Hello to all of you who are new to Robert Morris! Please let me take a minute (or a page, haha) to introduce myself. My name is Joey, I'm 25, and I work in the admissions department for the college. I'm based out of the Orland Park campus, so those of you in 'the OP' will probably see me wandering around the campus. Feel free to introduce yourself to me! I'd love to meet you!!

Anyways, if there is any guidance that you might need, questions (the more random the better!! :-p), or if you just want to tell me how much of a fan you are of my blogs (*snicker*), then I'm here for ya! Ooh yea, and I'm also there for ya if it involves food of any kind.  ;) j/k

If you are not familiar with the Orland Park area, obviously you have found the mall! And for those of you who have come to the OP campus and NOT seen the mall.....well.....bless your soul. The mall is 200 feet away and there are TONS of great restaurants in the area! Here's a few of my fav's...

• CHIPOTLE!!!
• Olive Garden
• Giordano's Pizza
• Jimmy Johns
• Subway
• TGIFridays
• Lang Lee Chinese
• BWW's
• Hooters

And of course, all of the fast food places that you can image. Oh yea! And the mall food court of course...gotta love Schoops! If there are any other recommendations that I could give, I'd be happy to! I love food, and talking and thinking about it, heehehee.

Again, if you have any questions, need directions somewhere, or just want to say hi, please do! I love meeting new people! I can also be found on Facebook. CLICK HERE TO ADD ME!

Send questions or feedback to:

jlaxsalinas@robertmorris.edu

  If anyone out there has a stressful job, I can sympathize with you. There are certain jobs out there that, while the function of the job may be easy, the stress to meet the satisfaction of your clients is overwhelming. There are a few particular jobs where a disappointing performance or product can diminish your ability to attract new business. Actors, for example, spend their days reading over scripts and practicing their delivery, but one flub on the stage can doom an actor's credibility.

  I do a job that, while not similar to acting, provides a lot of stress while working. Outside of my full-time job, I am a wedding photographer.

  Many of you ladies out there have, or will be brides. Maybe you are in the process of planning a wedding, therefore, transforming yourself into a real-life Bridezilla. All of the stress that goes into planning your one special day stays with you until the end. However, as a wedding photographer, the demand to provide quality photos and capture the important moments is one of the toughest jobs that I have ever had.

  Just for the heck of it, let me introduce you to some of the worries or problems that a wedding photographer faces...

• Camera Malfunctions. This is probably one of the scariest of them all. Anything can happen to a camera, just like it can to your iPod, TV, or any other electronic device. Having a back-up camera is necessary. But what if something happens to the backup camera? Uh oh!
• Disk/Film Malfunctions. Just like the camera, anything can happen to the film or digital disk. Sometimes digital cards go corrupt during a wedding...or even worse...they're corrupt when you go home to load them on the computer! This has never actually happened to me, but it is possible.
• Missing the "shot". Some ceremonies are 45 minutes long, while some are 10 minutes. If you don't know when the kiss is coming, then it is hard to get a good shot. Missing the kiss is a big disappointment to the bride and groom since that typically marks the 'official' start of the marriage.
• Bad shots. Having a digital SLR camera for weddings is nice because you always know if you got a good shot. You can see if someone if blinking, or not looking at the camera. With film, the quality is nicer, but you're taking a chance and hoping for the best after the film gets developed. With technology and cameras as nice as they are, it's an avoidable risk.
• Being prepared. I triple check everything...from how many digital disks I have with me, to making sure the batteries for the camera are fully charge and also making sure I have the charger...just in case.

  I've been doing wedding photography for just over two years and fortunately, I have not ever had any mishaps. A couple of weeks ago, I was in Louisville, KY and I was taking photos at Churchill Downs and my camera stopped working. The trigger button would not snap a picture. That could have happened anywhere, but fortunately for me, it happened at the end of my vacation.

  I have submitted a few wedding photos to show just a bit of my work with weddings. I also have done senior pictures, high school reunions, receptions, birthdays, and many scenic photos that are viewable in many of my past blog entries (click on ARCHIVES on the left). My business's name is Innovative Enterprises and I have my own website, where brides and grooms to be can access my photos and prices.

  It is a lot of fun and very satisfying to get all of the photos that you tried for at each wedding. It is great to give photos that you know are great to the newly married couple also! 

  My company, Innovative Enterprises, receives national and local recognition as a leader in the industry and is featured on Project Wedding, the exclusive online publication for everything weddings. Project Wedding features Wedding Dresses, Wedding Songs, and the most creative and innovative Wedding Ideas from premier wedding professionals. See our featured listing here here.

  Please feel free to contact me by email if you are looking for a photographer for your event or wedding!

joey@becomeinnovative.com