Senior time!!

I had a chance to chat with this fellow before his Senior session to try and determine the "look" he wanted.
You know, he kind of looked at me like I was crazy, but I am used to that!! 

So, I tried a different tact.
I asked, what is important to you?  How do you want people to see you, and what do you want to remember most about this time in your life?

His reply, "God and the Bible are most important to me".  As for the rest of it... he still maintained that "you must be crazy" look!!  (Oh yes, I get it often, especially from teenage boys!)

So, between times of craziness and fun, we were able to work together to achieve this group of shots.

So, just know if you call me for a session I will be throwing crazy questions at you to get a closer idea of the  person you want people to know you are.
Don't worry if all you can do is think of me as a "crazy artist"; I have been living that description so long, I kindof tend to see it as a compliment now!!


Blessings to you,
Jennifer

...back at the ranch

Hey there world wide web!
It has been a long time since I have made time to be here, but it was important things keeping me away. 

I did want to share with you a few shots from a large family session I did first thing this year. 

The time with this large group of totally delightful people really pushed my comfort zone limits (as I work to decide just where my niche is in the photography world).  Ohhh ho, ha!  That kind of made it sound like these folks were hard to work with...no, no on the contrary, they were amazing!  Patient and compliant despite the slowly dropping temperatures as the sun went down and brisk breeze' that had us all shaking in our boots a bit!

This session really got me to assessing my goals for what I truly want to achieve with my photography. 
Some may find this bit of transparency unsettling, and to that I would say again... I am probably not the girl who should be taking your pictures.   I am real and genuine and human, and get a little thoughtful at times.

When people look at my photos I want them to have a certain sense of the people I am capturing at the time, as well as undeniable gorgeous representation of the light and how it can lend itself to a final image. 
If it is an individual, I want to accurately represent specific aspects of  what makes that person uniquely themselves.  If it is a family, or a couple, or siblings then I want to give evidence of their relationship and love for each other.
I don't want to ever settle into "just taking pictures"!

I want to capture moments and give back through images, just a small peek at the love that exists in the people who honor me with their time as their photographer.

The question to myself with this session became...Is it possible to photograph this large a group and still capture love and emotion through interaction, or is a simple straight forward picture just going to have to be "good enough"?
Here is what I decided.

Yes and Yes.
This family loves each other.  Period.

I don't think it can be denied, even if it isn't specifically represented in my final images in a way that is breathtaking or moving. 

There is a certain peacefulness and tranquility about them that is unique to their family and radiates when they are all together. They are laid back, relaxed and genuine.  

 While I prefer to have more interaction in my sessions, with this group it wasn't possible to meet the ultimate goal of family picture. 
So, below you will see some simple straight forward pictures of people who love each other.

I couldn't be more pleased with the quality of light I had to work with that particular day and the specific way of shooting with the sun behind people which gives them a wonderful glow!

 

 

Blessings to you,
Jennifer

P.S. 

P.P.S
Since I was a few minutes early for the shoot, this bit of wonderful caught my eye!