Jamie Neilsen Photography: The Blog

Today is my un-birthday. My half birthday. The day that everyone tells me I should be celebrating my birthday on because my actual birth date sucks. It sucks because on December 14th most people are up to their eyeballs in holiday parties. They have plans to see the Nutcracker. They have the flu and can’t drive in the ice and snow. They’re broke and hate buying birthday presents on top of Christmas presents. It’s a pretty sucky date to have your birthday.

Today I’m celebrating my birthday in the most radical way I know how, doing the thing I love most, with the people I like best. Today is the day that anyone and everyone in the Seattle area can sign up to have their very own custom photography session and receive youthful, original, modern portraits of their fabulous lives. Because today is…PAY WHAT YOU CAN DAY!!

I told my husband about this and he nearly fainted. “You’re really going to let anyone pay whatever they want?” What if they make you some ridiculous offer? This sounds Ca.RA.Zee.”

Well, I’m a crazy kind of girl. I’m impulsive. I love to help out my friends and I love a good deal. Maybe you do too? Take advantage of me…er…it…er…whatever. This could be a total blooper or the best idea I’ve ever had.

Here’s how it works:

1) Leave a comment in the comments box and tell me what price would make you smile big. Then I’ll send you a PayPal invoice. If it makes you queasy to publicly declare that your Mastercard is maxed or you only have $27.32 in the bank and you’d like to send me three postdated checks for $20 each, over the course of three months, well then, email jamie [at] jamieneilsenphotography [dot] com, and we’ll make it happen.

2) Once you pay, we’ll find a date for your session (sometime between now and my real birthday, December 14th).

3) Go tell all your friends. They should get in on this too.

Here is my emotional disclaimer (so I don’t give my husband a heart attack):

• My portrait sessions retail for $225. Many people have paid this price knowing that it is a fair and competitive fee to other custom photographers in the area. All the details of what is included in a custom portrait session can be found on my portfolio website under the details menu.
• If you’ve already paid full price for an upcoming session, thank you. This birthday offer is not retroactive.
• If you’d like to GIFT this offer at the pay-what-you-can rate, wonderful! Tell us who the lucky recipient is.
• If you feel inclined to pay the full price anyway, feel free.
• If you’re independently wealthy and want to pay more than the regular price, Jesus and my husband will probably high-five you (well, I’m not totally sure about Jesus, but you can ask him).
• I will accept multiple payments over time. Just tell me what your plan is.
• This offer will end TONIGHT at midnight (PST), just like birthdays do.

Still need convincing? You know you’re going to get family pictures done this year anyway. Why not buy early and set your own price. Whatever you can afford today. This way you don’t have to cram it in last minute. You’ll have plenty of time to design the perfect holiday card -  one that doesn’t look like everyone else’s. Let me save you from Fall Frenzy. Consider this the early bird gift!

Don’t want to have pictures of yourself? Maybe you know someone who’s experienced a tragedy, is struggling to stay afloat, is raising kids while holding down more than one job, or is volunteering selflessly despite extenuating personal circumstances. Maybe you know someone who deserves a reminder of their family’s spirit, love, and beauty. This is the gift of awesome. You and I can partner together to make this happen.

Why am I doing this? Because I am deeply committed to providing the fabulous experience of custom photography to as many people as possible. I believe that pictures are an invaluable keepsake and I want to preserve the memories of your fabulous lives with portraits that are youthful, original and absolutely fantastic.

So, what are you waiting for? Let me grant your wish….

I love any chance I get to photograph people and their fabulous lives but every now and then I get to be apart of something that really connects me to my community and is part of something “bigger”. Last weekend I had the pleasure of photographing the Transitional Resources annual Garden Party in my new neighborhood, West Seattle. This non-profit organization helps adults in our community who are living with severe mental illnesses by providing housing, residential treatment, hospital diversion, case management, psychiatric and vocational services. In their words:

Transitional Resources helps adults living with the most serious and persistent forms of mental illness by providing respectful and optimistic recovery-oriented services, affordable housing, and advocacy against discrimination which works to break the cycle of incarceration, hospitalization and homelessness.

We value the same things that those with mental illness do:
• decent housing;
• feeling needed and wanted;
• being a part of a community;
• working and engaging in meaningful, age-appropriate activities; and
• having hope for a highly personalized form of recovery.

One of the ways TR executes their mission is through their certified organic garden which is the smallest one here in Washington state. The garden serves as more than just a beautiful, tranquil space for their clients and staff to enjoy; it’s also an educational and vocational training ground for their clients living with mental illnesses. And, as if that weren’t enough, they even donate the produce harvested from the garden to the local West Seattle Food Bank. A.Ma.Zing.

The Garden Party, in it’s sixth year, invites community supporters to take a tour of the grounds and help get the garden ready for growing season. This years party couldn’t have landed on a better date. The sun shined brightly all day long in one of nicest days we’ve had in awhile. Planter boxes were filled with colorful flowers, fresh wood chips were laid for walking paths and the weeds didn’t stand a chance.

The big finale of the event was a cooking demonstration by Chef Jennifer Meyer of Cafe Revo, a local Italian restaurant. Jennifer picked fresh onions from the garden and prepared deliciously mouth watering bruschetta for everyone to sample. I made sure to grab a recipe card and can’t wait to make some this weekend!

I feel so lucky to live in a community that is supportive and inclusive of values I find of utmost importance. It’s more than caring for our sick and struggling. Their commitment to pesticide free gardening, whole food education, and growing meaningful relationships is no small effort. I wish I could share more of the pictures from this special day but I’m sure you can understand the privacy issues involved. If you’d like to learn more about Transitional Resources, the many services they offer and how you can help, check them out here: http://www.transitionalresources.org/.

Have a wonderful weekend!!