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      Time to Shoot Some Autumn Stock Photos

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      Time to Shoot Some Autumn Stock Photos

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Jen Grantham Photography

Toronto stock photographer

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BlogMy WorkStock Photography

Time to Shoot Some Autumn Stock Photos

by Jen September 25, 2018
written by Jen
Time to Shoot Some Autumn Stock Photos

Fall is here! The trees are starting to change, autumn colours are everywhere, and I have 6 rolls of film to drop off for developing. Jokes about pumpkin spice are everywhere, and I’m consistently wearing the wrong clothes as the temperature flips back and forth from cool to hot. I’ve been working on jotting down some ideas of things to shoot before it gets cold, and taking a look back at some of my older autumn stock photos.

Road through the woods in autumn by Jen Grantham for Stocksy United

Aerial autumn stock photo of a road through the woods in Canada.

In the last couple of years, I’ve enjoyed using my drone to get another perspective. To be perfectly honest, I’m starting to feel uninspired with aerial photography. Now that everyone and their mom has a drone, the photos are starting to look the same. This year I’m trying to come up with some new ideas.

Pumpkins at outdoor market by Jen Grantham for Stocksy United

Autumn stock photo of woman buying pumpkins at an outdoor market

I’d love to do another Thanksgiving feast photoshoot with food and models. It’s hard to believe this Thanksgiving shoot was 4 years ago.

Autumn stock photo of friends setting the table for Thanksgiving dinner by Jen Grantham for Stocksy United

Friends setting the table for Thanksgiving dinner

I’ve also got a list of creepy photoshoot ideas for Halloween, and almost zero time to shoot them. Check out some of my Halloween stock photos on Stocksy.

Halloween stock photo of a creepy lit jack o'lantern
Stock photo of a sign warning of the impending zombie apocalypse.
Time to Shoot Some Autumn Stock Photos
Portrait of a Halloween skeleton
Autumn stock photo of pumpkins for sale at a farm
Autumn stock photo of a home decorated for Halloween

What inspires you?

September 25, 2018 1 comment
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Summer Feast with Crustcrumbs

by Jen August 17, 2018
written by Jen
Summer Feast with Crustcrumbs

When I was in university, I lived off-campus with friends. Thursday night was pub night at our school, and since we rarely felt like making the trek to campus, we would get together with other off-campus pals for what we called Feast. We would buy ingredients, make a dinner (usually something basic like stir-fry), drink (usually something embarrassing like Kool-Aid and vodka), and do Very Grown Up Things like play video games and make couch forts.

It was around that time my friend John Kruusi started experimenting with more complicated cooking. Slowly, our dinners evolved into more complex affairs, with John at the helm. Vodka and Kool-Aid turned into thoughtfully paired wine, and couch forts turned into jazz and conversation. Suddenly, we were Actual Adults. We were also busy, so our weekly dinners turned into every few months, and then every few years.

A couple of summers ago, John and I decided to organize a summer feast photo shoot up in Barrie, Ontario. It was a great weekend spent with friends and food, and for me, a bittersweet reminder of how much we’ve all grown up. John modelled along with our old dinner party friends Sarah and Andrew, and new friends Essa, Justine, and Liz. I did the photos, John did the food and food styling, and Justine did the prop and set styling.

Stock photo of friends toasting with wine at an outdoor summer feast

Outdoor Summer Feast

Andrew recently shared a few of the photos on Instagram, and I decided to go back and finish editing the series. Click here to view the whole gallery.

Friends Doing A Toast On The Dock At Sunset
Summer Feast Place Setting
Sunset Over Kempenfelt Bay
Clearing Dirty Dishes From The Table
Friends Eating Dinner Outdoors
Sweet potato and wine for a summer feast
Woman Laughing At Dinner Party
Close Up Of Hands And Plates During A Dinner Party
Stock photo of someone pouring wine at a dinner party
Aerial stock photo of outdoor summer feast with friends
Adorable Woman Laughing At Dinner Party
Stock photo of friends enjoying a summer feast
Grilling Pork Belly
Friends toasting with wine at outdoor summer feast

Images can be licensed from Stocksy. For first-time buyers, you can get a 20% discount with the code JEN20.

August 17, 2018 1 comment
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What I’ve Been Doing

by Jen August 16, 2018
written by Jen
What I’ve Been Doing

Hello! It has been a while. I realized recently that I haven’t updated my blog at all since 2016, and not regularly since 2014. Oops. This week I’ve started cleaning up my website, removing old posts (nobody needs to see photos I shot 10 years ago as a student), and reorganizing pages.

In the last 3-4 years, I’ve continued licencing my photography through Stocksy United, while also working for Stocksy as a Content Editor, and now full-time as a Senior Artist Relations Specialist. Every day I am fortunate enough to be able to curate beautiful photography and work as a mentor to other photographers.

I also had a baby. His name is Sam, and he just turned 1.

Stock photo of a baby lying on the bed and playing with a toy dinosaur

Unfortunately(ish), I haven’t been taking on many commercial projects in the last few years, nor shooting much at all. I often fly my drone as a hobby (I’m a few models past my DIY soldered Phantom 2), but for the most part, I’ve been busy and I’ve found myself in a bit of a creative rut. I’m hoping to post more and hopefully inspire some sort of creative rejuvenation.

Stock photo of father and son watching TV on the couch.

Thanks for reading!

August 16, 2018 2 comments
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Brunch with Crustcrumbs

by Jen April 12, 2016
written by Jen
Brunch with Crustcrumbs

I know it’s been a long time since I updated, so I wanted to share some new work I’m doing with food stylist John Kruusi.  John and I teamed up a few years ago to start Crustcrumbs, a creative project to combine my photography and his food styling.  In 2014, we hosted a Thanksgiving photoshoot for Stocksy that was a lot of fun and a huge success.  This year, we’re happy to announce that we’ve officially partnered with Stocksy to produce exclusive food lifestyle content.

One of our first big photoshoots was an epic brunch scene.  John made and styled a series of amazing dishes, and we shot 6 models enjoying the food.  Here are just a few of the menu items:

  • Oysters on sea salt with kimchi and green onion pieces and fried brioche
  • Hot smoked trout with horseradish cream, pickled beets, and savory
  • Roasted tomatoes on the vine with goat cheese rounds
  • Grilled pork chops, roasted bone marrow, roasted Roma tomatoes, grilled maple sausage, and blood sausage
  • Poached eggs with sautéed spinach, hollandaise and toasted bread

You can view the shoot on Stocksy.  Here are some of my favourite images from the series.

Purchase this image at https://www.stocksy.com/925682

Overhead group brunch party by Crustcrumbs

Messy table after brunch

Messy table after brunch by Crustcrumbs

Friends enjoying a brunch party

Friends enjoying a brunch party by Crustcrumbs

Group of friends enjoying brunch by Crustcrumbs

Group of friends enjoying brunch by Crustcrumbs

Man spreading marmelade on bread by Crustcrumbs

Man spreading marmelade on bread by Crustcrumbs

Check out our growing portfolio of food and lifestyle stock images on Stocksy!

April 12, 2016 1 comment
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I Crashed My New Drone

by Jen January 24, 2015
written by Jen
I Crashed My New Drone

I recently acquired a Phantom 2 Quadcopter with a H3-3D gimbal and a GoPro Hero4 Black.  And it was amazing.

20150124 Drone 0005

After it arrived in the mail, I waited all week to bring it up to my parents’ house, because I didn’t want to fly it in the city.

20150124 Drone 0004

I flew it as long as my two batteries would allow on Saturday, and the same on Sunday.

20150124 Drone 0011

And then I crashed it into a tree.

A few people have asked me, “what were you doing flying it like that in the woods, IDIOT?”

Let me explain what happened, so perhaps the rest of you who got drones for Christmas can learn from my mistake.

Firstly, I wasn’t really in the woods.  I was standing in an open area like the picture below.

20150124 Drone 0008

The drone was a few feet in front of me, hovering about 5′ off the ground (not moving), facing straight down my parents’ driveway.  There was no tree cover directly above the Phantom, and there were no trees behind it.

Secondly, I wasn’t controlling it!  Here’s what happened:  I launched the drone in my parents’ driveway and flew it around for a couple of minutes.  Then I landed, shut down the motors, picked it up, and carried it to the top of the driveway.

On the road, I launched it again, and positioned it at the top of the driveway.  I could see that there were 2 blips left on the battery indicator (25 to 50%), and I decided to land just to be safe.  As it was descending, the drone suddenly shot forward, and then straight up, and then straight ahead at high speed into the tree.  That’s what you can see in the video.

Mid-crash!

Mid-crash!

Why did it to that?  When the drone loses signal or has a low battery, it tries to auto-land within 2 meters of where it launched.  Unfortunately, it tried to auto-land within 2 meters of the PREVIOUS launch location.  If it had shot up in the air, turned around, and flown back to where I had just launched it, it wouldn’t have hit anything.  Instead, it tried to get back to the house, through the trees.

GoPro's last view before landing in a snow bank.

GoPro’s last view before landing in a snow bank.

Mistakes I made:

    1. Getting too confident too soon.  Although I found it very easy to fly, obviously I should fly in open fields only until I am an expert at all the controls!
    2. Not turning off the battery when I landed to reset “home.”  If I had turned it off, and then turned it on again before my second launch, the drone should have gone to the right place.
    3. Not knowing how to stop auto-landing.  There is a way to regain control of the Phantom 2 once the fail safe is engaged.  I had read about it, but as a beginner I was overloaded with information and I didn’t remember how to do it in the moment. All I could do was helplessly watch it crash.
Nooooooooooooo!

Nooooooooooooo!

When it hit the tree, the battery flew out, the gimbal and camera snapped off, and 2 props became mangled.  The Phantom shell was bent where the arm hit the tree.

I was optimistic that those were the only damages.  They were easy to fix, with no soldering required.  However, when I opened up the case, I also found that one of the ESCs was broken, which would require soldering to repair.

2015-01-14 14.35.27

Although I have never soldered anything in my entire life, nor assembled or disassembled anything more difficult than IKEA furniture, I decided I would repair the drone myself.  I did a lot of research and I watched a million (boring, oh so boring) YouTube videos about soldering.

As punishment (and to pay my repair bills!), I turned the process into a stock photo.

Woman fixing drone by Jen Grantham

Woman fixing drone by Jen Grantham

I almost gave up a few times (especially with the soldering), but I pushed through and was eventually able to fix it.

Repair Bill

Replacement Phantom 2 Shell:$59
ESC:$19
Propellers x 2:$30
Motor:$18
Zenmuse H3-3D Upper Bracket:$15
TOTAL: $141

Expensive mistake. But it could have been a lot worse!  I’m very lucky the gimbal – the part that holds the GoPro – survived with only $15 of damage (it’s a $400 part), and that the ceramic GPS unit didn’t break ($165 to replace).

And I’m very proud that I not only learned to solder, but that my repairs ACTUALLY WORKED.  I did a flight test today, and we’re back in business!

20150124 Drone 0001

And see? No trees!

Here’s to many new aerial videos and photos, and no more crashing.

January 24, 2015 2 comments
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Year in Review 2014

by Jen January 12, 2015
written by Jen
Year in Review 2014

Happy New Year!

I know these posts are SO 2014, but I started writing it in December so I may as well post it.  I thought it would be fun to look back on 2014 and do a photography-related Year in Review, from my job and my personal life.

A few notable things from 2014:

  • I sustained a pretty serious concussion in March, so that put a damper on… well, everything.  (And I’m still dealing with post-concussion syndrome 9 months later!)
  • Despite the above, I still managed to add 429 images to my Stocksy portfolio and had my best sales year in stock photography since I started in 2009!  I experienced a whopping 456% growth with Stocksy from 2013 to 2014.  I’m so grateful to be a part of this co-op, and proud of how successful it has become as a small company in such a competitive industry.  Go Stocksy!
  • I got married in August, and by all accounts it was the best wedding ever.
  • This is possibly the first year in my entire life that I didn’t leave the country.  Whoa!

Here are a select few moments from 2014…

Continue Reading
January 12, 2015 0 comment
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iPhoneography

by Jen October 29, 2014
written by Jen
iPhoneography

In September, Stocksy published a blog feature called Mobile Month.  They featured 24 photographers who shoot amazing images with their mobile phones, debunking the “I can’t take pictures that nice because I don’t have as good a camera as yours!” myth.

This series has encouraged me to upload more of my “on the go” photos.  Here’s a gallery on Stocksy of my iPhoneography.

Autumn Vine by Jen Grantham

Autumn Vine by Jen Grantham

Woman holding feather by Jen Grantham

Woman holding feather by Jen Grantham

Pumpkins at outdoor market by Jen Grantham

Pumpkins at outdoor market by Jen Grantham

Vines on a brick wall by Jen Grantham

Vines on a brick wall by Jen Grantham

Ask by Jen Grantham

Ask by Jen Grantham

Dog looking out window in winter by Jen Grantham

Dog looking out window in winter by Jen Grantham

Golf Course Sprinklers by Jen Grantham

Golf Course Sprinklers by Jen Grantham

Autumn Vine by Jen Grantham

Autumn Vine by Jen Grantham

Follow me on Instagram @jentakespictures!

October 29, 2014 1 comment
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Owl Portraits

by Jen October 16, 2014
written by Jen
Owl Portraits

I’ve always wanted to try photography with live animals.  Last week I had the pleasure of working with an exotic animal handler in Toronto.  My friend Nick and I teamed up on this photoshoot, as he had been wanting to shoot a model with a giant python.  I like snakes, but my personal request was for them to bring a gorgeous Eurasian eagle owl named Ruby to our shoot.

Eurasian eagle owls are one of the largest owls, and could kill a small deer.  Ruby literally took my breath away when I saw her.  Firstly, she’s huge.  Secondly, I’ve never seen an owl up close before, and it was pretty amazing.  She sat on my arm and I was able to pet her.  It was a really cool experience.

Here are some portraits I took of Ruby, as well as Ruby with a model, Camille.  The makeup artist for this shoot was the amazingly talented Nikkie Gatto.

Eurasian Eagle Owl by Jen Grantham

Eurasian Eagle Owl by Jen Grantham

Owl on woman's shoulder by Jen Grantham

Owl on woman’s shoulder by Jen Grantham

Eurasian Eagle Owl by Jen Grantham

Eurasian Eagle Owl by Jen Grantham

Owl on woman's shoulder by Jen Grantham

Owl on woman’s shoulder by Jen Grantham

Eurasian Eagle Owl by Jen Grantham

Eurasian Eagle Owl by Jen Grantham

Stay tuned for future shoots with live animals!

October 16, 2014 1 comment
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DIY: Stamping Words onto Photos

by Jen July 31, 2014
written by Jen
DIY: Stamping Words onto Photos

Speaking of words in stock photos, here’s a mini-shoot I did this morning using some rubber stamps and a photograph from my trip to Hawaii last October.  Stamping is a fun way to personalize your images.

First, you need some stamps.

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

And a photo you want to mark up.

Fog over Molokai by Jen Grantham

Fog over Molokai by Jen Grantham

Print it out.  I printed 5x7s.

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

Oh, and you’ll also need some ink.

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

Figure out what you want to write and do it.  If you don’t want it to be messy, be careful.

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

And you’re done!

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

Craft Project: using rubber stamps to write on photographs by Jen Grantham

You can see all of my rubber stamping images on Stocksy.  And check out my DIY gallery!

July 31, 2014 2 comments
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Makeup Before, During & After

by Jen July 30, 2014
written by Jen
Makeup Before, During & After

Way back in Spring, Stocksy put out a creative brief of requested subjects, and I got an idea to do a photoshoot where I took photos of a model before, during, and after makeup being applied.

Well, I’ve been dealing with a concussion for the last 4 months, so this shoot got put on the back burner until a couple of weeks ago, when I met Camille, a cute model with blue hair, and Sidonie, a kickass alt makeup artist.  We shot this series in my downtown Toronto studio.

You can view the whole shoot in a gallery, and photos can be licensed from Stocksy (promo code JEN20 gets you 20% off).

Before - No makeup by Jen Grantham

Before – No makeup by Jen Grantham

Makeup artist applying makeup to model by Jen Grantham

Makeup artist applying makeup to model by Jen Grantham

Makeup artist with blush and brush by Jen Grantham

Makeup artist with blush and brush by Jen Grantham

Makeup artist applying false eyelashes to model  by Jen Grantham

Makeup artist applying false eyelashes to model by Jen Grantham

Collection of colourful makeup by Jen Grantham

Collection of colourful makeup by Jen Grantham

Makeup artist applying eyeshadow to model by Jen Grantham

Makeup artist applying eyeshadow to model by Jen Grantham

Hairstylist curling model's hair by Jen Grantham

Hairstylist curling model’s hair by Jen Grantham

Model checking makeup in mirror by Jen Grantham

Model checking makeup in mirror by Jen Grantham

Model with blue hair in harsh light by Jen Grantham

Model with blue hair in harsh light by Jen Grantham

View the whole shoot on Stocksy in this gallery! 

July 30, 2014 1 comment
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About Me

I'm a Toronto-based stock photographer, wife, and mom. I curate photos for a living.

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Recent Posts

  • Time to Shoot Some Autumn Stock Photos

    September 25, 2018
  • Summer Feast with Crustcrumbs

    August 17, 2018
  • What I’ve Been Doing

    August 16, 2018
  • Brunch with Crustcrumbs

    April 12, 2016
  • Friday Favourites: Spring Colours

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