While I always love seeing you and chatting on the phone, I realize that most of you live very busy lives and I do not always have the opportunity share with you as much as I would like…. so I promise to be more diligent with sharing all of the amazing things happening with the portrait studio via Linnea’s blog! And, for those of you reading this whom I have not met, my name is Megan, and I have the pleasure of being Linnea’s studio manager.

So, one story I would like to share with you is my recent first experience being photographed by Linnea. She created this beautiful family portrait of my son and me.

On a daily basis, I encourage parents and loved ones to slow down and take the time to document these beautiful and fleeting moments in life with portrait photography. Being a proud mother, I see, first hand, how quickly children grow and how easy it is to let the craziness of life distract you from enjoying these times. Working for Linnea and watching how she sees life and love, I have truly come to see why family portraits are such an irreplaceable treasure…yet it took her months of reminding me to actually step in front of her lens myself!

I came up with all the excuses in the book to avoid being photographed, “I need to get my hair done, tone up a bit, etc…” But I realized my son was growing too fast for me to keep making excuses and finally asked her to photograph the two of us together.

I literally see Linnea’s work everyday and I am impressed everyday, yet I was still floored when I saw the results of our session. They weren’t just photographs of us; she really captured our relationship and how we feel about each other. When I look at these wonderful family portraits of my son and I now hanging in my home I don’t see a “photo”, but that sweet moment in time between my son and I that I will always have to cherish….even when he becomes a rebellious teenager! So, I wanted to share one of these moments will all of you out there…it is my favorite portrait of my son, Logan, and myself. It is, in itself, Art!

The photography that is on display is a portrait I photographed last year for the Healing project entitled “In Good Hands”. There is a fine art photographers’ reception at the photo gallery this Saturday, February 27th, from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and I plan to be there.

Please join us.

Here’s a link to “The Doctors” video that featured the maternity photography that I created for them.

Congratulations to the Dahm Triplets and your husbands for your little girls and the new lives you’ll be leading. The only thing that tops being pregnant is holding your little one in your arms.

It is very beautiful and rare for sisters to be expecting mothers together and the type of emotional moment that I love capturing. But Erica, Jaclyn, and Nicole are not just sisters; they are identical triplets! Wow! I am the mother of twins, so I have a great understanding of the unique bond that forms between these special siblings and the whirlwind that they create. And a whirlwind they are! So, needless to say, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph such an unusual moment.

In December, I took maternity portraits of the three gorgeous Dahm Triplets together, who were roughly a month apart in getting pregnant, and have since photographed each of them with their husbands in individual maternity sessions at two of my portrait studios. Next, we can’t wait to get all of their beautiful daughters in the studio together for newborn portraits! Nicole delivered her daughter, Charlie, in January. Jaclyn’s little girl, Chanel, arrived last week. And, Erica’s little bundle of joy will be joining the pink party in the next few weeks!

It has been such a pleasure to work with these amazing women and watch their family grow. I am proud to be their personal photographer. Be sure to watch “The Doctors” tomorrow to hear about their experiences and see the maternity photography that I created for them!

Public Speaking has been something that has been a nerve-wracking thing for me in the past as my face would turn red, I would shake, and I would stammer and then not get to the point. I say “past” because I have been working hard this last year in my local Toastmasters on my public speaking abilities, and it is improving. I actually was able to speak to over two hundred people with a 1 minute notice at the Healing opening this last fall without making a fool of myself (or so they say).

I am very hard on myself and so my self-perception is altered by my critical nature. I see that in many of my female clients too. We women have a tendency to put our appearances down and not accept our faults, blowing them way out of proportion. I often will remind a woman when she’s pregnant that she’s supposed to be carrying extra weight. The world forgives you, but we don’t forgive ourselves.

I joined Toastmasters to overcome my shyness when the world watches me, but also to stop the self-judging. I also figured that since I have been asked to be on TV several times and to speak to several organizations, I had better get comfortable being in front of an audience. I am getting better. We photographers usually choose this profession because hiding behind a black box is very comfortable for us. When I was a model I made an effort to figure out how to look natural in front of the camera, and so I thought, I could figure out how to speak to an audience without falling apart.

I spoke to an audience in Northern California a couple of years ago, and last year a young man approached me at one of the national conventions I attended. He asked, “Are you Linnea Lenkus?” “Yes,” I replied. “I saw you speak in Oakland,” he said. I wanted to crawl in a hole at that moment. All I could think to say was, “Oh, you poor thing. I know I was horrible.” “No,” he said, “That was the most inspiring speech I’ve ever heard.” “You’re just saying that,” I said. And he went on and on to tell me that I was actually really good. Wow!

I hope to see you in San Diego this Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 at the Holiday Inn at 3805 Murphy Canyon Road. You won’t see me shake so much and I hope to be inspiring, but I can’t guarantee that.

We are bringing our pet charity project to our Long Beach/Signal Hill Studio!

When: Saturday, February 6th from 10am to 4pm,
by appointment only
call (562) 981-8900

The Dog Days of Summer pet portraits in Pasadena was such a big hit that we have had many requests to bring it to Long Beach.

So here it goes!

Call us for an appointment to have your dog photographed by Linnea.

Bring $25 and a 30+ lb. bag of pet food which we will donate to a local pet charity
and receive a free stunning 5×7 of your precious pooch!
Wear something nice and you can join in!

The online article mentions my photography book for sale. Please click here to order this special book from the project. All profits from the book will go towards the charity for The Stramski Center of Miller Children’s Hospital helping children with special needs.

The exhibit is now appearing at Phantom Galleries LA at 3rd and Elm in Long Beach and will only be up this Wednesday and Thursday, October 21 – 22 from 5-8pm and Saturday October 24 from 6-9pm.

Here are some of the comments from several visitors to the photo project:

“Your work is wonderful. I can feel the love it expresses by parents on each photograph. Great work. God bless you!”

“Beautiful artwork. I told you in person, but I feel that this is an important message that people need to feel, understand and comprehend. It’s personal, unique, enlightening and darn it, it just captivates the meaning. Thank you.”

“Thank you so much for showing the beautiful side of the incredibly beautiful people. . .Thank you for your work.”

“I must admit that your work is very touching.”

“Great work for bringing a sensitivity to these diseases/problems faced by individuals/families.”

“Awesome work and message! Wish the entire world would come! Thank you for bringing this to the forefront and celebrating it!”

“We were very thankful to be here.”

“Magnificent!”

Here are some articles written about the project by some great reporters in Long Beach and Signal Hill.

The Phantom Galleries LA has requested that we extend our stay and remain open on the next two Saturday nights, October 17th and October 24th. Our current exhibit is located at 3rd and Elm in downton Long Beach.

I will make a concerted effort to bring several boxes of tissues as I noted this last time it was needed. I hope you all can make it! See the previous blogs to know details.