Some of the most endearing shots during a photo shoot are the details of the hands, feet, or eyes. How a baby kicks her feet when she is happy, or holds his hands together as he sleeps. It is endearing.

This week’s challenge from Kelly, Claire, and Sarah is “anatomy” … click the button below to see more of the awesome shots!

The Pittman Family was a blast to photograph!

Mama overheard me talking about how I was moving into a “portfolio-building” stage of Jenny Rain Photography and immediately scheduled me for a family shoot. Mama is personality-plus, and her husband is one of our First Responders at church for the security team and is awe-some with a capital A, so I could not wait to meet the rest of the family!

They were delightful!

I started the kids off with some jumps and gave them the assignment of running around the playground (to get all their energy out). Mama was pleased with how this worked only after she was able to re-do their hair back into its proper position pre-runaround.

I taught the kids the Rooster* and asked them to “strike-a-pose” and the littlest Pittman totally rocked the shots and gave us several classic outtake moments (more to come later!)

Mama and Daddy Pittman have been married for almost 2 decades and their love story is a consistent source of inspiration to me. They are both really involved at the church and walk what they talk, and their faith shows through everything they do.

The highlight of the shoot was when I began processing the photos and got to the “Burke Lake Railroad” building shots (second shot).

I noticed a particular “shadow” that showed up on the majority of the shots.

I looked at it… and then looked again… and then it stopped me in my tracks. It was the shadow of a Cross. None of us could figure out what cast the shadow of the cross on the building – it must have been a combination of a tree behind me and the railroad sign. When I showed Mama Ronnette, she and I both agreed that it was THAT particular shot (not greatly composed, not particularly clear or of outstanding quality) that made the entire shoot perfect because of Emmanuel = God with us.

These unexpected blessings are why I love photography so much….

*The Rooster: Nomenclature for the term that photographers use to describe the photographic technique of sticking out your chin and lowering your nose to prevent the inclusion of “double-chinnage” in photographs.

Ever have that favorite pair of jeans that hangs in your closet just because “one day you just know you will fit back into them”?

For me, this is that pair of jeans.

Mine actually weren’t in my closet. They were in a plastic storage box with all of my other size 7-9 pants that I can no longer get into because I have put on so much weight in the last 2.5 years since being married that even my fat pants – you know the “fat” ones to the farrrr right of the closet that you have to smoosh behind the closet door to fight with to pull out? In that forboden section that you don’t want to look at because it isn’t the “skinny” closet section or even the “normal” closet section, or the “fat” closet section… It is the “I-am-so-beyond-fat-that-I-can’t-even-believe-I-am-wearing-this-size” closet section?!?

Yeah, that dreaded section has become my new normal so today I decided to do something about it. I noticed that even making the decision to see the doctor today brought up some questions that I’m not sure I’m ready to face yet about me and this long-term battle with eating and why at this stage of my life I seem to be packing on the pounds…

Why – since I’ve been married – have I put on so much weight? Weight is always indicative for me of unhappiness – what am I unhappy about? What am I trying to shield/protect myself from? What am I afraid of? Why have I allowed myself to get to this weight? What am I going to do about it?

I started noticing the weight issues when I was getting winded during photo shoots. Then after the wedding I did, I couldn’t move for 2 days because I felt like I had run a marathon. Then all of my clothing bills skyrocketed because I continually had to replace the fat pants with fatter pants.

Today I weighed in at 146.6 pounds

That is almost 150 pounds! My BMC (Body Mass Composition) of 27.6%. Since my normal, healthy weight fluctuates between 110 and 117 pounds, to have put on almost 33 pounds in less than 3 years is staggering to me.

Yes things settle once you hit your forties, but 30 pounds in less than 3 years is not good.

So this is the one diversion from my focus on photography that I am taking on the bloggity this year.

I’ll be doing these weekly weigh ins a few times a month to talk about my successes and failures, my thoughts, and hopefully get to a much healthier place in my life, with food and eating, and with my body image.

If you are someone who also struggles with weight, body image, or food, I hope that this journey encourages you. Often the encouragement we need most doesn’t always come from those closest to us, so my prayer is that something that I share in these next few months will encourage you to believe that you too can take this journey.

Sunset

Sunset in Maine. I had just pulled my camera back out to take this picture and as we rounded the cove, a beautiful sunflare popped out of the boats and buildings behind.

Black and White

This is a sneak peek of the Pittman Family photo shoot… more to come later this week. Some of my favorite shots were from this unexpected “huddle moment” where they all grouped together for a family hug to keep warm and taking the pics from color to b&w just added to the beautiful emotion of them. Initially I was going to give the Pittmans a “family moment” but then it was so totally cute I couldn’t help but capture it – and then these photos turned out to be my favorite.

A Day in My Life

Sissy and I decided over the holidays to dress up all of our dogs {all 4 of them} with cute Christmas bows and put them in front of the tree for a nice puplet photo. A’hem. They were not quite thrilled with the bow-y-getups as evidenced from Annie’s “What in the world have you put around my neck this time?” look. I’m sure you can imagine how well getting all four dogs in front of a Christmas tree to sit still for a photo went too.

Four {Men in Skirts}

Not quite attire for a wedding, but hey, you gotta start somewhere!

Colorful

She was sitting on a wall, blowing bubbles by hand. Dressed in pink. Enough said.

Details are captivating to me during a photo shoot.

Sometimes our body language says as much about our relationships as the smiles {or lack of them} on faces. Whenever I do weddings, families, couples, or engagement shoots, I take some time to major on the minors like feet… hands… toes.

It’s the little things that tell the story of the love of a family, or a couple too.

This week for Wordless Wednesday, I’m majoring on feet {Inspired by Chelsea‘s prompt next week entitled “Feet”}!

Well ok, feet and maybe one bully named “Chesty” too.

There is something magical about families.

This particular family shoot is still one of my favorites – I call them “MSquared + 1″ because they all have MH initials, including the +1, their dog the Moxinator!

The kids were hilarious and totally got into every aspect of the shoot… They said, “let’s climb the tree and take picures there!” “Hey can we use the frame?” “Hey can we make funny faces too?” {ask your mom and dad – said I}… Once they heard my famous “You guys are rockin the cuteness!” they started looking at each other and saying “You are rockin the cuteness!” when they hit a funny pose.  it was a blast. This particular shot I was giggling so much it was really hard to hold the camera straight!

Each family is unique, special, and memorable in their own quirky way.

Family is our biggest cheerleaders, our worst critics, our greatest allies. Families grow, shape, and push us into who we are becoming even now. As I have launched into the photography business this year, I have had the incredible blessing of photographing lots of families and I have loved every single one of them. They bring something that is oh so unforgettable to the table. When I shoot families, I go with a “plan” and often bring props, but the shoot always takes on its own flavor when I get there.

Though I am positioning myself to step into the wedding and bridal photography world, I know that I will always have a place for families in my repertoire because there is just something so dynamic about the love that families share that isn’t seen in any other photographic genre. I.Love.It and wouldn’t trade it for anything!

I’ve been a bit busy processing weddings and photo shoots (YAY!) and getting the new website ready (DOUBLE YAY!) But to say I have missed participating in Ashley’s Scavenger Hunt Sunday challenge is like – um – ok so the UNDERSTATEMENT of the year! The various photo challenges that I participated in in 2011 and the other amazing photographers that I have met who also do these challenges have really helped to improve my photography. So I’m glad to be back in the game.

My schedule for the week has changed though, so I’ll probably be posting these during Q1 on Monday instead of Tuesday. But you can still enjoy the crazy fun that I have doing the challenges… Oooo and see those badges at the bottom of the screen? Ok, so click on them and go to all of their websites and see the photographic awesomesauce… yes awesomesauce… that’s a word. Look it up. I promise. It’s in my computer dictionary… it should be in yours too. You’re welcome.

Here we go!

Winter Wonderland (Honey Mommy‘s suggestion)

These are all of the amazingly talented women I get to work with during our girls party at my boss’s house. My boss’s wife, Tricia (bottom right), threw a “girls party” and we all walked into their house and said the same thing “Oh my gosh, it looks like a winter wonderland in here!” See, each year Tricia literally takes three weeks to brighten up her house (and our lives!) with beautiful decorations. I absolutely adore the people I get to work with, and it is always such a blessing to visit with everyone in Tricia’s winter wonderland. This is only one room people, you should see the rest of Tricia’s winter wonderland… it is to die for!

Stacked Up (Honey Mommy‘s suggestion)

I have been dying to show you this shoot since, oh, November, but I had to wait for my sweet friend to get married first! This is a sneak peek of the rest of the bridal shoot… more to come soon!

Sweet (Honey Mommy and Sacha’s suggestion)

This little snuggle muffin was trying to reach her parents on the dance floor at a festival in Baltimore. Every time they started dancing… she would scoot up the steps with a giggle to go dance with them until they finally relented and danced the afternoon away with her.

Hole (Sacha’s suggestion)

What do you get when you mix a bride, a groom, and a golf course? A hole in one! Ba dum bum. That was a little joke. I made a funny, see? Ok, moving on…

Frozen (Sacha’s suggestion)

We have not seen much of the frozen this winter season which is just fine.with.me. in light of the many photo shoots I’ve been doing on the weekends (which I am oh so grateful for). Typically I am a snowbird and love the white stuff, but this year, I’m grateful for a respite so I can serve my clients in the warmth of the sun and dry ground!

I survived my first potential client meeting feeling woefully inadequate to the task of being a wedding photographer, yet with a palpable excitement of the thought of serving this wonderful couple through photography.

I remember thinking, “If every client I potentially deal with is like this bride and groom, I am going to adore wedding photography!” They were such a bright spot in my mental maelstrom of thoughts. Thoughts that my mind battled with over the next week like…

What if they don’t pick me? What if they DO pick me? What if they don’t like me? What if they DO like me? And of course the dreaded… what if they pick me and I FAIL? {gulp}

By the time my mind stopped clattering, I had packed up my wedding magazines and put away my lined theme book with double-stick-taped wedding pictures, having decided that I was not cut out for this wedding photography business. Maybe next time, I thought.

***

“Jenny we would like for you to be our wedding photographer!”

Those words from Lynn and Steve sill shock me. They picked me. To photograph their wedding. ME.

After picking myself up off the floor, I began fervently praying… “Lord, please just let me be a blessing to Lynn and Steve and their family. Oh, and God, please don’t let me screw up.”

Over the next few weeks and months of prayer, err, begging God that I would not fail Lynn and Steve, a series of divinely orchestrated opportunities, blogs, books and interactions happened to prepare me for Lynn and Steve’s wedding. If I had personally written my wedding-photography training plan, I couldn’t have done it better!

Fast forward to December and thousands of prayers later…

The light from the weather was perfect (a bit overcast so the sun didn’t create harsh light), the family and attendants were a delight to work with, God put together a fantastic wedding team who shot for free just to be a blessing (my mentor was one of my second shooters) and Lynn and Steve were a complete dream to work with. Even the timing of the wedding was perfect (in the middle of the day) AND the location (a bright open room with lots of windows to let in daylight!)

Things I would have had no way of knowing, God seemed to have placed in my path to learn prior to the wedding. Things that I had no idea to practice, I had practiced. Things I would have forgotten or not known to do, one of my team, one of the bridesmaids, or the bride herself mentioned so I could get a shot of it.

During the week following the wedding when I was so nervous I didn’t open the RAW files for a week, I “just happened” to turn right to Jasmine Star’s chapter in Exposed about processing HER very first wedding and it gave me the courage to start processing pictures. To think Jasmine had prayed for a miracle in her photos JUST like I had been praying all week… made.my.year!

God is FAITHFUL!

And though I couldn’t move for two full days after the wedding because I was so sore, and I got eye strain from processing thousands of photos, this experience was one of the best of my first year as a photographer and I have definitely caught the wedding photography bug and can’t wait to do my next wedding.

To say I am grateful to Lynn and Steve for taking a risk on me and for the many many people who prayed me through it would be an understatement!

Part I

Part II

My bride and groom to be, Lynn and Steve, were as delightful to get to know as they were on the day of the wedding…

During our first meeting, I fell in love with them almost instantly as they glanced at each other adoringly and giggled through the q&a. Their cuteness was definitely swoon-worthy. Ohmyheart!

Through the course of our conversation, Lynn and Steve told me that one of their groomsmen was a photographer and he did a mere 25 weddings a year. {gulp} It soon became apparent that Lynn and Steve were really versed on photography and had a great idea of what they wanted (this fact would turn out to be a huge blessing, however I was initially intimidated by how much they knew about photography. Does every potential client know this much?!)

The meeting was going swimmingly and then I shared something with them that I had learned from my own wedding preparation:

You have a certain amount of money you have budgeted for your wedding. Out of all of the elements of a wedding – the cake, the dress, the meal, the invitations, the photography – decide what is THE most important element of the wedding to you and then spend your money there.

This was potentially my first wedding, so I had planned to vastly reduce my rates (translated: not charge) because I really wanted the experience AND I really liked Lynn and Steve. So I told them…

The benefit you get with me is that I fit wonderfully into your wedding budget (i.e., I’m ridiculously cheap). The risk you take with me is that this is my first wedding so if photography is really important to you – it is a pretty big risk to choose me.

I then turned to Lynn and asked, “So what is THE most important part of the wedding to you?”

After dancing around it potentially being the dress (but not really ), Lynn finally looked at me and said, “Well, the photography is the most important to us.”

Gulp.

Part I

Tune in tomorrow for Part III

On December 17, 2011 I had the opportunity to shoot my first wedding.

Six months before that special day I went to my first meeting with the bride and groom to be. I think I was more nervous to have the meeting than they were to get married!

I still can’t believe they picked me to shoot their wedding.

We met at Starbucks (of course) and sat outside in the fading summer warmth to discuss their wedding. I had prepped for the meeting for a week and a half. Since I didn’t have a wedding portfolio to show them, I cut out pictures from bridal magazines, organized and double-stick taped them to the pages of a lined theme pad {ghetto-fabulous, I know}. We went through the pictures so that I could get an idea of their style. I made sure to let them know that none of the pictures were mine – and let them know that Lord willing – someday I would be able to shoot photos like that, but I wasn’t there yet.

I even recommended other local photographers who were so much more fabulous than me like Sota and did they know Brad and Nicole Wolf and had they seen their work?

They smiled through the entire meeting… at each other, and at me.

It helped because my heart was beating faster than a typewriter on steroids, yet I muscled up the courage to find my questions and asked what I knew to ask… first about them and their relationship, and then I swallowed up my fear, put on my courage and launched into the wedding questions…

What kind of dress are you getting? (I had a page in my notebook that had a graph out A-line vs. Princess ball gown vs. Mermaid)

What are your colors? (I had another page that had color combinations… cranberry and lemon, grey and fuscia, blue and gold, etc…)

Have you decided on flowers yet and will you to hand-tied bouquets?

I asked about location, timeline, and all of the things that I remembered as a bride were important to me. I watched this incredible couple interact and noticed how the groom-to-be was absolutely charmed by his bride, and how she bloomed in his presence. Their story unfolded before me and I knew – given the chance – that this, THIS was a love story that I was dying to capture on film… err, digital

It wasn’t until much later – and many wedding blogs later – that I learned wedding photographers were not supposed to ask these questions.

Tune in tomorrow for part II of the adventure…