my kids, on film

It's more infrequent, because, let's face it the #gobrokeshootfilm is a very real thing, but every roll I get back from The Darkroom Lab I fall in love more and more with film (and wish I had an endless bank account to supply my habit!). Here're some of my favorite from this spring!

And, obviously I can't let a blog post go without promoting something....I don't have a lot of time, but I'll tell you what wedding season makes me miss like crazy: FAMILY SESSIONS.

SO. If you're out there experiencing a NEED for a family session, please get in touch! I'm likely to be able to squeeze you in over the next few months!

Deanna + Cory | a backyard wedding

When I'm asked what my "favorite venue" is, it's never an easy answer. One thing that I find brings about happy couples, happy guests, and a great atmosphere to spend a day shooting is at a venue that people don't have to leave. That the ceremony leads to cocktail hour, leads to reception. My feelings are that it lets guests flow into each other. You're not moving from place to place within your own group, you have all night to spend getting to know family members from "the other side" and get into casual (awesome) conversations with once strangers. It's my favorite thing to be a part of, the energy is kinetic, and it's just so happy.

Deanna + Cory are adventurers, their story is anything but normal....and, true to themselves, they had a wedding that was just perfect for them.

Enjoy reliving their hot (remember summer?) July wedding day!

Alyssa + Andrew | New Albany Links Wedding

I could be the worst blogger in the wedding photography industry. I've been so fortunate that so much of my business comes from referrals from previous clients who just know my work, or who've been in bridal parties that I've worked with. I love + my business thrives on referrals. BUT! Maybe you're out there and you're a stranger, AND you're looking for a wedding photographer. I'm not reaching you by not blogging. That's seriously doing myself a disservice. So here we go! A month until wedding season starts + I'm determined to show a whole lot of my 2015 (yes, that's correct, 2015) and 2016 couples who I adore.

First up is Alyssa + Andrew. What stands out most is when we met, Alyssa describing her, and her family's love of the movie Father of the Bride. A tent wedding, everything about it. I love knowing the whycouples pick certain things on their wedding day. I love that Alyssa had such a wonderful experience on her own wedding day that was something she probably thought about over and over again with her sisters!

Enjoy reliving their day as I saw it last May!

in home, snapshot sessions!

I feel so luck to do the job that I love. I enjoy every aspect of shooting: families, weddings, everything in between. As it's my *job* to make my schedule + find a way to make it work for our family, this year has brought some interesting changes: more families and less weddings. I shot THIRTY TWO weddings last year. 32! Insanity, and, truly, while I loved it, it felt insane. Our summer flew by. I vowed to make this year different. Slower. More intentional. It's working, and an added benefit I've happily found is that I have more time to shoot something I'm deeply passionate about: families.

Candidly capturing children and families comes easy to me. It feels like second nature, because I know how I want my own family to be photographed. It's not hard. It's not stressful. It's not fast moving. If we have to, we can wait out that two year old until shooting doesn't seem like work for them. They're babies. It should be fun!

Same with parents. You're either incredibly sleep deprived due to your new baby, or just in that general, I'm a parent, I don't sleep forever phase of parenting young kids. I get it.

So, we've still got this weird Ohio season happening. This time of not quite spring, but so over winter we don't know what to do with ourselves. I'd like to fill my weekends + evenings by coming into your homes / meeting you at your favorite spot around Columbus documenting your days, and for a special time + price. it's for you, yes, but it's also because I know that once May hits, I won't be taking on many sessions until October or November due to wedding season craziness.

The details:

45 minute in home / *special place* on location

Digital images delivered digitally, with printing rights

$250

email today as I feel like I have endless weekends, but in reality will only take on about 5.

jessicalovephoto@gmail.com or use the contact link via website!

these are the days

A while back, I blogged to ask you guys to vote for a photo in a contest. wellll! I won 2nd place, THANK YOU! With that came a sweet little vintage Canon film camera. Being me, I hate asking for help, but I did it anyways, and since have been thinking of ways to pay it forward.

When we lived in our first house, our, then just two boys, were 2 something and 1 something, and we had hanging on a wall a piece of art, made by me, that read, "the best is yet to come." And, I thought it was the truth. Not that I looked desperately forward away from today, but just that good things were about to be.

Fast forward another baby, another house, and I decided the mantra for this current life should be, "these are the days." Probably largely because I've learned, the future is always coming. These fleeting moments of NOW are so precious. SO fast. And over before you know it. I now, desperately try to stick to TODAY, this very minute, as much as I can because it seems like tomorrow is threatening to come before I'm ready! (yeah ok, it sounds a little apocalyptic but I'm a mama, what can I say).

What I want to do, to show my gratitude for all the support is give away a session that salutes this notion of these moments making our lives. The not always poetically beautiful. The chaotic. The moments you're knee deep in (what you see today) as the .... craziness of raising babies, or puppies (!), but what you'll see in 10 years as the moments that have made you, and your family, who you are.

So how do you enter!? I'd like to propose a hashtag on instagram: #thesearethedayscontest you'll tag your photos that you think represent your crazy, your moments of your life, to show me, and I'll pick one as a favorite, and we'll schedule your session.

Now, of course, I want the session to reflect this notion, too. A true documentary storytelling session. I get to spend 2-3 hours with you capturing the beautifully mundane. YES! clean your house, put on your makeup, get ya hair did...but then, just be. Let it happen how it happens.

There you go! There's a lot of rules, it seems, but if you think you're down for it, please, hashtag #thesearethedayscontest (make sure you're public, or DM (@_jessicalovephotography) me on instagram so I can see it!), and let me see your beautifully normal moments. If you don't have instagram, I'll say it's ok if you use the contact me link via my website, too. I want to be all inclusive.

Looking to let this go for a month or so, with the session to be scheduled in the first week of April or so.

Liz + Michael | Married at Strongwater!

Love when I get a chance to shoot at venues that, on their own, inspire me. Liz + Michael were married in September (I know, seriously, blogging is clearly not on my priority list: if you're waiting to see your wedding on here, dear clients, someday...someday I will get all caught up!), on a day that started out HOT and gorgeous. As you'll see, that weather quickly changed (as in, Mike and I wondered if the people we were in the tent with, before the ceremony, would be a good group to stick together during a natural disaster! the winds! the rain!). They had planned to not do a first look, and as the clouds came rolling in, I realized I had the difficult job of questioning their original schedule, to make sure they didn't want a chance to get the urban portraits around Franklinton they did want - but wouldn't be available with the impending forecast. Why's this relevant? Because I see my job as so much more than just photographer. I saw it as my job to think ahead, and help with anything that they might regret. We had this window of opportunity to create the portraits they had imagined, but it meant going against what they thought they wanted. Ultimately, they stuck with their decision, and it's because they trusted me. They knew that, regardless of where we did the portraits, they'd get the experience and outcome they desired.

It all ended up perfect. A (hot) trek around the art space allowed us to get the bridal party photos. And, they braved the rain for a few awesome umbrella photos.

Enjoy a glimpse into their day!

(Floral design: Eco Flora , planning: Something Blue Designs , venue: Strongwater)