The Bechtels: A Family Portrait Session

I have been photographing the Bechtel family for about 3 years now and I'm telling you, it gets better every time.  Jen and Chris are such a wonderful couple, but truly, their boys steal the show!  We met a couple of weeks ago at The Hill School to shoot our annual fall session, and it was crazy fun from the very first photo!

I love to come into my sessions having done some prep work.  I love to browse magazines, or check out Pinterest for inspiration in lighting, posing, and fresh ideas.  It helps me to have a game plan going into my sessions, and assure that I get all the family combinations needed.  However, most times, the session will take on a life of its own, bringing out images and poses that were even better than planned.  

Below are some of those wonderful surprises, mixed in with those prepped for.  Either way, with a family this wonderful, the portraits are going to be fantastic!

Jen and Chris, once again, you have brightened my autumn with your family.  It's so clear during our time together how much you love your boys and how proud you are of them.  And what's more, it's always so clear to me during our time together the reasons why.  They are beyond adorable, beyond fun, and beyond precious!

Thanks for the awesome time!

Keep smiling!

Jen

Senior Portraits with Hannah

I absolutely love shooting high school senior portraits, and this session shows exactly why.  I met up with Hannah and her mom a couple of weeks ago at Valley Forge and we had the best time.  Hannah took very little time to warm up to the camera (although she never actually warmed up- it was soooo cold!) and the results were amazing.  She had brought fantastic pieces to include in her portraits- her cowboy hat, her sweet boots, and her guitar- but her natural smile and beautiful expressions stole the show.  

The sun seemed to set extra quickly that day and I kept saying "ooh, just one more shot over here" as I raced to beat the light.  Hannah was a great sport, trying not to show her chattering teeth as she posed for me.  Here are a few of my favorites from the session.

I loved capturing this shot of Hannah and her mom!  Watching them interact, and hearing Amy's continuous words of encouragement and approval, I was inspired to get a shot of them together.  Every mom should love like this!  It was awesome to witness.

Thanks Hannah and Amy for the wonderful time and for being such great sports.  Hannah, you are a true beauty and I wish you so much success in your years ahead.  If you actually do end up heading west for college, beware.  I may stow away in your luggage!  

Keep smiling!

Jen

The Pilatos: A Precious Family Session

I met Suzy almost 15 years ago when I was one of her college field hockey coaches.  Our love of the sport was great, but our faith in God connected us in a special way.  We lost touch for some years, but thanks to social media (gotta love Facebook!), we found each other a few years ago and had the best time catching each other up on things.  In doing so, I learned that Suzy had married a wonderful guy she had met at college, and that they both wanted so badly to have children and become parents.

For some, this is a simple decision and a simple plan, with simple results.  But for AJ and Suzy, this has been hard, as they have not been able to conceive a child (yet!).  Yet through all of this they remain faithful and encouraged, knowing they are meant to be parents and that God will provide them their baby, or babies.  

And though they are still trying to get pregnant, they have felt led to begin the adoption process.  Currently, they are working through the mountain of paperwork and processes that come with adopting a child, and know that the child (or children) they will adopt will come from China.  The road ahead is long, but they are ready and they are willing.

Suzy called me for the most wonderful opportunity, as she wanted to capture pre-adoption portraits for their family.  She wanted to have portraits to announce the couple's decision and to help put together fund-raisers to get them their child.  This was something I had never done, and so of course was excited about it.  Not to mention how dearly I love this young lady and how much I want to help her.

So on a beautiful October evening, AJ and Suzy made the trip out to Pottstown to capture some precious portraits.  Here are some of my favorites from our session:

AJ and Suzy, I am so grateful to have been a part of creating these precious portraits for you.  I am so excited to see how God leads you as you become the amazing parents you were called to be.  And I can't wait until the day I am photographing you with your child (or children!).

Until then, keep smiling,

Jen

The Malenski Family: Overwhelming Love!

Sometimes, when I meet a mom, I just know I'm going to LOVE photographing her and her family.  Such was the case last year, when I met Laren, and her daughter Annika.  They were part of a fundraiser called "Precious Portraits Contest" that I put together for Designing 4 Hope.  Annika was beyond precious, and ran away with the contest, which won her family a free portrait session.

Finally, this fall, I had the opportunity to meet the rest of the family and get some fun photos of them at home, in their element.  This family was awesome!  The boys were super fun and full of energy, and Annika was the perfect mix of beautiful princess and "I can keep up with my brothers, no problem!".  Laren and Ed were relaxed and content, and seemed truly clued in to just how blessed they are with this amazing family.

Here are a few of my favorites from our session:

Laren and Ed, I hope you had as much fun as I did creating your portraits.  Your boys are SO fun and so sweet, and Annika was just the icing on the cake!  I loved watching you all love on each other and I hope that love shows through in your portraits.  

You are such a wonderful family!

Keep smiling!

Jen

The Barnharts: Fantastic, Fun, and Fabulous!

The past few weeks have had me busier than ever, photographing some of the most beautiful and fun families ever!  But the wonderful chaos has left me lagging in my blog posts and now I am weeks behind.  So sorry!

I thought about grouping sessions together into one large post, but I would love to give each session its own post.  After all, each family, each senior, each baby is so special, so unique.  They all deserve their own post!  So starting today and this week, I am going to try to blog every weekday about a different session, which hopefully will get me caught up in just a couple of weeks.

And what better family to start with than the beautiful Barnharts!  Tammy and I met at church and booked this date back in late summer.  She knew just what she wanted and had some super ideas about locations, clothing choices, and portrait combinations.  After all, this family has a lot to celebrate!  Daughter, Gracen is a budding actress in need of stunning headshots, Tye and Tammy are celebrating 25 years of marriage this coming spring, and of course, every family needs gorgeous holiday cards!  

We met at The Hill School and spent the hour enjoying the beauty of campus and of family.  The time went so fast, but hopefully we captured great memories for a lifetime!

Here are a few of my favorites from the session:

Tammy and Tye, I had such a great time with you, Grant, and Gracen.  You have such a beautiful family and it was such a blessing to watch you all together.  An early Happy 25th to you both, and a huge thank you to all of you!  

Loved it!!!

Jen

Lovely Abby: High School Senior Session

A couple of weeks ago, I met up with Abby for our final senior portrait session.  Abby was one of my JLP Class of 2013 Senior Reps, and enjoyed a few portrait sessions with me as a result.  We met at Valley Forge Park for this final session, and it was fantastic.

By this session, Abby was totally relaxed in front of the camera and had a lot of fun with it.  She brought some gorgeous outfits with her, including hand made cowboy boots from Guatemala!  Seriously, they were gorgeous.

But not as gorgeous as Abby herself.  

Here are a few of my favorites from our session:

Thank you so much Abby for the super fun time!  It was a blast hanging out with you and your mom, enjoying the gorgeous fall colors, and capturing your beauty.  My only disappointment was that the sun set too quickly!

The future is surely bright for you, Abby.  I wish you tremendous joy and success as you follow God's calling for you life.

Keep smiling!

Jen