I am so honored to feature photographer Jenni Roberts from Austin, TX today! Not only is she a fantastic photographer and mother to the cutest little boy Sam, but she has also been an amazing personal friend over the years. We had the honor of having her take our engagement and bridal photos when she was first starting her business; she also happened to make my beautiful wedding bouquet :-) Please check out more of her work by visiting her sites!
Check out Jenni’s: website | facebook
“I’m writing this guest post from a quiet Starbucks in Austin, fueled by a latte and, God bless ‘em, a s’mores tart complete with a toasted marshmallow on top! I’ve been here 30 minutes just trying to get my brain to sit still and find answers to these fantastic questions that Christina has posed. ‘How has motherhood changed you?’ she wants to know. ‘And with those changes in mind, how is your photography different?’ Oh my goodness! Do you have an hour or two?!
My name is Jenni. I have a husband named Michael, and a little redheaded man named Sam made us parents about two years ago. He made me ‘Momma.’ I stay at home with Sam the Man, and I take photos professionally. I mostly shoot family portraits these days, but I mix in a fair amount of weddings and, because I live in Austin, the live music capital of the world, a little live music.
I tend to feel like whatever I’m shooting at the moment is my favorite thing to shoot. Like there’s nothing in the world I’d rather be doing. (And I get to call it work! People pay me for this! Suckers! Just kidding, I love my clients and y’all are smart.) But if it came right down to it, I think families are becoming my favorite thing to photograph. Here’s why.
Before I held my Sam the first time, I used to troll Pinterest before a session looking for inspiration for poses and backdrops and props. Then the doctor handed me Sam and I said, “Oh there you are!” And my view on what makes a pretty picture changed right there. Ya know how I know? Cause I looooove this photo:
Like, I love it. And y’all. I do not look pretty in that picture. (OK, I didn’t have the guts to include the even worse one that’s not blurry and shows my full head of “I just delivered a baby” hair. But still.) I dropped the ball on scheduling someone to come and blow out my hair that day. And I’m gonna be honest: I puked about ten minutes before that picture was taken. Take Sam’s sweet little head out of that picture, and I would’ve shot the camera out of Michael’s hand before I let him take a photo of me like that! But it’s the first time I held Sam. It’s the first time we snuggled. So it’s one of my favorites.
Before Sam, it was hats and buckets and trying so hard to figure out how to make a baby’s head balance on his little hands. (It’s Photoshop, y’all. They don’t really do that. Don’t feel bad.) Now it’s snuggles and kisses and leg rolls. You know. The important stuff.
It’s sisters cutting up while their parents pose oh so sweetly!
And little boys who can run real fast and jump off tall walls but still hold daddy’s hand.
Those photos make me smile. And I hope they make those mommas and daddies smile whenever they look at them for the rest of their lives.
Speaking of looking at them for the rest of their lives … I’m (ironically) not great at actually hanging up my pictures in my house! I have not yet mastered the art of the perfect gallery wall! But I think that’s OK. It’s the photo itself that you love, right? If the sweet memories are what makes a beautiful photo, then isn’t actually calling those moments to mind the most important part of displaying them?!
I have these three big, beautiful prints of Sam framed on the wall next to my bed where I see them at least twice a day.
And I loooove looking at them!
But I also have a bunch of 4×6 prints in plastic magnetic frames on the fridge. And more hanging in the hallway that I put there almost a year ago for Sam’s first birthday party! They’re just hanging on a little string with mini clothes pins! But Sam likes them and so do Michael and I. Sam has learned to say some of his friends’ names by looking at those photos. He doesn’t care that they’re not matching frames, artfully arranged in a complimentary pallet to make a bold a statement about … I don’t know … how we feel about gallery walls, I guess? They’re just sweet pictures of sweet people.
Don’t get me wrong – I love and am envious of a good gallery wall! And someday I hope to have one. But today (between Sam’s 10 a.m. playdate and my 1 p.m. portrait session) is just not that day.
On the other hand, one investment worth making now toward that future gallery wall is finding a good photo lab! Whether you’re picking a wedding portrait to hang above your mantle or planning to pass a handful of 4x6s between doting grandmas, the quality of the print makes all the difference. Here, this is a good one: http://www.precision-camera.com/prints. They’re in Austin, but they’ll ship to you, and their prices are great. I also love the specialty products from https://www.artifactuprising.com/. They’re not too pricey and they’re sooo pretty! Their signature prints are on an especially thick stock and don’t even really need a frame. I have some propped up on my desk and they’re lovely all by themselves!
Besides, let’s be honest – choosing one photo to highlight is too hard! I mean, obviously the nice ones with their hair all combed and their adorable, unsullied Easter outfit is a classic … But you can’t say no to that slice-of-life photo that shows their true personality in all its sloppy glory, can you? So don’t! Have your cake and the photo of your precious baby wearing said cake on her first birthday! Trust me — no one will complain.”
Be sure to keep up with Jenni Roberts Photography online! website | facebook
Christina Freeman Photography specializes in capturing the little moments for families in Anna, TX and surrounding areas including Melissa, Van Alstyne, Celina, McKinney, Plano, Prosper, Frisco, Lucas, Allen and other Dallas suburbs.. My photographic style is natural and simple, aimed at capturing your family just as you are.
I would love to hear from you! Call me at 940.453.4962 and start planning your family’s portrait session today!
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