JenniLeigh Asbury Shores Phototgraphy
  • Home
  • Galleries
    • Brides
    • Engagements
    • Families
    • Maternity
    • Seniors
    • Weddings
  • Albums
  • Policies and Investment
  • About/Contact
  • Portrait Tips
  • Blog: One Click At A Time
  • Living The Just Peachy Life
  • Home
  • Galleries
    • Brides
    • Engagements
    • Families
    • Maternity
    • Seniors
    • Weddings
  • Albums
  • Policies and Investment
  • About/Contact
  • Portrait Tips
  • Blog: One Click At A Time
  • Living The Just Peachy Life

HOw to find Volunteer opportunities. Ideas for volunteering

11/20/2015

Comments

 
Picture
Find your Volunteer Experience! Great ideas for where to volunteer and have a fun time giving to your community!

Why should I volunteer?

So this is a little of the usual topic of my blog. But, I am compelled to write this because of a meeting a was in this week. We were trying to find ways to encourage the nomination of nurses that we work with for the Great 100 in Nursing Excellence Award. Once of the items that the award focuses on, in addition to leadership and participation in the workplace, is Volunteerism and activism outside of the workplace. They encourage nurses to be active in the community and give of their time and talents to help their community. Along with that discussion, came the question, "Well, where do we find volunteer opportunities?' I thought it would be a great post to just help identify ways to volunteer and give back to the community.

This post isn't just for nurses! Even though a lot of my references may come from nursing! (Helloooo,,,,,that is what I am and what I do, lol). It is for anyone wondering where to start volunteering. Many of us feel a need to help others, or share our talents and and blessings with others to better our community. It doesn't have to cost you anything but time and effort! It is a great feeling to know that you in someway made a difference in someone's life. A smile, a hug, a helping hand, or a word of encouragement can go along way! Knowing that you showed up to help can be a bright spot in someone's day! ​

Where Should I volunteer?

You may be wondering, "Where can I volunteer?" Think of your interests. Love sports? Volunteer with the local little league as a coach. Love photography? Volunteer at the local senior center teaching a basic digital photography class. Love landscaping? Volunteer with your church to reach out to disabled and elderly to help do their lawns. It doesn't matter what you like doing. cultivate a way to share it! 

First places to start may seem a little obvious. Hospitals, Churches, Senior Centers, Homeless shelters, and soup kitchens. Hospitals use volunteers ALL THE TIME! They sit at information desks, take magazines around to patients, escort visitors to the right floors, run errands on units and all kinds of things. If you like a medical environment, this may be the place for you! Most hospitals have a volunteer services department that can welcome you in! Same goes for senior centers, homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Just call them! They will more than likely jump at the chance to put you  to work!

I personally found a great opportunity at the Enrichment Center, in Downtown Winston Salem, it is a school for mentally challenged adults. They teach them life skills, health classes, art, history, photography, music, etc. It is a United Way affiliated organization. It was a fabulous opportunity. In the interest of full disclosure, I had to do it for a school project while completing my BS degree. But it was a fabulous experience and I plan to continue! 

You can volunteer in the school systems. Ask about opportunities with your local Parks and Recreation, Adult Day care centers, Assisted Living Facilities would love to have help playing games, reading to residents, etc. Is environmental kinds of things more your cup o' tea? Adopt a road (that may just be a NC program, I don't know), Volunteer with group planting trees. Find a group cleaning streams. Do you have an "I heart Dogs" bumper sticker? The local animal shelter would probably love you to help. If they can't use you, You could most definitely plan a fundraiser to help them purchase papertowels, dog-food, treats, and vaccinations!

I found a Non-profit organization in NC, (there are probably similar ones in your area) called Pretty in Pink Foundation. They help uninsured and under-insured breast cancer patients in NC with financial assistance.  I planned a vendor fair and shopping event at the park, with vendor fees and donations, as well as raffle money going to the organization. We raised almost 700.00! Now that was a several month process and took A LOT of hours to plan, so I am not advising you to jump feet first into that, but there are other ways to help! Most non profits have websites and will have an area where the list help that they need. Find something that you can do and go for it!
​

How to volunteer. Steps to figuring out how to volunteer

Step one. Call them! Check their website! Tell them you want to help them. Chances are, they are waiting on your call or waiting for you to sign up online! 
Step two. Set aside time. One hour, two hours, Whatever you have! 
Step there. Have fun! You will meet so many new people and experience different things! Enjoy it! 
Step four. Step outside of the box. I had never really worked with mentally challenged adults before. It really opened up a whole new world to me. I was even able to use the experience on the job. Because I had experience, I was able to communicate with and help a mentally challenged patient who was scared and unsure of the environment he was in. My coworkers even noticed how I was able to relate to him and complemented me and the care I was able to give him. I wouldn't have been able to do that well, had I not stepped outside my little box and volunteered!

My point is, there IS opportunity to volunteer if you want to. It isn't hard to find, and you can create your own opportunities! Give of yourself and you will be amazed how much you get in return!
​

Links to sign up to volunteer in Winston Salem area

Picture
The Enrichment Center This link will take you to their page to sign up.
​
Picture
This link will take you to the Pretty in Pink Get in Involved page
Picture
This link will take you to the Shepard's Center of Kernersville Volunteer application page
Where do you volunteer? What ideas do you have for finding volunteer opportunities? Let me know in the comments!
Comments

Rent vs Buy. Options for trying new lenses. 6 reasons to rent from ATS rentals

11/5/2015

Comments

 

Rent vs buy. Series post 2

ATS lens rental review. Beginner Photography, DSLR, How to rent lenses.

CONSUMER REVIEW OF ATSRENTALS.COM 

Picture
My previous post in this series, Rent vs Buy: Options for trying new lenses, explained that I am exploring the option of renting lenses to try them out before I invest mucho money in new lenses. I am comparing three different companies, by renting the same to lenses from them. One company per month. Now I warn you, the upcoming post will sound like I was paid to write it. I promise you, I was not compensated in any way. I am going to give you an honest appraisal of my experiences. For testing purposes I am renting a 50mm f/1.4 AF-S and a 12-24mm f/4. Both for Nikon cameras. I may have to get different brands depending on the availability from each company. 

Woohoo! I got home today, and exactly what was at my front door? Two lenses for me to play with from ATSRENTALS. And let me tell you, so far, I am loving ATS! The process was super easy to order, they had the lenses I wanted to try, and it was very reasonably priced. After I placed my order, it was only a few minutes before I got an email to verify my order. Open email, click link. Order verified. Next email came the next day that items had shipped.
Then, bless their hearts, they emailed me to tell me I would be getting a partial refund of my shipping costs! Whoa, what? Really? Yep, a refund. They were able to ship it to me cheaper than they had quoted because they had a lens returned early or something like that. So I'm getting money back!
So here are the things that I like about ATS so far. #1 Their prices were the same or cheaper as other companies. #2 Damage insurance was already included in the price. #3 They had the lenses I wanted. #4 They  obviously have some kick-butt customer services peeps! #5 They sent me jelly beans! Now, I LOVE jelly beans, and these are even Jelly Belly jelly beans. MY favorite! #6 AND, to top it off? They sent packing tape for me to use to ship the lenses back! Oh my! Now I am one of those silly people that loves the post office, but they have saved me a trip out to get more packing tape, cause I ran out just this morning! 
So far, ATS is batting 1000, baby! They may just be the J.J. Watt of the lens rental business! Yep, I had to throw J.J. in here somewhere. But, seriously, so far they've done everything right and then thrown in some unexpected special treats, too! 
I did notice that there was a company that had a rewards program that applied points from rentals towards another rental, so this might be one thing ATS could do in the future, but with the service I have received at this point, it certainly isn't going to prevent me from using ATS in the future. 

Picture
See!? Jelly Belly's AND shipping tape!
​I am one happy girl! Now let's go play with these lenses!  
Picture
Now seems like a super time to let you know I have NO affiliation with ATS. They have not paid me for my review, and this review was completely unsolicited. 

Pricing information

ANOTHER fab thing about ATS? They DON'T CHARGE FOR WEEKENDS!!!! Whoa! What? You mean I can get a lens delivered on Friday, use it Saturday and Sunday, ship it back on Monday and ONLY PAY FOR ONE DAY??? Yep, that is exactly what I mean!

So for these two lenses that were delivered on 11/5 and I will ship back on 11/10, I only paid $51.00 plus tax. I paid 49.00 shipping, but hey, they are refunding 28.82 of my shipping charges! 

Pricing was the same as one of the other companies that I looked at, less than another, for theses two lenses. In addition, damage insurance did not cost extra. It was already included in the price. The other companies I have looked at so far charge additional for insurance that is required. 

Comments

RENT VS BUY. OPTIONS FOR TRYING NEW LENSES

11/4/2015

Comments

 
Rent Vs. Buy, How to rent lenses, Consumer review of DSLR lens rental

Rent vs buy. Series post 1

Picture











​So let's face it, I'm a financially challenged hobbyist photographer. Striving for more, yes, but at this point there's more money going out with this hobby than coming in! And since I didn't come from money, marry into money, or hit the lottery, I have to find a way to try new lenses and equipment without the full retail investment. 

I have been very lucky to purchase some excellent equipment, previously loved and broken in, on ebay. However, it's not always feasible price wise, you have to be very careful about what you are getting, and have to research (a lot) to find out what will work with your existing equipment because the listing may not write it out for you. 

I have been exploring new lenses for my Nikon D3100. But the lenses I want are just out of my price range right now. Remember the whole, more money going out than coming in? So I had been reading about people renting lenses and I thought.... Well, Jenn, why not check it out? And a new blog series was born! My first blog series actually. I am going to pick three rental companies, rent the same lenses, and relay my experiences with each one. Customer service, price, lens availablilty, discounts/rewards, and shipping. One company per month. Again, more money going out than coming in thing???

I decided to test out a 50mm f1.4 and a 12-24mm f4. I have a 50mm f1.8, but have been reading about the fab bokeh and ultimate focus and clarity you can get with an f1.4. I want to see if the change is noticeable and worth all the hype and extra cash.
I need a good wide angle lense, something that I can potentially shoot large groups with as well as shoot in tight spaces. My friend has a 12-24 and suggested I try it. 

November  will be ATSRENTALS.com. December will be lensrentals.com, and January will be borrowlenses.com.
​I have no affiliation or connection with any of these companies. I found them by doing a google search for "photography lens rental".
​What companies have you rented from? Good experience  or not? 

#MidLifeLuv Linky
Comments

10 Rules for getting the best pictures on your wedding day. SAVING TIME, MONEY AND STRESS DURING YOUR WEDDING DAY PHOTOS.

11/2/2015

Comments

 
How to have a stress free wedding day. How to get the best pictures of your wedding. Brides, Grooms, Photographers, Wedding pictures, bridal portraits
Every bride wants the best photos of her wedding day. To have and cherish for years. Knowing your portraits are going to turn out great, will let your breathe a huge sigh of relief! I discuss some great ways to avoid stress on your wedding day in my previous post. photographer should be chosen after careful decision. I chose mine, because he was the same guy who had done my mother's wedding, my aunt's wedding, and my cousin's wedding.  I didn't even look at other options! Not great on my part, but hey, I wasn't thinking straight sixteen years ago. I was in love and silly, and just wanted to be married. Looking back I would have like to taken a lot of my advice now. Not about choosing a husband, I still like him! Since I can't change my wedding. I thought I would help you. 
I'm not knocking the photographer that we had. He's a very talented photographer. I am just advising you to make your decision carefully, weigh your options. Find a photographer that you are comfortable with when it comes to investment, services offered and someone who's style you like. 
There is a lot of information out there to tell you how to choose a photographer. I want to share what to do on your wedding day to ensure that you end up with the best shots you can. I didn't even think of these things way back when! 
Picture
  • Communicate with your photographer. TALK to them. Don't wait till the last minute either because you'll be stressed and busy and won't have time. If there are specific shots you want, tell your photographer. She won't know that you want a picture of you and Aunt Millie with your bouquet because the ribbons and lace came from her wedding dress unless you tell her. Heck, she probably won't really know who Aunt Millie IS until after the whole thing is over, unless you tell her. 
  • Give your photographer a rundown of the whole day. Specifics of the schedule of events. The ceremony will go quickly as a general rule and if you are going to be moving from place to place, the photographer needs to know. They can decide where the best place is for them to get the best shots. Remember, a lot of venues will limit where the photographer can have access, limit the use of flash or even limit taking pictures during certain times during the ceremony. The photographer should be aware of the limitations and discuss options with you. 
  • Remember, that many of the posed shots can be recreated. Mom may be chasing the ring bearer down or discussing details with the director when you are getting ready. A traditional shot with her helping place your veil or fasten your pearls is easily recreated. Don't fret and stress, a calm capable photographer will get that shot when the time is right. 
  • Remember that many of the portraits and specialty shots you see on Pinterest and in glossy happily ever after magazines where every bride spends $80,000 on their wedding and all have couture gowns that cost more than my first care, are staged after the fact or well before the wedding. The perfect artsy shot takes time to prepare. More than likely more than you will have on your wedding day. There is nothing wrong with getting all Cinderella'd up another day to get some of those beautiful shots. Discuss the shots you want with your photographer and let them have input on what is realistic the day of your wedding. That way there aren't expectations that can't or won't be met! Plus taking the extra time for a lot of those shots will result in hungry impatient guests, bridesmaids that have lost their glitsy bedazzeled shoes before you get to the reception and nobody left to watch your first dance. Okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the drift, right?
  • Allowing ample time for pictures is mucho importante. Okay, you can tell I did not take Spanish. The gist is, determine what posed shots you want prior to the day, (a good photographer can help make suggestions), take as many pics as you can pre-ceremony. This will quicken the transition between the ceremony and reception.  Quick tip. Hungry groom = grumpy groom. Grumpy groom = not happy with picture taking groom. 
  • Have something to entertain Great Aunt Bessie and Uncle Bud. The guests do not need to be milling around, interrupting your portrait session between the  ceremony and reception. Have an hor'deurve event, serve drinks or even start the buffet. But family and friends that are not in the post session pictures should not be in the area. This may sound harsh, but it's the honest truth. Unless you want Great Aunt Bessie's arming a shot, and her flash messing up the pictures you have probably already paid for, they need to be entertained elsewhere during your session. Your photographer may even include this in the contract. 
  • Think about the final pictures you want. Do you really want a picture of you as each individual bridesmaid? Or you with the soloist and pianist? Professional time as portraits can be pricey. So if you really aren't going to display them, frame them, or put them in your album, why spend the extra time and money on certain shots. Save it for the shot with you and Aunt Millie  and the special bouquet! PS make sure mom and the MIL, tell you what shots they want. You definitely  want to start out on the right foot!
  • Lighting, lighting, lighting...... candlelit ceremonies are very pretty and romantic. Until great uncle Bud starts snoring and you get you dark grainy portraits back, because the church didn't allow flash and told the photographer they had to stand all the way in the back. (Some venues have funky restrictions that the photographer has to comply with). That being said, think about this ahead of time when choosing your venue. Adequate lighting will enhance your portraits. This also applies to the reception. Not only does help keep great aunt Bessie from tripping on the DJ's electrical cords, but helps enhance your portraits! Yes, a good photographer can adjust for lighting, but often venue restriction preclude additional lighting for safety reasons or just physical limitations. 
  • Probably the most important tip of all......relax, smile (a lot) laugh and have fun. This is your day, you should be happy and in love. Stress and fatigue are kind of hard to edit out of a picture, but smiles, laughter and love shine through!
What tips do you have for getting great pictures on your wedding day? Feel free to share them!
Comments
    Picture

    JenniLeigh

    Wife, daughter, aunt, nurse, biker chic, aspiring photographer, pretend gourmet chef. That's me! I'm living the Just Peachy Life. This Blog will now be more dedicated to photography and the art form that speaks to me the most. I am moving the lifestyle and home-life posts to the Living the Just Peachy Life Blog to separate the two! Read more about me and _Living the Just Peachy Life!

    Archives

    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015

    Categories

    All
    Aperture
    ATS Rentals
    Avoiding Stress On Your Wedding Day
    Blogging
    Blogging TIps And Tricks
    Brides And Grooms
    Community
    Coordinating Colors For Photos
    Coordinating Outfits For Photos
    Exposure
    Getting Older
    How To Dress For Photographs
    ISO
    Lensrentals
    Lifestyle
    Matching Outfits For Photos
    Money
    Photography For Beginners
    Photography Tips And Tricks
    Rent Vs Buying Lenses
    Save Time
    Series Posts
    Shutter Speed
    Starting A Photography Business
    Tips For Brides
    Tips For Starting A Photography Business
    Vendor Collaborations
    Volunteering
    Wedding Day Tips For Brides And Grooms
    Weddings

    RSS Feed

Copyright © 2015 JenniLeigh Asbury Shores Photography retains all copywrite and applicable reproduction rights.  The use of images on this site are strictly prohibited without written consent from JenniLeigh Asbury Shores Photography.  Images and content are the sole property of JenniLeigh Asbury Shores Photography unless individually noted.  Images may not be shared, copied, screen shot or  reproduced  an any digital, web based, or product form without express written permission  of Jennileigh Asbury Shores Photography. Images may not be sold or used for advertising, altered, edited or changed without express written consent of JenniLeigh Asbury Shores Photography. 
Follow me on Facebook
Follow me on Pinterest
Follow me on Instagram