It all started with the cupcakes. Rachel and a friend had a contest to see who could make the best cupcakes. They invited the neighbors over to be judges. Matt liked the cupcakes, but he liked Rachel even more. Now they’re engaged to be married.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy couples in love and he wants to photograph you. Planning a wedding? Give me a jingle. I’ll catch you on the jangle.
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The winner of our 4th and final engagement session this month is Elyssa S. Congratulations and I look forward to meeting you and your husband-to-be.
And speaking of engagement photography, here’s a quick look at the winner of our first give-away. A full post will follow soon.
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Planning a wedding? We should talk.
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Yesterday a group of photography and design students from BYU-Idaho came to Utah to visit a few businesses in Utah and see how things are done on a daily basis. They stopped at The Mandate Press (smart move) in Salt Lake and came by my studio in the afternoon. It was great fun to host them. Thanks for coming, you crazy kids–what, with your desire for learning and your high hopes and your full head of hair.
When their adviser called, he suggested I talk to them about some things I wish I had known before I started my business and then show them what I do around here on a daily basis.
My message to them wasn’t about photography at all. It was about business. I told them if they planned on working for themselves they’d be wise to spend at least 50% of their time developing their business skills and 50% of their time developing their craft. There’s my golden nugget of truth for those kids. If you’re working for yourself, you must be as good at business as you are at your craft. That’s something that took me a while to figure out.
And just for fun, I sent out a Tweet and asked others what I should mention to the students. My favorite bit of advice came from Victoria Smith who writes the blog sfgirlbybay.com. She said, “It’s harder than you think to make a good picture, but worth every minute trying.” So true.
After we talked a bit, I wanted to show them my process of making a portrait. Nic and Bridgette volunteered to be photographed. So, it works like this. People come to the studio, we chat a bit, I ask them questions, we get to know each other, and then I start taking some pictures. Then I get something like this:
The students asked some questions, I gave the right answers (of course). Then I gave them all a print. They had about 15 different images to choose from, including one of my all time favorite pictures, taken in New Orleans in 2006:
Yesterday was a great day. I love being a photographer and I love talking about photography. I sure don’t have all the answers, but I have some answers and I love to share what I know. If you are a photographer interested in refining you skills or making improvements in what you’re currently doing, I offer mentoring sessions that are tailored to what you’d like to learn. Send me an email if you’d like more information. Alternatively, at this site you can ask me anything.
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Here we go. Engagement session give-away number three. Justin Hackworth Photography is giving away another engagement session so leave a comment on this post before Friday and on Saturday, May 29th, well select a winner.
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Justin Hackworth Photography.
We’re not just making pictures. We’re making history.
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Laura and her mother Elisa were pleasant and happy and great fun to be with. Then they started talking about Mexican food and I started to get hungry, making me miss the Red Iguana in Salt Lake.
Here’s Laura and Elisa, photographed at Balboa Park in San Diego.
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Justin Hackworth photographs families, mother’s and daughters, brides and grooms, and he wants to photograph you. We’re not just making pictures, we’re making history.
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Amy and I had a great time in San Diego last week. One of my favorite things about the trip is that I was able to line up four portrait sessions while I was there and I got to meet some beautiful, fun, interesting, bright folks.
Meet Erica and her family, photographed in San Diego at Balboa Park.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy people and beautiful weddings and he wants to photograph you.
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Rebecca and Jason are getting married in Salt Lake today.
I’ll be there, click-click.
P.S. I love my job. Care about getting stunning images of your happy day, give me a jingle, I’ll catch you on the jangle.
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La Jolla, California
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I don’t know how long I’ve known Jamie. A year, for sure. Maybe two. And I think every day she gets more pleasant and lovely. So I had a great afternoon, photographing her and Aaron for their engagement pictures. We took these pictures in Provo, but the wedding next month will be in Salt Lake. Oh, man, it’s going to be a lovely affair. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the Conley family knows how to throw a party.
Fun fact: I photographed Jaimie’s sister Lindsay for her bridal portraits last year as well as her wedding.
I wish this family had more daughters. Is that ok to say?
And now, meet Jamie and Aaron, soon to be wed.
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Justin Hackworth photographs people in love that are young or old and he wants to photograph you.
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I used to work in a parking booth. It was called The Firestone Parking Booth, but we called it the John Wilkes Booth Memorial Booth, just for laughs. Sometimes people would call, mistaking it for a Firestone tire store. I’m ashamed to admit I once took an appointment to rotate a fellow’s tires. I told the guy on the other end of the line that when he brought his vehicle in, if we were busy, just tell them that “Craig” said it was ok. Shameful, I know. But you do a lot of stupid things when you’re young.
People treat you different when you work in a parking booth. Who cares that you have hopes and dreams and someday you plan on leaving that parking booth to make a name for yourself. Who cares because someone tipped over the garbage on level three so go clean it up, buddy. People do treat you different, but not everyone does.
My boss at the parking lot was Patricia. She treats her gardener the same way she treats the guy that owns the company we worked for, which is to say, with respect. It’s been a hundred years since I worked for Gastronomy, but last week Patricia called me up. She is going to publish one of her books and she wanted some publicity photos. It seems back when I was just learning about photography I asked everyone I knew if I could photograph them. I even asked my boss Patricia. When she called me last week she said I’m the only person that’s ever made a picture of her that she liked.
Meet Patrica, photographed in her home in Salt Lake City.
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Justin Hackworth photographs mystery writers, parking lot attendants, people that need their tires rotated and he wants to photograph you.
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These two look like they could be sisters. They aren’t, though. One of them is the mom. For a fun game, guess which one.
Thanks Meridith, for coming by today.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy people and beautiful events and he wants to photograph you.
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If you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered why Salt Lake Magazine has been looking so good the past three years or so. You can blame it on Heidi. She’s worked in magazine publishing for quite a while, and for the last three years has been art director for Salt Lake Magazine and Utah Bride and Groom. She knows what she’s doing.
I’m so glad she came with her daughter and her mother. We had a great time talking about magazines, friends we have in common, parenting, and how to restore an old home. Thanks so much for coming.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy families and beautiful events and he wants to photograph you.
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Marta drove to Provo from Idaho Falls, Idaho to be photographed for the 30 Strangers project. I asked Marty about her name and she told me if she could choose her own name it would be Claire. Marta told me, since she and her mother’s names are similar, at home they call her Mini Mart. I love that. Mini Mart. Cute.
A good story: During our portrait session, Marty got a little teary-eyed and said to her daughter, I’m just realizing how beautiful you are.
Well, you are both beautiful and I’d like to thank you for coming.
Now, meet Marta and Marty.
And they are writers. Read Marta’s blog here and read Marty’s blog here.
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Utah photographer Justin Hackworth loves to photograph happy people and beautiful events and he wants to photograph you. Getting married? We should talk.
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We started walking up the stairs of the parking lot. I thought we’d go up a few floors. On the second level, Jewel said, “Don’t you remember I told you I’m almost 80!”
In my life, I’ve only met two people named Jewel and both of them I’ve met this last week.
I’d like you to meet Jewel, Paula, and Judy, from Fairview, Utah.
By the way, I think Judy looks like the character Jenna on 30 Rock. What do you think?
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Justin Hackworth Photography: We’re not just making pictures, we’re making history.
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Ann Dee is a great writer and the youngest of nine kids. She came with her mother, Jewel. Jewel grew up in a mortuary, and so that why, Ann Dee said, movies like The Shining are her favorite. These women are hilarious. Before they arrived, Ann Dee wrote to me, “My mom has always been personable and funny. Now she’s extra personable and funny. Be ready.” I don’t know how you get ready for someone like Jewel, but once she shows up, just sit back and enjoy.
Meet Ann Dee and Jewel
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy people and beautiful events and he wants to photograph you.
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What I like about Candalyn and her mother is just how much they have to say to each other. It didn’t take long to get them talking and once they did, they were off and running. Oh, and they were easy with the smiles. Oh, and they are such a delight to be around. Thanks for coming, ladies.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy people and beautiful events and he wants to photograph you.
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Two things. First of all, Emily, her daughter and her mother all flew in from Denver to be part of the 30 Strangers project. And here’s the fun part. They came to Provo, and her last name is Provost. Get it? Provo–Provost. Neat, huh. And they’ve never been here before so I suggested they eat at Communal, Pizzeria 712, Rooster and Gurus while they are here. I think they went to Communal for lunch.
So that’s a good story and all, but get this. Emily and her mother are fighters. Strong women. Survivors. Her mother has had breast cancer twice, and beat it both times. And Emily has had breast cancer and beat it. Emily’s father, not so fortunate. He died of breast cancer 3 years ago.
In an email to me before she came, Emily wrote, I’m a positive and funny person. Really. So don’t worry about the session being all “cancery cancerton.”
She was right. Positive and funny. And now, meet three of my new favorite people.
Read Emily’s blog here.
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Justin Hackworth loves his job and wants to photograph you. Interested in getting beautiful portraits of the important people in your life? We should talk.
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Emily and Brandon had a party in Mapleton the night before they got married. The next day everyone drove to Cache Valley for their wedding at the LDS Temple in Logan, Utah. You just never know what kind of weather you’re going to get in Logan in February, but it turned about to be about as pleasant a day as you could hope for.
Then, lunch at Hamiltons. That place is great. I’d go back there in a heartbeat.
And now, Emily and Brandon, in love.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy people and beautiful events and wants to photograph you. Getting married? We should talk.
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Steve and Cindy are going on a mission for the LDS church. Steve will be the mission president for the Missouri mission. That’s a big job. He’s perfect for such things.
They needed a picture of both of them for the Church News and gave me a call. Cindy showed me a sample of what they were looking for. Pretty straight forward. I said, sure, let’s get that picture, but then let’s do something a little more Justin Hackworthy. So this first image is what they need to send to the church, the others are because if you’ve got a few minutes with Steve and Cindy Clark, you might as well take that opportunity to make something special. After all, I won’t get a chance to photograph them for another three years.
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Ashley and Kent are getting married soon. I’ll be there to photograph the big day and I’m looking forward to that. But hang on. Before the wedding, there are some things to get done. Like bridal portraits. So meet Ashley and Kent, photographed in Provo, Utah.
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Sidenote – I love love love that second image. The one of Kent sitting on the chair. I had recently spent some time looking at Irving Penn’s book Passage and I think that influenced how I approached this session.
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They live in New York and come back to Utah from time to time. I photographed Jared and Vanessa last year, back when they only had one son. Now they’ve got two, so when they came back in town this year, it was time for more photographs. Thanks for coming Jared and Vanessa.
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Provo Utah was warm enough today to make some of these pictures outside. I know it’s only February, but man, I can’t wait for summer.
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I photographed Lizzie and Spencer one week after they got married. (The session was given to them as a gift from a friend). They were on their way to their wedding party. Thanks for coming, lovebirds.
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Get this. After we sat down for a few minutes to talk so I could get to know the Olson’s, we went in the studio to make some portraits and I turned on the music. I selected Mates of State, the Re-Arrange Us album. The parents stared at me like I was from another planet. Then Dan said, “How did you know this was their favorite band?” These kids love Mates of State? Well now, this is going to be fun.
Seriously, what family wouldn’t want photographs like this? Look at that image #3. That’s one of my favorite portraits I’ve taken in a long time.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy families that like Mates of State, Rilo Kiley, Tegan and Sarah, Passion Pit or Tuba music and he wants to photograph you.
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Good things happen when you hang around Courtney. Are you like me? Do you like people that laugh easily and can make you laugh and that when you are around them, there’s an overall sense of joy and that everything is going to be ok? If you like people like that then you’d love Courtney Kendrick. I know I do.
Courtney has been using a headshot I took of her last year when she had blond hair. Now that she has brown hair, it was time for a new headshot. That’s where I come in. I drove to her house on Saturday and we had a great time. She doesn’t know this, but if it wasn’t for the appointment I had scheduled immediately following her portrait session, I may have stayed at her house all day.
Her blogs are here:
blog.cjanerun.com
and
cjaneprovo.blogspot.com
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Last year when the 30 Strangers project was announced, we had far more requests to participate than we had spaces. Emails came, mostly from Utah, but from other places as well. One email was from Texas. The email said she wanted to be a part of the project. But in the end, it didn’t work out. That’s the first part of the story, but not the end.
Last week, I was on a panel at the Alt Design Summit. Let me just stop the story right here and tell you that the conference was so great. It was for folks that blog for a living, and it was specifically geared towards those that blog about design, but it was attended by all kinds of bloggers. For me, the best part was meeting the folks that write the blogs I love. I knew Kathryn Storke would be there from Snippet and Ink, because she was listed as one of the speakers. But I didn’t know Jen Campbell from Green Wedding Shoes would be there, so that was a great surprise. You can view the complete speaker list here, and as you can see, this was a real rockstar group of speakers. Heather Armstrong from Dooce, Stephanie Brubaker from Stephmodo, Sarah Wright from Sarah Jane Studios, Grace Bonney from Design Sponge and the list goes on.
So back to the story. I was speaking on a panel at the Alt Design Summit and the other person on the panel with me was Karen Walrond, a beautiful women, talented writer and photographer. And, as it turns out, she is the one that emailed me from Texas that wanted to be part of the 30 Strangers project last year. How about that! We had a great time getting to know each other the night before our panel. The next day, we photographed each other. Then we gave great advice to some people on the topic: Photography on the web. Thanks to the Alt folks for inviting me, and a huge thanks to Amber Roussel for moderating the panel and coming up with such astute questions. Amber, I wish I would have been able to photograph you, too. Next time, huh?
And now, I give you the effervescent and magnetic Karen Walrond:
Karen is sweet, sweet. When the panel discussion first began, when she was introducing herself, she said to everyone there, “…You know, I’ve been around celebrities and I never get nervous or anything, but when I found out I was going to be on the panel with Justin, I thought, Oh my God, JUSTIN HACKWORTH.” Ah, Karen. You are great. You know how to make a guy feel good about himself. At that moment, I was ten feet tall.
And here are some pictures she took of me and Amy.
I love those pictures. I’m uncomfortable getting my picture taken. Karen set me at ease, then knocked it out of the park.
One last picture from the Alt Design Summit. Here’s Grace Bonney in the lobby of the Grand America hotel just as I was leaving. I wanted to say hi, but she’s a busy girl and I didn’t get a chance.
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Justin Hackworth photographs photographers from Texas, bloggers from New York, and he wants to photograph you.
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Photographed in Provo, Utah.
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Photographed in Provo, Utah
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You cannot be a photographer by aspiring to be one, or by learning everything there is to be known about photography. Photographers produce photographs. And many of them. Like every other skill, photography is learned by continuous and dedicated practice.
Bill Jay, Occam’s Razor
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Stephanie, photographed in her home, a couple weeks before Christmas
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Young photographers are often pressured into an emphasis on individual style, a search for distinction, a quest for newness and differentness. Yet the truth of the matter is that a unique style is a by-product of visual exploration, not its goal. Personal vision only comes from not aiming for it. In dim light, objects emerge from the gloom when not looking at them. It is the same with style; paradoxically, it is a natural, inevitable result of emphasizing subject, not self.
Bill Jay, Occam’s Razor
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January 21 – 23 in Salt Lake City are the dates for the Altitude Design Summit. It’s a conference for design and lifestyle bloggers. Love great design? Then you should go. Get this: Keynote speakers include Panelists Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, founder of Apartment Therapy; Grace Bonney, founder of Design*Sponge; Jean Aw, founder of NotCot, and Heather Armstrong, founder of Dooce.
And that’s just the beginning. There are so many more speakers including Stephanie Brubaker, founder of Stephmodo, Kathryn Storke, founder of Snippet and Ink, and um…me. I’m so excited that I was asked to be one of the panelists. You can see the full list here.
So far, 2010 is turning out great.
From their website here is who should attend
- People that love talking about design in all its iterations. What it is. How it’s changing. Why it’s important.
- People that read sites like Apartment Therapy/drive German cars/subscribe to magazines from Europe.
- Design or lifestyle bloggers who want to (finally!) meet their fellow design and lifestyle bloggers.
- People from across all the design disciplines: graphic, industrial, fashion, interior, product, textile. Plus illustrators and photographers too.
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Merry Christmas from Justin Hackworth Photography
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Six years ago today my wife and I had our first child. December 18 is a happy day indeed. Here are pictures of him when he was 4 years old.
Here is a conversation with this little man that took place last week–
Him: What are you doing?
Me: Watching a video with photographers talking about how they do things. It’s helpful for me to see what others do so I can see if there are things I can do to improve. Because I want to be a great photographer.
Him: Do you want to be famous?
Me: Well, that wouldn’t be too bad, but that’s not why I do it and I can be a great photographer without being famous. Do you want me to be famous?
Him: Yeah.
Me: What does being famous mean?
Him: I don’t know.
Me: Do you know anyone that’s famous?
Him: Uh….Big Bird.
Happy Birthday, beautiful son.
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This is sort of old news. I have a brand new website. And by new, I mean that it’s now been up for about a month or so. (My blog is still the same as you can see). I must have been so busy knitting sweaters for Christmas that I forgot to mention it. In any case, I thought you should know.
So if you haven’t visited my main site in a while, you have a fun treat waiting for you. It’s lovely as can be. New pictures, new design. All new!
In case you’re curios, I’m using BigFolio. Love those guys.
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Hurricane Utah’s Homecoming Queen, Junior Miss, and Miss Hurricane. And she’s good at Rock Band. Photographed for her senior pictures in St. George Utah.
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Justin Hackworth photographs happy seniors in Utah and beyond and he wants to photograph you.
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I’ve know Brett since we were in Mrs McCullochs class, way back in the third grade. He’s one of the funniest people I know and I steal his jokes on a regular basis, then pass them off as my own. For example, once he sent me a slogan for the city of Orem that went like this: We’re just like Provo, only Norther!
I tell that to people but never let on that Brett said it first.
Brett is a talented actor but has for some time let that talent lie dormant. It’s been hidden under a bushel. That is, until recently. Now, he’s acting again. And for his most recent audition, he needed a headshot. That’s where I come in.
Here you go, Brett. Break a freak’n leg.
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