Family Photography, Business Photography and Restoration Photography

Photo Restoration:Thousand Oaks-Westlake Village Photographer Restores World War II B-17 Bomber

2012-01-12T10:45:00.000-08:00

We Can Bring Back Our Priceless Family History

Through Photo Retouching

I wanted to share this incredible before and after restoration with you regarding my client's photo of Boeing's B-17 Bomber, aka the Flying Fortress, that I recently restored. I feel that it's so important to keep alive the unique history each and every one of us have with these precious photos.

This is a special portrait because it showed that these brave men flew 100 missions with this B-17 Bomber. It is significant to have flown this many missions because many men did not survive this many missions. I can not imagine what it would have been like to be in one of the "bubbles" on this plane firing my machine gun as a German fighter was also firing it's guns at me!

Carlos, my client, really liked the way this old and broken-up image came alive again through my artwork on this picture. He said, "I am amazed as to the level of restoration that Joel accomplished with my family photos and the military pictures. Thank you Photography By Joel!"

If you would like to see more photo recovery or photo retouching examples please feel free to check them out on my website: Photography By Joel Photo Restoration.

Also, if you have old images that you would like to make bigger or better please give me a call at the studio, 818-706-3778, or email me, joel@photographybyjoel.com, for a FREE Evaluation of your photos to see if they are restorable. Thanks.

Family Portraits: Make Great Holiday Gifts!

2011-10-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

We hope that you and your family are doing well! It is that time of the year when all of us are thinking about planning something special for the family, getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas and Hannakuh, eating a little too much as well as what gifts we will want to give to ourselves and the people that we love.

I wanted to share this family photography portrait that I just created for Diana and Paul's family at their home in Lake Sherwood. I feel that it's so important to personalize each portrait: whether it means going to their home, including their pets as well as capture everyones unique personalities.

We had a lot of fun creating this image and Diana added, " Joel is a true professional with a passion for what he does. We have had other family portraits in the past and he is the best family photographer with whom we have experienced."

I love this quote from T.S. Elliot on the value of a family, "There's no vocabulary for love within a family, love that's lived in but not looked at, love within the light of which all else is seen, the love within which all other love finds speech."

We hope that you will be able to spend special time with your family, and please feel to call us here at Photography By Joel, 818-706-3778, and let us know if we can also make your holiday for 2011 an extra special one with a portrait of you and your loved ones. Yes, nice pets are welcome too!

Photo Restoration: Should You Restore Your Old Family Photos?

2011-07-06T16:27:00.000-07:00

Photo Restoration or photo retouching of old pictures is certainly becoming very popular here at Photography By Joel as well as with baby boomers as well as many others here in the United Sates.

It is becoming more valuable to many of our clients in the Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Moorpark, Newbury Park, etc. areas because they realize that if they don't do anything with these old pictures of themselves and their parents then they will be lost forever. Their children and their children's children will never know about grandma and grandpa when they were a baby, teen, engaged or fought in a war.

As a photo enhancer you need to be so careful in photo retouching these priceless and one of a kind images. I love hearing the stories of the people in these pictures. With the enclosed before and after picture Barbara from Agoura Hills, California shared with me that this was a high school graduation portrait of her mom from 1932. When she saw the final results she said, "Joel you did an excellent job and I am very satisfied with your photo restoration work. Your restoration services were done right and on time as you promised."

For many people, to answer the above question, it is, "yes, it's worth it to retouch their old photos." If you also feel this way remember that we offer at Photography By Joel an absolutely free consultation and evaluation of your old photos. Feel free to give us a call at the studio, 818-706-3778, or email me at the studio, joel@photographybyjoel.com.

On a final note, have you seen the many new examples of my photo restoration at our website? If not, check it out at: www.photographybyjoel.com

The Very Best

In Photographic Memories,

Joel

family photography

business photography

maternity photography

photo restoration

Pet Photography: Don't Forget Your Dog for Your Family Portrait!

2011-04-04T16:06:00.001-07:00

Is it possible to combine pet photography and family photography in one session! Yes, it definitely can be done but it takes a little more time, patience and preparation. However, with almost all of my families that made this decision they felt it was definitely worth including man's best friend...their dog.

I remember the concerns that John and Olivia from Ventura, California had including their lab with their photo studio family portrait. Olivia commented, "I thought our family portrait session was going to be a lot tougher than it actually was because we had a hyperactive 11 month old labrador plus a 3 year old and our baby!"

It's not a funny picture when the only photograph you have of your family is: two stressed-out looking parents and your children gone wild around the hyperactive pet!

Although there are no guarantees to family portraits, or in life, there are certain things that I do before and during the session to improve the odds of success. Olivia added to this point, "As a result of Joel's extensive experience with animals and people everything went smooth and quick with our family photography."

So, have some fun and include your pets, but check with us first so we can make it a memorable family photography and pet photography session that you will treasure for a lifetime!

Grand Parents Needs Hugs Too From Their Grand Children!

2010-11-20T16:09:00.000-08:00

We All Need Hugs for the Holidays
and Grandma Needs Hugs Too!

I just want to share this precious portrait of Grandma Elaine from Bakersfield, California. We just completed this wonderful session with her and her grand children. We also created another image with the 11 month old baby as well with his girl cousins, but I have noticed that babys don't hug too well at that age so we captured this image with "just the girls."

Like I said it was a very active session with all the kids and Elaine expressed it best and said, "Joel worked with the children fantasically. The sitting was a wonderful experience for everyone."

To see more examples of my family photography, children photography or maternity photography feel free to visit us at the photography studio website: www.photographybyjoel.com .

Thank You and even though it's quite busy now at the photography studio let us know if you also would like a picture as well for the holidays.

Maternity Photography: Is it Really Worth Having This Type of Portrait?

2010-09-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I just noticed this image and blog post that I wanted to share with you from a couple of months ago but here it is now--worth the wait!

I definitely feel that it is worth having a portrait that captures this stage of your baby and family's history. I love working with families to create maternity portraits at our photo studio. I feel honored as a photographer when people trust me to create this kind of portrait .

This portrait was a surprise gift for Lynn's husband. Lynn also enjoyed the whole experience and the final results at our portrait studio for her maternity photography and said, "I had a great time with my daughter Cassandra at Photography By Joel. We took this portrait as a gift for my husband. I really liked the way Joel captured the relationship of me and my daughter with my maternity portraits. He exceeded my expectations of the whole experience from our first meeting, to the photo session to the finished product. When I saw the images that he created for us his beautiful work brought me to tears and made me really glad that I took the time to call him and take these photos. I would absolutely recommend Photography By Joel if you want Maternity Photography or Family Photography!"

If you are considering having a maternity portrait or if you know of someone who would value a maternity photography portrait, it's a gift that will be treasured for a lifetime, please feel free to call me personally at the photography studio, 818-706-3778 or visit us at our website at: www.photographybyjoel.com

Yes, we have Gift Certificates in every price range(which make great gifts for maternity and baby showers), starting at Only $50.00.

Thank You and we hope that you're doing well!

To Outstanding Memories,

Joel

& Company

P.S. To see additional maternity images visit our maternity

photography website at: http://www.photographybyjoel.com/maternity-photography.html

Children Photography: Playful Moments With Three Sisters

2010-07-13T16:24:00.000-07:00

Boy, we sure had a lot of fun at Photography By Joel in the Thousand Oaks Westlake Village area with three sisters that ranged in age from 3 years old (two were twins) to the oldest who was 13 years old. I love Children Photography at this age because I realize that I am creating memorable and lasting moments and memories for a family that they will treasure for a lifetime!

Sydney, their mom, noticed the way I worked with her children and said, "Joel was great with the kids! He really was able to bring out their personalities in all of the children's photos! I would definitely recommend Photography by Joel to my friends, because he offers very high qualtity work and creates a very enjoyable experience."

If it has been more than five years since you had a family or children photography session, we highly recommend an updated portrait of your children or family. Please feel free to contact us at Photography By Joel, 818-706-3778, or visit us at the photography studio website at

www.photographybyjoel.com or go directly to the children and baby section of our website at http://www.photographybyjoel.com/ChildrenPhotography.html .

Thank You, and enjoy your family and life.

Pet Photography: You Have to See This Studio Portrait of Bosley and Samantha!

2010-05-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

Boy, it sure was a lot of fun doing a pet photo with these two little buddies, Bosley and Samantha at our photography studio. Photography Studios should photograph pets more often if they have this skill and training, because animals like people sure have their own personalities! Having over twenty five years of experience as a professional photographer in the Conejo Valley sure helped at moments like this. Let me see if I got this right: Bosley was the more active one, and Samantha was very shy one.

Thank you Bob and Janet for trusting me to photograph your two cute kids. And thank you for your wonderful comments that you expressed after the portrait session, "We are so happy with the pet portraits of our two dachshunds that Joel Bogeberg took of them. Our dogs have never been to a photography studio and we were worried that they would be nervous but Joel, who obviously loves animals, was warm and friendly and put them at ease. Today we picked out our finished pet portraits and will treasure it so much because so much of our little guys personalities came through. Thank You Joel!"

If you have a pet or pets also and would treasure a portrait of them alone, with your children or with your family our photography studio is having pet month from May 10-June 10, 2010. If you mention, "Pet Month" when you call Photography By Joel, 818-706-3778, you will receive our $240 package that includes a Deluxe Studio Portrait Session and a hand enlarged 5x7" Gallery Portrait for Only $115.00! We Love Pets, Children and Families at Photography By Joel.

And if you call to reserve your session by May 25th, as an added bonus we will give you a digital image that you can include on your Facebook page so you can share it with your friends if you mention, "Pet Month with Facebook!"

On a personal note, I was just going through old portraits of our son, who will be graduating high school in a couple of weeks, and I am so glad that we did a professional portrait session at our studio when he has young with our cute little Yorkie!

http://www.photographybyjoel.com/

Family Photographer Joel Bogeberg was the Guest Speaker at the Thousand Oaks Westlake Village Chamber of Commerce on May 7, 2010

2010-05-11T11:08:00.000-07:00

Joel Bogeberg was the main guest speaker at the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce discussing the Value of Family Photography and Business Photography.

What an honor to be the featured guest speaker at the Greater Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce, aka Thousand Oaks Westlake Village Chamber of Commerce, on May 7, 2010. It was very early in the morning at the Networking breakfast, however I received such a positive response from many of the chamber members.

They said that my presentation was very informative and that they would definitely keep my photography studio, Photography By Joel, in mind for family photography, baby photography or business photography.

I have such a passion for the art and value of photography, I hope it shows, and I really enjoy sharing this information with other people and various groups in the community. If you know of an organization that needs a guest speaker I would love to share this valuable information, from my twenty five years experience in the Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village areas, with your organization or school. Some of the topics that I have shared with other groups were: What Secrets you should know when you choose a family, baby, or children photographer; Helpful Hints on choosing which old photos to use for restoration or groupings in your home; What's the Best Way to Share and Hold Your Family and Professional Photos on your computer?; etc.

Please feel free to call myself or Suzanne at the Photography Studio, 818-706-3778, or email me directly at, joel@photographybyjoel.com if you know of such a speaking opportunity.

Enjoy Life

& Your Family,

Joel

http://www.photographybyjoel.com/

"Show Your Tummy With Mommy!" Maternity Photography by Thousand Oaks Westlake Photographer, Photography By Joel

2010-04-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

Children Photography by a professional photographer is essential we feel at Photography By Joel if you have small children. Each moment and stage from Baby Photography to Child Photography to Senior Photography is a precious stage in the life of our children! However, an area of photography that is often neglected in the photography cycle of your child is the Materinity Portraits which is unfortunate!

Theresa's beautiful and touching portrait is a perfect example of our Maternity Photography. Each session is customized to the needs of this Maternity Portrait, from fun to classic in style. While baby three was on her way, we wanted to make sure Richard and Nina the two children shown in this studio photography portrait felt included. The result was this special portrait with everyone showing their tummies!

It was such a joy to see the family together and having so much fun! This was a very special gift for dad too! Theresa was very happy with the outcome of the portraits and the portrait session and said, "Joel was very friendly and went out of his way to make us feel comfortable with my Maternity Photography and he really kept the kids happy!"

All The Best,

Joel

To see more incredible maternity portraits, children's portraits, family photography and more - visit us at http://www.photographybyjoel.com/

Phone: 818-706-3778

E-mail: joel@photographybyjoel.com

Family Photography By Photography By Joel in Westlake Thousand Oaks

2010-04-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

This past month, I had the joy of capturing this beautiful family portrait with Lisa and her girls!

Family Photography is such an important aspect of documenting your family's memories and history, and as such Lisa decided to have not only a group portrait, but indidivudal portraits as well. She was very excited about her portraits and said, "Joel created a very comfortable and fun environment during the portrait session and I am very pleased with the images!"

Having over 25 years of experience as a family photographer in the Thousand Oaks Westlake Village area I feel it is essential that people feel comfortable and have fun time during their studio photo sessions. If they aren't comfortable, people will have forced and unnatural expressions. I call this the "Chucky Cheese Smile!" It's a picture that no one wants. This is the image that we bury at the bottom of our drawer, instead of proudly displaying and sharing it with your family and friends!

You can also view examples of not only family portraits but senior photography, maternity photography, children photography, and business photography at http://www.photographybyjoel.com/. If it has been awhile since you and your family or loved ones have had a professional portrait, or if you want to give a gift cerificate for someone special (a baby gift, etc.) please feel free to give us a call here at Photography By Joel, 818-706-3778, even if you want to chat and say, "Hi."

Thousand Oaks Westlake Village Photographer Photography By Joel now offers Hold My Memories Club for their customers

2010-03-18T17:18:00.001-07:00

The newest trend in photography has finally come to the Westlake Village Thousand Oaks area! Photography By Joel has officially partnered with HoldMyMemories.com!!! This is an incredible national company for professional photographers and their clients that offers you the ability to store and view your FULL RESOLUTION pictures of you and your family! (As compared to pretty much all of the other places on the web where they only store small files that you could never print a quality enlargement from!)

No more worries that you will loose your precious family digital memories forever because of a computer crash, CDs or DVDs that went bad, house fire, etc. Now with Hold My Memoies and Photography By Joel you will be able to keep all of your photo and video memories safe and secure for the cost of a couple of Starbucks coffees each month! In addition, you and your friends can also legally view the images from your Photography By Joel portrait session as well! Your personal images once again are much larger than seen on facebook, etc. and it's a pure website with just your photos instead of all the writing and stuff around it!

As a premium account member, HoldMyMemories.com will store practically unlimited images for you. In addition to your personal photo storage, you also have these services and discounts as well: 100% of your monthly subscription payment is applied each month as credit to future Photography By Joel sessions and purchases, complimentary portrait sessions each year ($150 Value), free 5x7" Gallery Portrait ($100 Value) from each session and a Free "Photo Music Video" created from your portrait session and posted on your family website! These are HUGE BENEFITS as a Hold My memories Member as compared to just purchasing a traditional portrait session! We are VERY EXCITED to be offering this to our clients!

All of your photos, whether family photography, senior photography, or maternity photography, etc. photographed at Photography By Joel will be placed onto your secure family website. The best part is that we will help you to make it super easy to learn and load your pictures!

At anytime of the day you can go to your website and view or order reprints from any of your sessions. If you or your family members want to order any portraits taken by Joel all you have to do is go to your website and order the print - it's that easy!

You can go to www.HoldMyMemories.com to learn more. They have 3 different types of programs that you can choose from: monthly, bi-annual, or annual payments. We definitely recommend the bi-anuual premium account because it will more than pay for itself: you will receive every penny of your subscription back, you will also receive free products and session fees as well from Photography By Joel. If you would like to sign up for a HoldMyMemories account or if you have any questions about it please call us at the photography studio 818-706-3778. Unfortunately, if you sign up at HoldMyMemories.com website, you will not be eligible for the free offers that we are offering from Photography By Joel, so you want to call us directly at 818-706-3778. Thank You.

Take Care,
Joel

P.S. One more thing... I have just started working on my own family website so you can see for yourself how it looks and works. If you would like to see our family website, please feel free to visit it at: www.HoldMyMemories.com/bogeberg. Until you have tried it for awhile you have no idea how easy and how much fun it is to enjoy your family portraits this way! Now family and friends can see your updated photos and events--especially valuable when you have family and friends that don't live near you. If you have any questions about our HoldMyMemories Club at Photography By Joel, please give us a call. We will help you create the perfect place to hold, organize, and share ALL your family memories!

P.P.S. Lastly, if you mention that you just read this Photography by Joel Blog entry by April 29, 2010 you will receive the first month of hosting as a Free Gift ($9.95 Value) so you can see for FREE how incredible and valuable it is to have your own family website like we have at the Bogeberg's! I personally will guarantee that you will be thrilled with Hold My Memroies Club at our studio that I will offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Hope to hear from you soon.

"Most Assuredly I would recommend Photography By Joel for family portraits!"

2010-03-03T11:21:00.001-08:00

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share this great family portrait and family with you to show you that you can have a beautiful family portrait without everyone dressing formal! Paula and her family were wonderful to work with, and it shows through this beautiful portrait!

When Paula picked up this incredible Canvas Master Portrait from our Westlake Village Thousand Oaks studio, she mentioned how happy she was with the results, "This was a very personal experience. Joel took a lot of time & effort to get the best possible images. We are very happy with our portraits."

Thanks to Paula and her family for allowing Photography By Joel to capture the beauty of her family during this great time in their lives.

If you are looking for more great examples of family photography, or are looking to have your own family portraits taken, please visit our website at: http://www.photographybyjoel.com/
or feel free to give us a call here at our Westlake Village studio at 818-706-3778

The Very Best,

Joel &
Company

Business Photographer, Photography By Joel, Creates Business Portraits for changesinyou.com owner

2010-01-29T13:19:00.000-08:00

What a joy it was to be able to provide business portraits for Tara! She was an extremely nice person to work with, and appreciated the portraits. We all had a lot of fun as well at Photography By Joel in creating this business photography portrait.

"What I like best about coming to your studio was the warm and inviting feeling both you and your wife Suzanne presented. I appreciated the environment because it allowed me to relax and take a great photo - I couldn't be happier with the outcome!"

Tara needed a profesional business portrait photographer for her website and other promotional materials for her business.

Tara is a licensed marriage, family & child therapist who specializes in working with people with depression, women issues, and growth. We encourage you to check out her website here at http://www.changesinyou.com/ and give her a call if you need counseling services or a second opinion about issues.

Ballet Photographer, Photography By Joel, Captures Beautiful High School Senior Portraits of Kelsy

2010-01-29T12:54:00.000-08:00

As an artist, I enjoy working with other artists to create incredible masterpiece portraits displaying their craft or profession. I had such a unique opportunity when I captured Kelsy's ballet portraits a few weeks ago here at our Westlake Village studio, Photography By Joel.

Kelsy's incredible form and grace, from her many years of study, really came through in her studio portraits. I felt so honored to have been able to capture this stage in her life of ballet! Kelsy's mother Kathi , who was extremely nice to work with, described the portrait session and experience here at Photography By Joel, "Joel has a superb eye for arranging each shot, he is a wizard at lighting, and is easy and fun to work with!"

Again it was my honor to capture such an incredible young woman, and now Kelsy can enjoy these ballet portraits for her high school senior pictures as well as enjoy them for the rest of her life!

Child Photographer, Photography By Joel, Captures Children Kissing Their Daddy!

2010-01-29T12:43:00.000-08:00

It sure was a lot of fun working with Brinn, Kyle and their dad Brian at Photography By Joel last week for their children and family portrait session! Not only did we capture the whole extended family, but we had many fun images such as this precious portrait for Brian and his children to cherish!

Brian expressed it best with his excitement regarding the children photography and family photography portraits that we created for him with this very complimentary comment, "Joel brought real emotion to the photos which showed the personality and love of our family."

As a Family Photographer and Child Photographer in the Thousand Oaks Westlake areas, I feel that it is so important to capture the honest emotions and personalities of the adults and children that I am photographing. Whereas, some photographers only offer very stiff and posed pictures, or pictures that are too casual looking without any regard to classic portraiture or composition. Please feel free to view additional examples on our website of my work at: http://www.photographybyjoel.com/.

Thanks again to Brinn, Kyle and Brian along with the rest of the family for making their family portrait at our Westlake Village Studio a loving and enjoyable experience.

You don't have to be perfect for your family portraits at Photography By Joel!

2010-01-18T12:43:00.001-08:00

I had the recent pleasure of taking family portraits
for Chiris, Deborah and their children Scott & Starr here at Photography By Joel studio in Westlake Village, California. What a great family!

Family portraits, when photographed correctly, are meaningful and artistic parts of your family's history. Although many families agree with the above statement, sometimes there are family members who are hesistant to have a family portrait because they feel that they are not at their ideal weight or that they are looking older than they did ten or twenty years ago.

Deborah, like many of our clients, was concerned if she would look her best at this time, " I was concerned about the way the pictures would be posed. I didn't want my being overweight to show. However, Joel Bogeberg was an expert about placing everyone in our family and making sure we all looked great and would be comfortable with the pictures."

Chris and Deborah's family portrait turned out spectacular, as you can see. Their family looked great and it showed everyone in a comfortable and relaxed manner. At Photography By Joel we want you to have a fun and relaxed experience and as a result your portraits will genuinely reflect you and your family.

If you are feeling apprehensive about having a family or children portrait taken, simply give us a call here at our Westlake Village Studio 818-706-3778 and let us put your fears at ease! We're great listeners and we genuinely care about you and your family. Thank You

Capturing the Beauty of Ballet Photography at Photography By Joel in Westlake Village

2010-01-13T14:32:00.000-08:00

Several months ago I had the privilege of photographing the Ballet Arts Ballerinas for their Christmas Nutcracker performance at Photography By Joel Portrait Studio in Westlake Village, Ca. I was the photographer for their group portraits at the Ballet Arts School as well. As shown is Bianca, an extraordinary dancer and person, and she commented about her portraits and her experience, "I loved the portraits that Joel created for me, I saw my pictures immediately and Joel allowed me to change my poses if I needed to. Thank You Joel!" Bianca is a true professional--she brought beauty and grace to this beautiful art.

If you have a balerina that would value precious portraits of her or if you want to view additional examples of Joel Bogeberg's work visit our studio website at: http://www.photographybyjoel.com/

Business Photographer, Photography By Joel photographs board of director Mike Davis from North Ranch Country Club in Westlake VIllage

2010-01-13T14:19:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of creating business portraits for Mike Davis and other members of the Board of Directors from the North Ranch Country Club this past month. Not only was it nice to work with Mike, but it was great to get a chance to know Mike as well! Mike, along with the other members of the Board of Directors had their professional headshots created at Photography By Joel Portrait Studio in Westlake Village.

It is so important to have high quality pictures to represent any business, and I was delighted to provide these incredible portraits for the North Ranch Country Club Board of Directors.

Please keep Photography By Joel in mind for your business portraits in the Westlake Thousand Oaks area!

Portrait Photographer Photography By Joel creates beautiful outdoor Family Photography in Thousand Oaks

2009-11-23T13:06:00.000-08:00

I had the pleasure of working with Denise and Terry's children several years ago when they needed a senior photographer. They enjoyed the Senior Pictures so much, that when it came time to update their Family Portrait, they choose Photography By Joel to create this special portrait for their family.

As a photography studio in the Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village area I felt honored to once again create another important image for their family. Denise best expressed her positive experience and said, "Joel and I had worked together on my children's senior pictures. Due to the professionalism and quality, I chose to have our family portrait done as well. The portrait looks wonderful and is something that our family will enjoy for a lifetime!"

This particular portrait was created on location at the beautiful Cal Lutheran Campus which is in Thousand Oaks, California. We had a lot of fun during the session creating many different type of looks and poses. As a professional photographer this was not only my favorite family portrait, but it was the family's favorite as well. We created a beautiful Canvas Master Portrait of this image which is being proudly displayed and enjoyed in their home.

It was a pleasure once again to work with Denise and her family, and I hope to have many more opportunitys in the future to photograph you in the areas of family photography, business photography, or wedding photography!

Fun Holiday Family Photography in Westlake Village with their pet dog

2009-11-19T11:07:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun day working with Bill, Pam, Sarah, Billy, and of course Brumley their adorable lilttle puppy, creating their Holiday Family Portraits. The lake environment in Bill & Pam's backyard proved to be a perfect location for their family photography. It was a challenging day with the bright hot sun beaming down on us, but my son Erik, who is very tall, assisted by holding a large screen to block the strong sun rays from their faces to make many beautiful family photographs!

It is very important that my clients have a great experience with their portrait session, because if they're enjoying themselves then their portraits will look more relaxed. Pam expressed it best after the portrait session by saying, "Joel and his son Erik were very friendly and put us at ease during our entire photography session. Althought the day was unexpectedly hot, we had a lot of fun throughout the entire experience!"

Thank you Bill, Pam and the rest of the family for an incredible afternoon. We were proud to showcase your very special family through your portraits, and we hope that you enjoy your Holiday Cards and your beautiful Canvas Master Portraits of you and your family!

Photographer Joel Bogeberg Captures Incredible High School Band Pictures of Jake

2009-11-19T09:59:00.000-08:00

As a professional portrait photographer I had the pleasure of capturing Jake's high school band pictures at Photography By Joel. His mother Lynn also really liked the images and how I worked with her son and said, "Joel was quick, flexible, caring and on-time. The portraits were beautiful!"

It was such a joy to work with Jake to capture this important part of his high school memories at my Thousand Oaks Westlake Village photography studio. So many times people underestimate the importance of portraits to document their family's history. It was my pleasure to create with Jake extra-special professional portraits that he can treasure with his family for many years to come!

"No, it's not impossible to get great portraits of an active two year old!" says portrait photographer Joel Bogeberg

2009-11-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

What a great time we had here at Photography By Joel studios in the Thousand Oaks Westlake Village area doing children portraits of Brett from Camarillo, California!

Brett was a joy to work with: laughing and posing for the camera and being super-active as a little two year old boy can be! Ann, Brett's mom, noticed what a difference Photography By Joel made while capturing her little boy as compared to her other child photographers saying, "It is very difficult to photograph my very active two year old! I was so surprised and delighted with the large number of terrific shots that Joel was able to capture!"

Joel's background as a school psyhcologist really gives him an advantage while capturing children's portraits. His patience and sensitivity in working with babies and children show in the beautiful portraits that follow!

Thank you Brett and his family for a great session here at Photography By Joel.

Photography By Joel in Westlake Village creates special Senior Pictures for Spencer

2009-10-28T11:30:00.000-07:00

Portrait Photographer Joel Bogeberg had a special senior pictures portrait session at the Photography By Joel Westlake Village studio today.

The last time Joel had the privilege of photographing Spencer Book was when Joel created baby pictures for Spencer and his family 17 years ago! Spencer's mom Jacque explained the importance of having Photography By Joel create Spencer's senior pictures. " We drove all the way from Santa Barbara because I wasn't happy with the school photographer, and for portraits as important as senior pictures, we only trusted Photography by Joel to do this important pictures of our son."

Joel spent a lot of time with Spencer during his portrait session to give Spencer time to be himself, and to give his senior pictures variety and creativity. One of the families favorite pictures that Joel created is a portrait showcasing the original baby picture of Spencer and the new senior picture.

Photography By Joel loved spending time with the Spencer and his family again, and truly enjoyed creating special Senior Pictures for Spencer that he and his family will treasure for a lifetime.

Thousand Oaks Westlake Village Photographer Joel Bogeberg photographs Grand Opening at First Mortgage Corporation with the Bob Davis Team in Ventura

2009-10-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

What an exciting evening Photography By Joel had photographing the Bob Davis Team at First Mortgage Corporation's Grand Opening at their new facility. Located at 5200 Telegraph Road in Ventura, Bob and Mary Davis invited Photography By Joel to be a part of the evening's festivities.

The night was filled with great food, great music, and in this picture Bob Davis is thanking family photographer Joel Bogeberg for the $450 donation to the Grand Prize winner!

We highly recommend The Bob Davis Team if you are looking to refinance your home, or looking to finance a new home! They not only provide fair and reasonable pricing, but are very knowledgable as well. You can visit The Bob Davis Team's wesbsite at http://www.firstmortgage.com/ventura/ Thank You.

Portrait Photographer, Joel Bogeberg in Westlake Village photographs Frankie Avalon

2009-10-28T11:03:00.000-07:00

Photography By Joel recently had the honor of working with Frankie Avalon, a wondeful gentleman, to create professional commercial photographs with his product and to updated his headshots.

We had a ton of fun in the studio working with Frankie to create these portraits. Out of all the years of working with professional photographers it was humbling to hear Frankie state that the portraits that I created for him were the best he's ever had!

The very best Frankie to you and your family, and so glad that I was able to capture Frankie's true character and style with creativity and expertise. Please feel free to visit Mr Avalon's website to view his upcoming concerts as well as purchase his products: http://www.frankieavalon.com/ . Thank You.

Westlake High School Bands work with Professional Photographer Joel Bogeberg to capture their 2009 Band & Orchestra Portraits

2009-10-26T15:42:00.001-07:00

Photography By Joel had the recent opportunity to photograph the Westlake Village High School Concert & Orchestra Bands in Westlake Village, CA.

We had a wonderful time working with the groups of talented young musicians during their group and individual portraits. The sun worked to our advantage, and the group shots turned out beautifully! During the individual portraits, we saw some familiar faces of seniors who have had their senior portraits taken with us as well.

The parents really enjoyed Joel's professionalism, noting his attention to detail and sensitivity to the students' needs (allowing the students to see their portraits instantly for hair placement, smiles, etc.). Many parents commented that their individual portraits were the "best picture" of their sons and daughters that they have ever seen!

Thank you so much to the Westlake Village High School Concert & Orchestra Bands, as well as the faculty and staff for making our visit a great success. We look forward to seeing you next year for your 2010 band and orchestra portraits, as well as for your family and high school senior portraits!

Photographer Photography By Joel photographed over 70 couples at Fundraising Event at the Ronald Reagan Library

2009-10-19T16:54:00.000-07:00

What an incredible event last Saturday, October 17, 2009, at the Ronald Reagan Library that was sponsored by the Westlake Village Rotary Club. We felt priviledged to donate our time and expertise for this fund-raising event for local charities.

After a rough start, having printer software problems, we soon figured out this issue and then started printing portraits as a complimentary gift to each couple. Just to give you an idea of what the final image looked like we are showing you a very special couple from the event, Reverend Dr. Gary Dickey and his wonderful wife Tammy. He is an extra special pastor at United Methodist Church in Westlake Village, and the church's website is http://www.umcwv.org/.

We want to thank the many nice couples who not only contributed very generously to this event, but thanked us for creating special Casablanca images for them. You are very welcome.

We're so happy that we choose business photographer Photography By Joel in Westlake Village!

2009-10-12T16:31:00.000-07:00

It's definitely possible to do an excellent job with someone's business portraits if you have an ok relationship with them, but the final portraits are even more special when you're having a lot of fun with them in the studio portrait session. As a portrait photographer in the Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village area for over twenty five years that's what I felt happened in my portrait session with Alison and Mary for their business photography portraits. Their business is, Just Married Videography, and their website is, http://www.justmarriedvideography.com/.

They are two very talented and enthusiastic professionals that do videography. I had the priviledge of working with them recently on the other side of the camera when they photographed me for the front page of my website, http://www.photographybyjoel.com/ . Hopefully, you will be able to see this video clip, and the many changes we're making on the first page of the photography studio website towards the end of November.

Here's my favorite business photography image of Alison and Mary from the photoshot--I hope you like it too!

What a Great Business Photography Session with Ken Benedict!

2009-10-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

Really enjoyed creating a business photograph for Ken Benedict from DAAT Asset Management. He is an registered investment advisor and he was very happy with the professional portrait that we created for him at Photography By Joel in Westlake Village, California. He had other experiences to create a business portrait that weren't as favorable as the one that we worked on together and I really appreciate what he said, "I finally found a studio, Photography By Joel, to provide me with the high quality business picture that I've been looking for." This business picture will be used for website photography as well as for press releases and brochures for his business.

Business Photography at Photography By Joel

2009-09-17T12:29:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed this recent portrait session at Photography By Joel with Jenny Hezzell who is the owner of Computer Power Unlimited in Westlake Village, CA. It really menas a lot to me when we can work together at our Westlake Village studio to create a successful business picture to represent a person's company!

What a nice compliment I received from Jenny after the portrait session, "Joel made the whole experience fun and the results were very flattering! He made me feel relaxed, he worked very quickly to get great images."

Business photography can range from a more formal type of look to informal. It all depends upon the need and the look that you are trying to achieve. Also, many of our clients really enjoy the fact that we will travel to their business location in Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Simi Valley, or many other southern California locations to personalize their business pictures even more.

Hawaii Dreaming

2009-07-13T17:45:00.001-07:00

The Magic of Hawaii

Boy, do I love those sunsets in Hawaii! This is a recent image that I photographed, while waiting for our dinner, with our new digital camera that I just purchased before we took off on our vacation last month.

This image was created in the south western part of Ohua, which was far less crowded and conjested than in the main cities.

I hope you enjoy this tranquil and beautiful sunset portrait.

A Great Attorney Rock & Rolls for Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Ventura County Fundraiser at the Canyon Club

2009-06-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

Steve Greenwood, whose day job is as an estate planning attorney in Westlake Village, CA, provided incredible entertainment with his band Teardrop Garage at the Canyon Club on June 14, 2009.

Steve plays bass guitar and sings many great Oldies. The Teardrop Garage Band recently reunited; they used to play together when they were teenagers in high school which was over thirty five years ago.

It was certainly a lot of fun being the official photographer for the band and watching Steve and "the boys" playing Beatles, Tom Petty and many other great hits from the 60's and the 70's.

This portrait of Steve and the drummer in the background was at the moment the colored spot lights came on and created this really cool effect. I further enhanced it and designed it like a poster. Give Steve a call (found on his website) or visit his website if you have any question on estate planning or what it was like to play again with their band.

Great High School Senior Portraits and Video of Samantha by Photography By Joel

2009-05-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Samantha it was so much fun creating all of the different senior portraits with you from sports, to formal to glamour portraits. My favorite series was when I cranked up the music and captured the fun and natural poses of you as you were dancing and twirling!

Thank you for your very kind comments after the portrait session when your mom said, "Thank You Joel for spending an amazing amount of time with my daughter, and going way beyond what we expected from a high school senior portrait session! I will highly recommend Photography By Joel, because he makes it fun, has so many wonderful ideas, and is a super nice guy!"

Here's a mini sample of Samantha's
senior portraits and just imagine
what we can do for your

senior portraits too:

Beautiful Family Portrait Composite

2009-03-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

Family, Mother and Baby, Father and Baby
and Baby Alone Portraits
with our Tuscany Background

At Photography By Joel we recently created this beautiful series of Genie & Drew with their son Tommy at our Westlake Village studio. One year old Tommy was the greatest! He was very curious and wonderful to work with. Composite images creates wonderful family stories. We look forward to creating and personalizing it for your family as well.

Baby Photographer, Photography By Joel, Captured The Very Best with My Baby!

2009-01-16T15:40:00.000-08:00

Boy, I really enjoyed the baby portrait session with little two month old Miles! We worked together as a team with his mom and grandmother in the camera room to make this session work!

Having photographed babies as a professional photographer in the Thousand Oaks area for over twenty years I have found that it is essential to be very sensitive to the baby's feelings when they enter our studio. Little Miles was asleep when he arrived at our studio and rather than jolting him awake with loud sounds or objects in his face, like so many photographers do, we had him continue to sleep. This allowed me to create an amazing and very special series of precious images with him that would not have been possible if he was awake. And yes, when he awoke we were able to capture many very cute images of him as well.

In this baby composite that we created here at Photography By Joel Studio in Westlake Village, California I wanted to not only show the many different images of this baby but the softness and gentleness in what we call, "The Fantasy Series." A Fantasy Series Portrait is created on a Watercolor Archieval medium, as compared to traditional photographic paper, and has a longevity that is three times greater than traditional photographic paper (more than 90 years with proper care).

Once again, we hope that you enjoy this series of Mile's baby portraits when he was only two months old!

Marine gives a Beautiful Family Portrait to his family as a gift while on leave

2008-12-23T18:10:00.000-08:00

John, a second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marines, was on leave for the holidays and wanted to give a very special gift for his parents and sister. He contacted me one week ago here at Photography By Joel in Westlake Village, Ca and we fortunately had an opening before Christmas. It was a priviledge to meet and work with John and his family. What a treasured gift for a lifetime for everyone! Congratulations John!

High School Senior Portraits at Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks

2008-12-19T11:55:00.000-08:00

I wanted to share these images of Emily from Class of 2009 at the Gardens of the World.

We all had a lot of fun in creating many different looks at this small but beautiful park. There were so many great images to select from that we created a beautiful table top album for Emily's parents from this very special high school senior session.

It's hard to tell that Emily is not a professional model, because she looked so great. Many people, especially initially, are not comfortable in front of a camera or doing public speaking. Emily expressed her feelings best by saying, "I am uncomfortable in front of a camera but Joel Bogeberg was very easy going which made the whole experience great! My older sister had her senior portraits by Joel and everyone loved them. I would highly recommend Photography By Joel!"

Congratulations once again Emily Class of 2009 High School Senior!

The Times are a Changin' for this Westlake Village Photographer!

2008-11-20T13:09:00.001-08:00

It is indeed an honor to be doing something that you truly enjoy. Photography is not only the creative aspect of creating something genuine of each individual, but it is the special relationships that I have had with my clients in the over twenty five years as a professional photographer.I can't believe that I started my first studio in the Conejo Valley in Thousand Oaks, CA over twenty years ago (Before that I had a studio in Granada Hills, CA).

Weddings and wedding photography was so much different than it is today. I remember lugging that large and heavy black camera bag (it was especially heavy towards the end of the evening) that had several large hasselblad cameras, over 20 rolls of film, many lights and batteries, and lots of other stuff. Whereas now, I work with a relatively light professional digital camera and a small light camera bag.

Now, instead of changing the film after 10-20 images, I change one simple memory card after 100 images or so! By the way, although the wedding day was more diffcult before with the film cameras it was also a lot easier after the wedding. We sent the film to a professional lab and then they created 5x5" color corrected previews of the entire wedding day. Getting this ready for the lab took me ten minutes. Now, with digital, it typically takes me from 4-6 hours to get my images ready to be processed to the lab!

At our home based studio in Thousand Oaks the majority of the family, children, and baby portraits came from the Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley and Newbury Park areas. I really liked the flexibility of that home based studio, one level of our tri level house was a studio, where I could photograph the babies, children and families either in the studio, our outdoor studio, beach portraits, home portraits or portraits at a nearby park.

Blinking a couple of times it has been 5 1/2 years that we have been in our beautiful present location in Westlake Village, CA. I have seen my work evolve as a photographer and as an artist. I am much more aware of creating a more balanced and natural portraits. Portraits that better reflect the heart and soul of each individual. Family portraits are much more difficult to create than individual portraits because you have to be so aware of creating body, color and expression harmony with all of the participants.

Let's face it, we all want to look our best! There are times when I have to work double time when clients come for their family portrait session but they are overweight and want to look thinner, the dad or children refuse to smile even with mom's threats, or their clothes don't look right because they are either too light, too dark, or it's a completely different color than everyone else in the family is wearing!

At this point, diplomatic body positioning is necessary and it makes a difference with the final results. I have noticed that when I make these adjustments clients who normally say,"I hate my pictures" are now saying, "Wow, this is the best picture of me in years."Another area of change as an artist has been with my photographic retouching of my client's portraits. You can have the most perfect picture in the world (great lighting, expression, location, etc.) with your family, children or business portrait but if the retouching looks either uneven and blotchy, or excessively blurry then you will not be happy with your portrait.

Now, as a result of over ten years of day to day experience and advanced training from many experts in this field, I am creating very natural photographic portraits that I am very proud of. From small desk size portraits to larger Canvas Master Portraits benefit from this expert retouching on my customer's portraits.More and more of our clients want me to make their old family photos come alive again through my photographic retouching and restoration work at our Westlake Village studio.

Last week, I just finished restoring a small 3x4" old black and white photo of my client's parents, when they were first dating,that was dated around 1946. My clients who live in Newbury Park, CA wanted me to make this picture larger, sharper, and remove the creases and spots that were in the original image. They will be giving the completed image, which will be an 11x14" black and white portrait, to their parents who will be celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in November.

I feel that it is so important to keep in touch with our clients. One way that we do this is by letting our clients know the changes at the studio, different specials that we are offering that month, or just updating the pictures at the website: www.photographybyjoel.com. It's a lot of fun when our clients email us at the studio, joel@photographybyjoel.com, or call us and tell us that how much they like the pictures of their family.

Eagle Scout Portraits by Westlake Village Photographer Look Great!

2008-11-20T12:15:00.000-08:00

Congratulations Joe
in becoming an Eagle Scout!
What an Honor!

I had a great portrait session photographing Joe at my studio, Photography By Joel, several weeks ago and wanted to share these images with him and his family.

I sincerely hope that you enjoy these photographs of this Very-Special young man--Now an Eagle Scout!

I sincerely believe that anyone who dedicates himself as Joe has done will be successful in practically any area of his life.