true beauty . lake jackson, tx photographer

i had a very cool string of moments at this session...
this session with both an athlete

and an artist-

an artist who is paying for her college education with earnings from her original work.

PAUSE. super impressive.

and resume:

we talked about the masterpieces she's created but, as she settled into herself during this shoot,

she was the masterpiece. is. IS the masterpiece.

elissa, i have always heard about you from your extended family (who has been {impressed} with you for years)! it is so easy to see why. you're a true beauty for so many reasons. 

thanks to you and your sweet mom for such a great day. and tell your brother, he's a stud. loved seeing you laugh because of him.

let's do this y'all, 

jen

a little weekend in Dallas ... dallas, TX . photographer

see this little man...

this is my buddy, Owen. our relationship started well. he was ready for his mini-session and showed his personality like a champ! 

(look at that smile)

and in an instant, i ruined his life. 
i made the biggest mistake i've made in this career. and you can bet i WON'T be doing it again.  

(this face...this is totally. my. fault.)

in the attempt to make his older (emphasis-older!) brothers laugh (i didn't even know he was listening. honest.), i blurted out... "for this next picture, i'm just looking at you kids! we're going to pretend mom and dad are in the picture, but really, i'm going to cut their heads off and show you the picture in my camera when i'm done!" 


(insert older kids laughing and me thinking i'm a genius for making them do so...) 


so this is where things take a little nose-dive for 2 yr. old Owen. but i didn't see it yet. as i looked up successfully from my "genius" humor attempt, i asked mom why in the world was my buddy wailing? 


oh y'all!


he recovered well though, and his little grin perked up for the rest of the morning. 

and so did all of the sweet faces that i was able to meet on a beautiful day in Dallas!


an amazing little lady, Joanna, organized this mini-session, hosted me from out of town, and made sure all the details were in place. 

and since i last saw her and her husband, they had brought home their gorgeous daughter from Ethiopia! i was thrilled to meet Maeve for the first time. 

she even "cooked" me pancakes with ketchup. such a lovely hostess just like her mama and daddy. 

please meet the gorgeous, kind, Peters family,

and the lovely, very sweet, Mendoza family!

thank y'all for such a great day. thank you for your patience and for making ME laugh all day!!


meeting new people, 

looking JOY directly in its eyes, 

watching families interact, 

and learning their stories 

make what i do oh so worth it. 
even when it's me learning what NOT to do.


let's do this y'all, 


jen