Sweet Siblings

You see this kid right here?? 


I could use so many words other than adorable to describe him, but that is what I keep coming back to.  He is intelligent and kind, polite and mannerly, he loves his Mom and Dad and even his little sister.  He put up with all of my silly photographer antics and did absolutely everything I suggested or asked of him.  (And, I just so happen to know that he is a super good soccer player too!!) 

Speaking of his sister....


She is everything I said about her brother, except in a girly version. Instead of soccer, art and creativity seem to be her forte!! (At least that is what I got from her!)


 This pair of siblings was so very much fun to work with...their parents are on target and raising them to be exceptional little people.

The intent of this session (for me as the photographer) was to capture images that would remind this family of why they love each other, why each unique person is of value to the family, and finally give them images that showed their family bond.  Ohhhh, and to have them enjoy their time with me, instead of dreading yet another photography session (like my own kids do...ha haha).




These siblings talked without reservation to each other, it was beautiful.

She absolutely adored hearing about the first time brother remembered seeing her, how it made him feel that this new baby had come along, and what he thought about having a sister.

And, she in turn, really enjoyed telling about a time that he made her happy.  ( I won't give away what she said, but it was just a simple nothing of a thing, that really impacted her.)







We might have had just a little too much fun playing a round of Telephone, except that this particular image really captures each and every family member exactly how they look and act, and interact with each other.

We finished up our work together and I realized I hadn't gotten a single image of only Mom and Dad together.  We just couldn't have that!  So, I covertly sent the kids off, switched to my longer lens and challenged this couple to remember when they met and what they love about each other.  I didn't hear, nor did I even need to hear what they were saying to one another.  It was more than obvious!

I am so thankful for this family and their willingness to let me make an effort to capture their love for each other.  It was a blast!!

Blessings to you,
Jennifer

Coming Soon...

I am just fairly bursting with ideas to make these mini sessions fun and fantastic....gotta scale down my thinking for sure to get as much squeezed into those 15 minutes as possible!! 

Looking forward to sharing the love when all is said and done!!

Blessings to you,
Jennifer

Beauty in the fog

I woke at 5:00 A.M. the morning of this shoot!  I know that is a bit tough to swallow, it was for me at the time too, but there is a story there!!
If you follow my work on Facebook at all you probably couldn't help but notice a rash of mare and foal images.  Those new foals only come once a year and I try my best to arrive at the ranch as close to their time of birth as possible.  The foals, when born are so thin, gangly and wobbly...and beyond adorable.  Skin stretched over their boney frame, they fill out within days and I don't like missing those moments.

I had hoped a new foal would arrive this morning!  I was just sure it would make its appearance right as I drove up and I could capture the whole she-bang in my camera.  Hmmm, she sure showed me...arriving about 8 hours later!! 

This is supposed to be about a maternity session, and I promise I will get to that, really I do...but you just have to see the baby born that day!!  You MUST!!

Ahhhhhh, isn't she a delight!?! 

Ohhhh boy, back to our previous discussion.  I got up early and headed to the ranch, in hopes of a baby!  I was a little distressed throughout my drive there, as the fog was very, very thick and got even thicker as I pulled onto the property. 
I soon learned to be thankful for the unexpected!


This moment is forever frozen in my mind...and thankfully also with the snap of my shutter.




 I saw it happen and felt like I moved like molasses as I tried to get my camera to my face in enough time to capture the unbelievable beauty, just presented to me.  Wowza, what a thrill.


That fog went on to delight me as the sun began to rise and my bright and early family arrived for their sunrise session.

I must admit I probably rushed them about a bit...eager to get a few shots in before the fog burned off.

I truly love the feeling it gives to these images and would gladly work under these conditions again!! 

I sent the boys off to play a bit while I worked with mom and her too, too cute pregnant belly!  Seriously, is she not the most adorable pregnant woman you have seen!?!  (Let's just say, I am glad not to have had many pictures of myself at this time in my life!! ;) )



We got distracted when the boys came back over, and ended up with what is my personal favorite shot of the day.

 Since their son had been such a trooper for the whole event, we couldn't help but take advantage of the bull dozer that just happened to be near by!  Come on!!  There is nothing better to a truck loving boy than actually getting to sit on a real tractor and pretend away!

Just look at him checking it out...he loves it!! 

What is a momma likely to do, when the delight of her life is so enthralled?? 
Yeah...she is likely to gaze at him in wonder.  Moms...they do a lot of that don't they?!?

 What a day!! I loved it!!  Thanks for sharing a few of the beautiful shots from our day!!

Blessings to you,
Jennifer

Senior Time Again!!

I remember all too vividly the day of my Senior pictures. 
My mom had just given me a (very tight) home perm, on my already short hair...oh my what were we thinking??
I suppose schools still do the cattle call type arrangement where you are lined up and shuffled into a room where they drape a curious piece of fabric over a portion of your body (in my day it was a very large fluffy boa, of all things), snap snap snap.  Hurry go change, snap snap snap.  Here is a fake cap and gown, snap snap snap.
I may be scarred for life! 
I am so pleased to be able to offer a totally different experience...though, the hurry go change part remains the same!!



I think this is such an important time in life to document and remember.  Things all start to get crazy from this point on out with the pressures of college, a job or two, marriage, and then children.  Oh, don't get me wrong...those crazy pressures are worth living out, and in, but it makes this last year at home very special.
 Well, that is how I see it anyway!
Look at how distracted I get, you are here for the pictures now aren't you!!



Ok, on to it!! 
I LOVE shooting into the setting sun, or the rising sun (after coffee of course)! I love the way the light bathes people with a lovely glow, how it catches in the eyes and just makes you have to take a deep sigh of wonder.

 

You know what else I love?  Working with special things that belong to the person who is in front of the camera!  I absolutely want you to bring items that are meaningful to you to our time together.

An old family quilt,

a Bible....

....a chair (that your Mom never let you sit wonky in, but it is okay to, just this once)!
Just a side note here, TOTALLY AMAZING Mom and Dad at this photo session!!  Super helpful when needed and cheering us from the sidelines when not.  I suppose I should add that to my list of loves!! 

I love a suitcase shot, it speaks of moving on and adventure all at the same time!! 

I love red hair and green grass and sparkling eyes that draw you in.

I love school spirit, old and

....new!!  I am not allowed to Whoop am I? 

I love girls who will pop a mouth full of candies in and still have the ability to smile before the sun left the sky!! Ahhh hahaha!!
We really thought we were done, and were both chewing on JuJu's, but then I caught sight of the light and her hair and the color of this jacket and made her sit for just a few more! 
I am glad I did!!

Can you tell that I absolutely enjoyed this session??  I did, it was a blast! 


Blessings to you,
Jennifer

To Grandmother's house we go...

Do you know I was thwarted again by rain, yes again!! 

We were on a very tight time budget for this shoot.
You see, it was...is a secret!
I love fun secrets, don't you!!!

This GrammyNan was keeping her two precious grandchildren for just a few days while Mom and Dad were out of town so, she made a plan for a photo session!!

With me of course!
We had made plans to go to a wonderful location, but the sogginess all around just made that option impossible!!  Instead, we decided to work right there at Grammy's house, which turned out to be a wonderful choice!!
I brought all kinds of fun things to distract the kids and make them feel as comfortable as possible, who knew GrammyNan would join in as well??  

I have a pretty big rule for parents (and GrammyNans too) that I am a stickler for at my shoots.  Unless a child is being destructive, is in danger, or is breaking a big family No-No then they must leave directing the kids up to me.  I know this is so tough for parents, but I also know that a shoot can go sour fast when expectations are demanded of kids who don't necessarily know proper photo shoot behavior. So big applause for this Grammy who did an amazing job, just letting me work!


We all know that kids can be unpredictable, but we also know that at the same time they are equally predictable.  That is what I specifically strive to wrangle with as I share a time with children who can be anything from stubborn to shy! I feel like I am more than capable of tackling any personality, and getting genuine expressions from the children as we play...oh I mean work!

It is super important to let the kids just be "themselves", because when they are...oh the shots I can get!!

This brother and sister were completely and totally opposed to being in a shot together...they would have none of it. No hugging, no holding hands, no sitting and grinning at one another, not a single thing I had pictured in my head as a loving sibling shot! 
Guess what?  The best laid plans mean nothing if you can't scrap them and work in the moment!
These were play til you drop kids, run til you tire kids, imagination abounding kids...they weren't lovey dovey sit and grin at my sibling kids. 
However, I had a trick up my sleeve! 
Do you know what pulls almost all children together...without them even knowing it?? 
Stickers!!!

Yes, you heard me right...stickers!!











Big brother let sister go first, and helped guide her to the Perfect cat sticker, it was a delicious moment.


See...Perfect!!!

These two kids had so many wonderful expressions and I was so thankful to be able to capture them all, from the silly to the serious!

This was a super special shoot for me, as I worked to capture moments for this family especially the Grammy!  I can't wait to hear how the surprise turns out for Mom and Dad too!!

Blessings to you,
Jennifer

I'm Flexible!

The longer I live, the more I learn the value of flexibility!!! 
Rain and soggy ground day after day, meant making changes to long laid plans that this Bride to Be and I had originally determined. 
Instead of a "one hour session" we took the frustration of rain and turned it into an opportunity to create 2 unique looks in 2 shorter half hour sessions. 

Sure, it meant driving and meeting twice, but we were all game, so that is what we did.   I use the term "we" here very loosely!!  This Groom to Be was obviously just along for the ride, and willingly went along with anything "we" suggested!!

 You gotta love a fellow who goes along with a plan because he loves his gal.


Our first day to meet was gloomy and cloudy, which ended up being a wonderful color palate undertone for the purple and blues this couple chose to wear.
 
 















 The second day came upon us quicker than we thought as we scrambled to get together 2 days earlier than our rescheduled shoot date. Yes, I did just say scramble!  My girl was watching the weather and called, letting me know that more rain was on the way.  We just couldn't have that...no way!!


We were just aching for some sunshine, and shining it was so... meet we did!!
 

We had a great time together, and I am thankful that this couple didn't mind a little flexibility in their lives either.

This is my new favorite quote of late...."Those who are flexible, don't get bent out of shape!!" 

Blessings to you,
Jennifer

To scout or to shoot??

A photography buddy of mine and I headed over to a piece of property to scout out the lay of the land, hoping it might be a good place to shoot some pictures someday. 

She had her boy with her there, which was awesome because it gave us something to aim our cameras at! 



However the problem came in when our host handed him some flowers...

 ...and then the sun caught his hair!

 And then he grinned at me!

(Oh boy....the look on his face... equally charming in black and white!! )

Uhhh, just so ya know.  He took those flowers and smashed them all against that there tractor type implement, but not before I could snap off a few more shots that Mom couldn't live without. 

Okay, Okay...I know you wanted to see the flower smashing, now didn't you? 
I had to change the color up on that one because of the mood shift.  No longer pensive and thoughtful, but just a full out rough and tumble boy in action!

 You know what though?  I am finding it very hard to remember what the property looked like that I went out there to see in the first place.   I sure can get distracted by sunshine and flowers and little boys who grin at my camera!!
I think I will place a call right now to those kind folks and ask if I can head out there again.  I am just really not sure if good pictures can be made out there or not!!  ;)

 Blessings to you,

Jennifer