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