“Just because you have a certain diagnosis, doesn’t mean you have to live your life like you’re dying.”

— Jacey

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!

I am a sucker for puppies, baby animals, tiny plants, tiny mittens, odd animal friends cuddling and the, often silent, characters in movies that say anything and everything with their eyes and over-exaggerated body language. In fact, the whole reason I decided to write this blog was because someone shared a tiny knit mouse image to me and its little whiskers and teeny-tiny eyes melted me. Yes, I was melted by an inanimate object. There's proof below at how cute this thing is though! Seriously, it's adorable.

Anyway, this little mouse and my reaction to it got me thinking. I feel SO MUCH happier after I have seen something cute. There's a science behind "cuteness" and I'm sharing a link to that article below. Really, though, I just wanted to share some cuteness with you and push that happiness towards you all!

(You're welcome!)

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!

Sharing with you this fickle southern winter Tuesday a moment of facing self doubt, embracing insecurities, embracing capabilities and turning a debilitating moment into motivation and self acceptance.

https://youtu.be/Zz1Rnii6wjU