one of the prettiest people i know.

meet alexandra.

my roommate and fellow diet coke enthusiast.

she owns more plaid shirts than any one else i've met.

she's graduating in april with a degree in political science, and is heading down south to louisiana in june to teach middle school english.

she's pretty much one of the coolest people i know.

oh, and she likes to read.

oh, and she's smokin (smokin hot, that is).

following boot photo taken by the boy.

following photo posed and taken by the boy.

disclaimer (sort of): 

my boyfriend is the best assistant/second shooter ever. seriously. i made sure to point out the pictures he specifically took himself, but i have to admit that half of these photos (the better half, even) were posed + styled by him. i was so impressed. and so glad to have him around. just thought i'd  give credit where credit is due :)

the week of never before seen photos.

i take a lot of pictures.

a lot.

there are 10,990 photos in my iphoto library alone. which doesn't include the pictures i started to put on my external hard drive.

anyway.

since i obviously have not posted 10,990 photos (and then some) on this blog of mine, that must mean i have lots and lots of fun + awesome pictures that i've been keeping to myself. my dad actually calls me a picture hoarder sometimes...

anyway.

but don't you worry (i know you were thinking about worrying, but don't). all this week i'll be posting never before seen photos. at least never before seen on this blog, because some other people have probably seen them.

like pictures from this wedding that i took in june (yikes) and more of this sweet baby

and to start off the week with a bang, a photo of me and one of my favorite roomies.

this picture was taken saturday.

my roommate asked if i would take some photos of her for her college graduation announcement. yes, i am seriously jealous that she will be graduating in 2 months. even though i should be graduating also. but that post will have to wait for another day.

back to the picture... 

we got to a fun little location that i had seen when i was running the other day (more like months and months ago when i used to exercise, but i say the other day so it sounds like i'm still in shape). it was just me and the roommate at first, and the pictures were turning out wonderful. how could they not? she's a total babe.

then, the boy showed up.

he was going to be my assistant for the day and hold some reflectors and things for me, because all professionals have assistants that hold things. right? only, there was no sun. which meant i had nothing i needed him to hold. and since he wasn't holding anything, he decided to explore while i took pictures.

that's when he found the train.

and decided he needed to climb on top of the train.

he then decided he needed a picture of me climbing on top of the train.

and i decided i needed to take a picture with my roommate on the train.

and somehow that picture that i needed turned into the two of us thinking we are models and doing jana's sassy face, which resulted in this picture.

when i look at it, i can't tell whether i should think it's really cool, or whether i should laugh. maybe i should do both.

thoughts?

i will tell you one thing, it sure is nice dating a boy that knows his way around a fancy camera. you don't find one of those every day (meaning the boy, not the camera).

christmas in california.

a long time ago my dad bought me some reflectors for my photography.

when i was home in december, he told me i should probably pull them out and use them sometime.

so on christmas, with my cousins, i did.

ps. i never have any one take pictures of me, so this was kind of exciting.

[britney, my grumpy assistant]

[the one on the right was my favorite picture all day]

[then it started getting dark because we took so long getting ready]

[oh. and here's me]

family pictures.

i've been a terrible blogger. long story.

so here are a few family pictures i've taken over the past few months to make up for my little hiatus.

my little men.

aren't my nephews adorable? my future kids have some serious competition in the cuteness department when it comes to the beck grandkids.

if i've learned anything from watching these boys grow up, it's to start training them young. in front of the camera, i mean. really, how many 3-year-olds know how to pose in front of the camera with their hands in their pockets? way to go melissa :)

ryan. melissa + boys

this is my brother's family.

ryan is in school to be a chiropractor. melissa is really good at making cute little boys [i'm sure she's good at making cute little girls too]. their 3 boys are some of my favorite little people in the world. i love them. it doesn't hurt that they look great in pictures.

i took these in april. i even posted them in april, but i decided that it didn't do these photos justice.

can't wait to see you guys in a week and a half.

face of friday: my awesome mother.

 yesterday, my mom flew into utah for a weekend visit. and 9 days ago was her birthday. so i thought it would be more than appropriate to share what makes judy beck so awesome.

1. she gave birth to 7 pretty cool children - #6 being the coolest [me].

2. she has the best pie recipes ever. ever. and this woman does not hide her talents under a bushel. 90% of the city of fremont knows how awesome my mom's pies are. in fact, thanks to my mother, i thought giving pies to people was just a standard life practice. the first time i went to a boy's house for dinner i brought an apple pie - they laughed at me.

3. her lasagna recipe is pretty awesome too.

4. she's a pretty funny. and i know that she thinks a lot more funny things than she actually says out loud - she's just too nice to say them all.

5. she let's me complain about how hard i think my life is. and then tells me to keep pushing forward.

6. i'm pretty sure my mom is in better shape than i am. we went on a bike ride once and she pretty much kicked my butt. and that was when i was in high school. and i was skinny.

7. she's my most faithful blog reader.

8. she writes incredible poems and stories. i'm sure you'll see them around one day after someone figures out they need to be published.

9. she's always ready to have a good time and loves eating as much as i do.

10. she is a fabulous photo assistant. and a pretty decent model too.

11. she really is the most giving person i know.

love you mom :)

xoxo.

jana

when i get to have babies.

i will gladly take lots of boys.

like 4, maybe 5.

seriously.

the ripley family.

this is actually the first extended family session i've ever done.

i loved their dogs :)