"I grew up around horses at my uncle and aunt's farm. I've was on a horse at age 3," Jennifer said with growing excitement as we schemed our next portrait experience together. As luck would have it, I'd recently connected with an incredible local barn just outside of Winston-Salem, NC that runs as a rescue for farm animals and does riding lessons for anyone interested in the equestrian life. True Heart Farms was going to be the perfect fit!
After one rain reschedule, we drove down the heavily wooded gravel path, strands of hair sticking to our faces as the muggy 87 degree day hovered over us. Even at 7pm, we had sweat dripping. You'd never know it, though, because Jennifer looks pristine in her portraits!
Luxe and Grey were the two horses we got to know and work with, trained by Grand World Champion Becca Hart. Seventeen hand Luxe towered over all of us. If you're not familiar with how big that is, just know that I'm 5'4" and his shoulders were right at my head level. So, he was BIG! He was as gentle as he was large, though, enjoying chomping on the grass and looking majestic no matter which way he turned. Jennifer, undaunted by his size, lead him around as I walked through posing with her and worked with Becca and her mom, Tanya, to get Luxe into the ideal position. Then came two year old Grey, a spunky little horse with a lot of heart and a lovable camera personality and, man, were he and Jennifer gorgeous as the golden sunset shone on them!
Despite the heat, the mugginess, the bugs and getting to know two new animals and all the quirks that go with those elements, this session was beyond perfect!! Check out some of our favorite portraits below!
“Just because you have a certain diagnosis, doesn’t mean you have to live your life like you’re dying.”
On the day of her session, Jacey washed into the studio like a wave greeting the shoreline. She was grounded, excited and ready to have new portraits with her hair all grown back. From the moment she walked in the door, Jacey had a bounce in her step and a propelling energy in her smile.
As a Face of Komen, Jacey is not only a cancer survivor but has also had a reoccurrence of her cancer, which classifies her as Stage 4. You'd never know she'd been fighting so much because her positivity radiates. Once you get to talk to her, however, you start to realize just how much of a fighter she is - constantly staying positive throughout her treatment.
Come and be a part of her session by viewing our behind the scenes video!
Her face may be familiar to you, as she has graced our blog and social media several times. If you're just now meeting her, she's one of the sweetest, most compassionate women. Jen is gracious and graceful and I always love photographing her. This time around, she wanted to do something different, something that let her branch out, something creative, something that excited her.
She sent me oodles of images for inspiration, mainly featuring a parachute dress. Whilst I don't have a parachute dress in my collection, I knew I could create a dress for her. We sent styles back and forth to each other and then got down to selecting a location. Now, being frank, I was a bit apprehensive about photographing at the Arts Park in downtown Winston-Salem. I'm definitely a bare-feet in the grass, fields of flowers and waterfalls kind of lady! However, if Jennifer was willing to push herself, I was willing to be right there with her.
The final bit of inspiration was a story Jennifer sent me. I asked her to send me a story or a feeling she wanted to have captured with these images. This is her story.
"Once there was a girl who was a dreamer, a lover of life with a big open heart. She believed so much in the good in others and had hope for a fairy tale life for herself. Unfortunately, she tended to let the wrong people into her life and she often got left behind holding the pieces of her heart. These pieces were all that were left for her to start over and she did it again and again, opening her heart and being shattered once more. Yet, she remained strong, and kept building her strength, because she knew God had a beautiful plan for her. Her parachute represents the perseverance that has kept her going all these years and her realization that nothing is going to stop her from believing because she always has always been filled with hope and had her own back."
This is what we created to celebrate her strength and her journey, her love and her resilience. Jen has titled this series "Becoming Fearless" and I couldn't love the name any more than I do because it's perfect for her!
Since sharing her portraits on social media, Kirby has been designated the "Snow Queen" and I whole-heartedly agree! We don't get much snow or winter weather here in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Even being from Colorado, I'm okay with that - I am SO not one for cold. When it does snow, though, especially that soft, fluffy, perfect snow I am always inspired to take snow portraits (despite the frigid temperatures).
When I saw those big white flakes from the coziness of my bedroom window, I knew I had to take advantage. This is the second (pretty) snow of the year - that RARELY happens here in the south - and I didn't want to waste it.
I quickly rummaged through my wardrobe collection and, although most of my collection is at the studio, I found an outfit that would work splendidly. I immediately reached out to Kirby, the salon owner of Hair By Kirby based out of Jasper & Fern, and asked if she would be my model. We talked vision, styling and then jumped on the session.
Man, I am stoked with how these turned out! I can definitely say these are bucket list photographs for me.
A big thanks to Kirby for being the biggest reason this session happened!
