Hey there!
I'm Jen
Relentless optimist, hope-filled lover of light, mother of teens, collector of quotes, life-long learner, drawn to the ocean, lover of walking barefoot in the summer, fiercely loyal friend, and shorter than you think.
I will make you food if you're hungry.
a bit about me
My approach to photos
99% of people I photograph feel like they're awkward in photos. Like they
don't know what to do with their hands but also they forgot how they normally smile.
THIS IS OKAY. I DO THIS TOO.
Don't worry. I know what to do.
The first ten minutes can be weird but really after that I promise we'll get to know each other and it'll all be fine. I'll tell you what to do with your hands and I'll make a dumb joke or trip or something and the ice will be broken and we'll all get along great. I'll pose you or give you some prompts and I promise promise promise I won't be bothered by your outfit questions, your creative swearing, or your child dumping dirt on their own head during the photos.
I want to creative a visual reminder of your life now, what you'd like to remember in years to come, not make you into some Pinterest perfect version of what someone else thinks you "should be". The messy, the hilarious, the poignant, the love.
Your life right now deserves to be documented.
on being a mother
I have no crazy party stories from my 20's. I did not stay out all night and eat pancakes at a diner at 4am. No all night study sessions. In my mid-20's there was no career ladder climbing, no empire I was creating breaking through corporate ceilings.
I got married to my high school sweetheart (ugh that term but it's true) at the ripe old age of 18. I had our first baby 1 month and 13 days after I turned 21. Another baby came two years later. By the time I was 24, I had a baby on my hip and was walking my handful of a daughter to library story time.
I loved it.
Fast forward to now- these little ones are teenagers, half a foot (at least) taller than me, and I have ALL the photos- of them barely learning to walk, of my daughter with her favorite zebra striped jean jacket that she cried over when she outgrew and photos of my son with his trains all lined up while I'm making dinner.
It's cliche. But time does fly.
It is quite literally a dream job of mine to be able to do this- photograph some of the best days of your life, and maybe some of the hardest, the most exhausting, but the
loveliest and most soul-filled.
I want to transport you back to that day,
to preserve part of your story for you to keep for always.
Here are things that I know
I am basically unflappable when it comes to children. They could pee on me at a photo session, and I honestly wouldn't mind. Have a mini-crisis that blows apart the timeline on your wedding day? No problem- I got this.
I know what it's like to hold my daughter's hand in the hospital, avoiding her IV lines. What it's like to be married at 18 and while saying your vows your disapproving aunt audibly scoffs (the wedding video picked this up for us all to treasure forever). I know the sleepless nights of babies and the disagreements in marriage. A mountain of debt, the victory of paying if off.
Photography is nothing if not empathy, seeing people as they are and meeting them there
I am a compilation of my experiences, books I've read, words I've chosen to say and the things I pay attention to. Lessons learned and shoes well worn.
my favorite things
wise quotes, books, walking to the gym, sparkling water, sunny days, nostalgic photos from the 70's, Hawaii's North Shore, a witty movie
life is beautiful and complicated
Your photographs should look like you, and tell your story, and not look like anyone else's.
Time is a thief. Take the picture.
