids don't have to be super matchy-matchy, in white/khaki or all denim/black etc. I like the added color in the photos, you can have fun outfits that are not all the same, but still all coordinate together.

Girls are always so much fun! Bright dresses, pretty sandals/hair bows etc.



Boys have few selections, but still lots of cute outfits:)


Hope this is a little help! Another thing I try have you stay away from is big logos or overbearing images that will take away from your kids faces!

Remember too, you can bring multiple outfits to the sessions. I also like when the parents bring fun props for the kids/babies, like the favorite blankie, the teddy bear, the skateboard, any fun little meaningful item that you would somehow want incorporated into the photos.

Some card designs

Here are Christmas card designs. You can use one of these layouts, or a few different designs can be made and you would pick your favorite.






This one can be a flat or folded as well.

Seeing each other before the Ceremony....

Here is a little history of the tradition of not seeing each other before the Ceremony:

Years ago when arranged marriages were the only way to go, the brides parent's wouldn't allow the bride to see the groom before the ceremony. That was just in case she thought he wasn't very good looking and she would run away before the wedding ceremony.

So, this kind of takes away from the need to not see each other before the Ceremony.

Here are some good reasons why to see each other before:

- the bride is a lot more relaxed after she sees her groom.

- we don't have to worry about playing hide and seek with the groom before the ceremony.

- we take all the photographs before the ceremony so the couple, family and guests all get to the reception at the same time.

- we have natural light to get great images of the bride and groom together unlike when they get married at 6 and the sun has already set after the wedding. we normally get a couple flash pictures of the couple standing in front of the church and then they get rushed off to the reception.

-I believe that people hire me for my ability to capture the bride and groom on the wedding day and we get more pictures when we have the time before the ceremony with the natural light. Where as after the ceremony when the guests as well as the wedding party, are ready to get to the reception. In those cases we get rushed, and the creativity is limited as well as the number of images captured.

- the couple gets to see each other alone for the first time, instead of in front of all the ceremony guests.

-They can say things to each other and hug like they wouldn't be able to if they saw each other for the first time at the altar.

-The groom will say things to the bride that she will never forget because it was a no pressure situation.

-They wouldn't be able to speak if they were just seeing each other for the first time at the altar.

- the groom normally has a more genuine and breathtaking "look" on his face when he doesn't have three hundred guests staring at him as you walk down the aisle.

- there is 99% less stress on everyone involved in the wedding day.

If you decide to see each other before, here is how it works:

-We keep the couple separated until they are fully dressed and ready.

-Once the bride is ready we send the groom to the front of the ceremony sight (or anywhere on the property) and have his back towards her with no one else around if you want the privacy, then when we tell him to turn around and take his first look at his beautiful bride, in her stunning dress.

-This is where the magic happens. Tears, beautiful words and relief hit the couple.

-The bride and groom are no longer nervous and he was able to see her walking down the aisle as he always dreamed.

-I take a few images from the sidelines so the couple can have some privacy. When they are ready we go photograph them privately and then start the wedding party and family pictures.

Hope this helps with the planning of your day!

Coffee table Albums

Our beautiful coffee table books come in a variety of soft leather covers and multiple sizes. You can choose from different colors, with/without photo cut outs, or full cover photos, your names stamped in the covers, etc... These albums are flush-mount style and are completely designed by me and printed and bound by the album company. Each design is unique, and different from the one book to the next.

Here is the process for designing and ordering an album:
-First, you can make a list of your favorite images, or must have photos.
-I will then start designing the album, using most or all of your images. At the same time adding ones that I think will add to the album. Once the design is finished, I will place it online for you to look over.
-While you are looking it over you can make photo changes. (keep in mind, horizontal for horizontal and vertical for vertical!) You can also add pages if you would like at an additional charge. The most common is a 20 page album.
-After I make the changes I will put the design online again.
-As soon as you approve the album and decide on final cover options, I will place the order!
-Depending on how fast the above steps go, your album can take an estimated time of 4-6 months after your wedding to get the finished book.

Here is one of my newest ones in a soft cream leather and a photo cut out in the center. It is a 10x1o with 20 pages it.

The pages lay flat when the album is opened and there is just a small seam in the middle. Therefore, you don't have to worry about the pictures becoming creased and eventually, possibly tearing in the center.