Kamee June Photography

is anyone else shocked that it’s early september already? one more month and it’s holiday time. i sat down to look at my calendar and realized that there were some big events coming up for kamee june and my family as well. it’s going to be a great fall! ;) let’s kick october off with another california kamee june workshop, shall we?

it’s going to be really cool. come. i would love to have you!!

i like mini-serieses on tv. i like most books that run in a series. i love  a series of unexpected surprises.

keep reading. i have one for you!

it’s almost time for my first set, in a series, of side kicks with kamee june (thanks for the name idea, rhonda!! shout out to, YOU!) my plan is basically this: i will be offering two side kicks a month a technical side of photography and also a how-to side. one week technical. one week how-to. they will be intensive: instruction, demonstration, and a fully-stylized shoot; 2-3 hours total. (FYI: EVERYTHING YOU SHOOT AT THE SIDE KICKS YOU WILL BE ABLE TO USE IN YOUR PORTFOLIO BUILDING!! side kicks are smaller than a workshop, more intimate, so everyone will be able to have pole position when it comes to shooting.) and of course a q/a on the topic of the side kick. and probably dinner afterwards if anyone wants to eat something. ;)

the first side kick will be on sept 17th, in corona, california (location details to follow). its topic? the basis of all photography? light.

we will discuss open shade, back light, side light, front light, over-head light, and night-light and how to adjust  your settings, and yourself, to get a great exposure shooting in all types of light. we will also discuss which light is best for certain subjects and how to make light work for you!

1st in a series of technical side kicks with kamee june: light

when: friday, september 17th, 400pm-730pm (this one will be longer so we can observe and shoot in different types of light. also, if anyone is interested we will break for dinner let it get really dark, and then shoot around in night light, just for fun.)

where: corona, california location tba

how much: $195.00 (your side kicks pass includes: instruction time, a fully-stylized shoot designed to help you build your portfolio, and a few goodies to take home. dinner is not included in your tuition.)

registration for these will be limited, like i said, my goal is to keep them intimate. if you are interested, jump on it.

it’s going to be…en-lightening. pun. totally intended!

the first in my series of how-to’s will be how to shoot families. we are gearing up for the holidays which means christmas card season; family photographs are upon us. :) this side kick with discuss what i do to help my families be comfortable, how i get them positioned, and what works to create natural images of a family enjoying time together.

first in the how-to series of side-kicks with kamee june: how to shoot a family

when: friday, september 24th 500pm-730pm (i’ll for sure eat after if anyone wants to join me.)

where: corona, california location tba

how much: $195.00 (your side kicks pass includes: instruction time, a fully-stylized shoot designed to help you build your portfolio, and a few goodies to take home. dinner is not included in your tuition.

once again, registration is limited.

trying to think of a good family pun. i am at a loss. anyone? bueller? bueller?

and now the unexpected surprise! the first person to register for both premier side kicks will get a complimentary pass to come to my next workshop in california on oct 2nd. ;) surprise!!! now go! get your register on!!!!

i am looking forward to these side kicks, the opportunity to build a greater photography community, and the chance to meet all of you!! would love to kick it!! hope to see you on september 17th and 24th and the 2nd of oct at the big workshop (details and registration for that to follow.)

as parents i know we wish a lot of things for our children: good friends, success in school, to be part of winning soccer teams ;), to find happiness and joy in this life, to have health, to have a strong sense of self, and to be comfortable in their own skin.

the second you birth a child there is a mantel placed on your shoulders to do all you can to make sure they are given all need and, within reason, what they want. there is a great responsibility to ensure they are loved, nurtured, and protected.

but accidents happen.

and invisible bullets fly. and make contact.

this is a story of hope.

several months ago i taught a workshop in arizona. my friend joy found a perfect family to be our models for the shoot. i corresponded with angie, the mom, via email before the workshop date to learn a little bit about them so i could go into the shoot with a concept of who they are. she shared their basics and then told me that she was most concerned with her daughter, kaelie, and how she would react with all of the cameras. kaelie is quiet by nature, shy, and happiest drawing and playing quietly, alone. i had an immediate affinity for you, and since she has been close to my heart. after the workshop she sent me a letter in the mail with a picture she drew; it’s on my corkboard in my office. i smile and think of her fondly, every time i look at it.

i have been thinking of her a great deal, lately.

kaelie was in a terrible accident a few weeks ago. one that left her skin riddled with severe hot water burns.

angie and justin’s responsibilities as her parents have heightened. everything they needed to do before for her is still present, but now they have an even greater challenge of first helping her heal, and second helping her find comfort in her new skin all while reminding her that her nature is divine and her spirit one of a new-born lion.

i love this little girl. very much. and i love what she is fighting for right now: comfort and acceptance of what happened and what will be.

kaelie was released from the burn unit last week, but the journey ahead is still uncharted.

what is charted is that she has a family who adores, supports, and loves her. i am certain her parents have wished her ailments on themselves a hundred times over. i have not doubt they have prayed away her pain, pleading it be transferred to their shoulders. i know they would trade places with her without thinking, because she is a part of them, in the heart of them.

some things are going to have to change, but the fact that they are her strongest support system will remain constent, her true north, from here to the indefinite.

kaelie will heal; i know it. she will also someday be able to show a tremendous amount of empathy to another person who will experience something similar to her. that’s how i make sense of things that happen that are non-sensical. we need to feel understood. one day she will make someone feel understood and accepted because she has walked and lived the path before them.

many of you have heard me share about my friend joy she too is friends with the tarver family and has worked tirelessly to put together a benefit auction in kaelie’s honor and to help support the funds for her recovery.

if you have a product or a service you would like to donate to the silent auction please head on over to facebook to the “we support the tarver family” page and click on the like button. then add your contribution, gift certificate, product, etc. to the discussion tab. if you aren’t on facebook then you can email your donation to joy at joy.grainger@gmail.com. 100% of the proceeds will go to the tarver family.

the auction will be open for bids starting august 23rd-27th and the live event will be held in kaelie’s home town of surprise, az on august 27th. 100% of the winning bids will be placed directly into an account through bank of america, established in kaelie’s name. if you would like to just make a monetary donation you can go to any bank of america, tell the teller you want to make a deposit into kaelie tarver’s account, and it will happen.

if you want to bid on an item you will need to either be present at the event or on facebook.

1. under the picture and decription of the item on facebook, put a “photo comment” that includes your  name and your bid.

2. keep checking to make sure you are the highest bidder (donation will go to highest bidder, not the last bidder)

3. once the bidding closes all winners will be notified august 28th and  items will be shipped within one week or vendor contact will be made to set up appointments,etc.

if you have any questions please email joy or tarverauction@gmail.com.

i hope she knows she is loved. i hope her family feels it too. i hope she knows she is going to be ok and that this life will still offer her everything is was going to before. i hope she continues to draw. i hope to see her soon.

i hope her heart is happy.

thank you in advance for any contributions you are able to make to the fund to help this little one heal. i am grateful for your generosity and i know they are too.

kaelie, i am hugging you, right now.

dear tarvers, each day is new. each day will get better. love and support to you all, kamee

things to buy list:

milk

bread

new pair of shoes

great new lipstick

delicious baked good

TICKET TO KICK IT AT THE SEPTEMBER 3rd, DENVER WORKSHOP

we are less than a month away. time to go for it!! thanks for all of your emails and interest; i can’t wait to meet you all. i am looking forward to everything we have planned for the day. it’s going to be incredible! hope you can make it!

i’ll be in denver for the whole weekend and have a bit of time for family portraits; please contact me at kamee@kameejune.com if you are interested in booking a session. i look forward to hearing from you!!

just a few pretties from these two…remind me to tell you what i need to buy for them:

enjoy some shopping!!! have a great day, kj

i promise no one was hurt in the creating of this image.

i also promise alcohol was not involved. if you don’t believe me ask my closest friends; they will swear to it. this is just me, well, being, me, peace signing it all over the place.

photo credit for that one goes to amanda and her trusty disposable camera. you should attend a workshop just to meet her and be photographed by her; it’s an experience of a lifetime.

the irony and hilarity with this next image is so profound.

photo credit: joy, super star, grainger

all jokes in my pockets, for a minute at least, i loved the california workshop. the day was filled with everything i had planned it to be an so, so, so much more. the end felt like the final day at summer camp; you know when you make all these incredible friends with whom you have so much common, and you have to say goodbye to them not knowing when you will meet again and with them not knowing if they will ever know how much they meant to you during that week, or for me, during that day.

one of my favorite feelings is connection, on any level, and i feel that that happened for so many of us at the california kj workshop. it was an incredible day!!

photo credit for the next three goes to sweet, and hysterical joy. come to the next workshop just to meet her. ;)

it was an incredible day filled with inspiration and education, advice and fried rice (i wish! i just needed something that rhymed with “vice” ;)), friends and phenominal photographs.

this just being one of them:

photo credit again, to amanda. i see second shooting in your future a!! for sure.

i am smiling thinking about everyone who came out; such incredible people and talent. it was humbling to have all that positive emotion and energy in one room. from my heart, once again, thank you to everyone who came and was a part of the workshop. it took a creative team to get it all together and a group of eager photographers to make it happen. i am thankful for you all and the sacrifices you made to be a part of it; grateful, very grateful. i am so happy to have you as a part of my little community. thank you again for coming to kick it with me!!

and the credits roll, but first another funny.

again, assistant extraordinaire took this, interesting composition amanda. did you crop julie out because she was slipping the salt shaker into her purse? just curious?

seriously now. roll credits.

workshop hostess: kamee june

tweedle dee and tweedle dumb (i am totally kidding, and they know it!!!! :)) : totally rad and incredible assistants and workshop coordinators:

amanda schiavi and joy grainger

valuable packet compiler: bethany graham

little customized kj touches: shannon eberhardt

genius stylings: katrina kirk and diana lopez (both these ladies can be found at hello beautiful salon.)

one of the ladies in this image was a stylist for the workshop. hard to tell which one, i know, but take a guess. i was standing right by her and she didn’t even offer to touch up my hair and make up. the nerve. ;)

we know who to give photo credit to. the amazing flash and image quality gives it away:

models extraordinaire: kara keough and kyle bosworth

and the chino airport for allowing us to shoot on their grounds, and flo’s restaurant (thank you to “flo” and the guy in the salmon shirt for filling in as “extras”! ;))

i have two regrets. only two. we failed, again, to get a group picture. arghhh!! AND the shoot was just a little too easy for all of us. because these two worked. it. out.

photo credit: joy, non-disposable user

i have a strange obsession with world war ii; the whole era actually. i am fascinated by all of it. i knew when katrina and i checked out the air field that i wanted to do something with that vibe. she and diana took the idea and made it happen. the airport couldn’t have been a more perfect setting for the feel of the shoot.

once again. regret two: they made it way too easy for us. (i was actually so pleased that everyone walked away with such incredible images. ;))

photo credit: joyyyyyeeeeeeee

perhaps my favorite. perhaps.

when we visited flo’s i knew we had to shoot there. when they told us we could, i was beside myself.

i also knew that i wanted to have two looks. due to some circumstances beyond our control we didn’t have as much time to shoot the second, but i did love the subtle nuances between the two looks:

photo credit: danger grainger

it was for sure the best day in june. without a doubt. i would love to relive it if i could; my memories help with that. thank you again, to everyone for making them excellent memories.

a few reviews and more coverage from the day:

kapua grenz photography

michelle peterson photography

julie rollins photography

wendy kathleen photography

sarah nicole photography

rhonda bowman photography

another heartfelt thank you to everyone who attended, shared, contributed, and was involved in the workshop; i am so thankful to you all.

AND NOW…some important dates!!

SAVE THE DATE!!

there will be another kj workshop held in california on OCT 2nd. email me to reserve your spot (kamee@kameejune.com). registration for it will run the closer we get. if you know you will be able to come let me know a head of time and i will save you a seat.

i will also have information for my side kicks (thanks for the idea rhonda) coming soon. these will be mini-ultra-mini workshops that cover an aspect of photography. i will have two a month, two hours each. each one will have a full shoot and you will be able to use all of the images in your portfolio. details and registration to follow, but put  SEPTEMBER 17th (lighting: how to maximize all types of light) and SEPTEMBER 24th (how to: shoot and work with families and kids). there will be limited space available so if you want in, think fast when registration rolls.

AND FINALLY… the denver workshop.

i am going to be in denver on business in early september. there was some buzz over a colorado workshop so we decided to make it a reality.

here’s the skinny:

the date: september 3rd, 2010

the location: the heart of downtown denver, colorado (details to follow)

the plan: the workshop will be split into two sessions to accommodate more photographers and their individualized interests.

kickin’ it in morning style

geared to the photography enthusiast interested in knowing what all the buttons mean and how to take a great picture; the photographer who is interested in a refresher course or perhaps a new perspective to fuse with a current one; all parents who want to take better pictures of their kids’ little league games, dance recitals, sleeping faces and bubble baths.

the morning session includes:

three hours of instruction time (9:00am-12:00pm), a full shoot, and some surprises i will have waiting for you. the class time will include my perspective, what i shoot with, how i shoot it, the way i shoot it, basically how i see things and where my inspiration comes from. i’ll cover some basics: lighting, equipment, and composition. i also plan to discuss several tips to help shoot a successful exposure of any subject. the morning session will also include two full kamee june’d  stylized shoots in totally rad downtown denver, and of course a q/a session.

kickin’ it  into the afternoon style

geared to the seasoned professional photographer; the photographer interested in starting a small business, and the junkie that wants to perfect his/her post processing prowess.

the afternoon session includes:

the class time will include ideas for marketing, branding, blogging, post processing tips and hints from photoshop, a few surprises, and of course a full q/a session; ask me whatever you want; i’ll disclose! ;)

you can choose to kick it just in the morning or kick it all day and soak it all up. the thought of shooting in downtown denver has me all giddy, like a school girl. it’s going to be incredible. right now we are planning two shoots: a family and a couple. it’s going to be incredible!

i grabbed this photo from kapua’s blog. credit to fabulous her:

the investment:

the morning kicker: $275.00

the full-day kicker: $445.00

your tuition includes instruction, two fully stylized shoots (perfect for adding to your portfolio), snacks, and a few goodies and surprises. plus the opportunity to add to your photography community by meeting new people and rubbing shoulders with other incredible creatives.

note: meals will not be provided by the workshop. we will have a break for lunch and you will be able to grab a bite at a local venue. we will also extend the day by having dinner together afterwards if you would like to join us. neither meal is included in the day’s tuition.

come! join us! it’s going to be another great day, i would go as far as to say the best day in september. i’m just saying.

reserve your seat by clicking below or fire me off an email if you have any questions or thoughts (kamee@kameejune.com). a full list of hotels and accomodations will come later. for now…

BUY YOUR TICKET, to KICK IT!

ticket to kick it

morning kicker $275.00 all-day kicker $445.00

i would love to meet you!!

photo credit to kapua, again. ;)

once again. completely sober. just me having a great time with my new friends. if you come to the denver workshop you can insert your faces here, next to my crazy one! i grabbed this image from kapua’s blog.

here’s to denver, get ready for us, cuz we’re coming.

we call her tina fab. and she has always been special to us.

this woman balances the world on her pinkie. and she does it with charisma, style, humor, compassion, patience, and love.

we call her fab. her children and her man call her beloved.

more from their family- minus one (tina fab’s man is serving our country in afghanistan)- session soon!!!

speaking of fab….this landed yesterday! totally made me feel so special!! thanks to all those who nominated me and to the maternal lens for the shout out on their blog! felt so happy to have been featured here !!! thank you again, so much!!!