Bryona  and I took a chance last week to get her senior portraits in on her day off.  It was a rather rainy afternoon and I wasn’t sure if we were going to have to reschedule.  Thankfully the rain stopped about 3:00 and we decided to go for it.  We had to dodge raindrops a few times during her session, but we made it work.  The nice thing about summer rain showers is they are usually short lived.  Thankfully the few times the clouds cried we were able to take cover and wait it out.  That’s a chance we always take scheduling outdoor sessions, but rescheduling is never an issue when the weather doesn’t want to cooperate!

Bryona met me at Rockford Plantation, my favorite place to shoot.  There’s just so much variety in a single location, not hard to kill two hours with a great model and a great location.  As always, here are a few of my favorites from the session.

This next shot is one of my favorites – this is a cover shot!  I think all the bling is what really set this one off for me.  Everything is tasteful and classy, yet really adds some interest to the photo!  This is a great example of thinking about every detail when you get dressed for your session.

When Bryona walked out in this outfit I wanted to call my motorcycle friend, Amy.  I would have loved her awesome pink wheels in a few of these shots! 

We had to take a break for the rain which was a great opportunity for Bryona to change.  I was excited to shoot a few more with some color!  Black, white and jeans are always classy and look good on everyone, but if you have a solid color that looks good on you, don’t ever hesitate to bring that a long too!  Color shirts take photos to a whole new level sometimes!

Anyone who has worked with me knows how “laid back” my portrait sessions are, which is great for helping your relax and not stress over the camera constantly clicking in front of you.  This is a prime example of a shot that just sort of “happened” as Bryona and I were working through some posing.  My instructions are typically very open to interpretation…  which is great because you can end up with some great shots!  Add some color effect and wa-la!  One of my absolute favorites from the session!

These next couple were just the final shots I wanted to get before we quit.  What little light we had on the overcast evening was just about gone, but I love playing around in tall grass and I think Bryona did too!

Thank you so much Bryona for the fun!  You looked great and I’m sure you’ll enjoy these photos more than some of your past shots!  Congrats on your senior year and best of luck with everything to come!  Keep the BF in line too! 

This post is long overdue and I apologize for the delay.  If you’re a Facebook Fan you’ve already seen some photos from the wedding.  I’m usually pretty quick with the Facebook postings, but a little slower on the blog when I get busy.

Enough of the shameless plugs, let’s get to some images.  This was a great day!  If you haven’t been following you might have missed the personal connection I had to this wedding.  Marina is actually Jared’s (my better half) cousin.  I was honored when they asked me to be their official wedding photographer.  I started bright and early with the girls at Luxe where the entire bridal party met for hair and make-up.  The staff at Luxe was GREAT!  Especially putting up with me and my camera!

There was some prep time, looking for possible hairstyle ideas and just some time to relax.  Here’s mom taking a few moments to relax.

Some were relaxing, some were being pampered!

Even Marina had some time to relax.  Checking in with her flower girl who was very interested in her ring!  All kiddos love bling!

Those who were a part of the day know the significance of this shot.  Marina had what many brides fear, a rough morning.   I arrived at Luxe to find out Marina was still home, struggling to make it to the car.  We were all very happy when she finally arrived, feeling better!  She was doing her best to stay hydrated and  happened to capture the famous drink bottle in her hand as she was having her hair done.  Every bride has her own special memories from the day… but there’s always a silver lining the any storm clouds that might threaten!

Hair almost complete and looking great!

Time for make-up and for Justine to admire the amazing hairstyle Marina is sporting!

Although the mirror is missing, this is Marina’s “first look” at her almost complete wedding appearance.  She loved it!

We’re going to jump ahead a little bit.  After Luxe they headed to Riverdale Manor where the girls spent time getting dressed and doing some final touch-ups to hair and make-up.  I was shocked at how relaxed and calm Marina seemed.  Most brides, once dressed, hardly want to move for fear of getting dirty, etc.  Marina was on the floor, touching up make-up and just having a grand ol’ time!  That is right – she is in her dress, with face powder, and NOTHING covering her dress!  Brave girl!  I loved it!

I think someone said something about how crazy she was and she decided to lean front a little — made for a fun shot!

This is the buddy shot to the earlier “drink” shot…  keeping the tummy happy with some saltines.  Whatever it takes!  We were just glad she was feeling better!

I took the girls outside for some pre-wedding fun.  My second shoot Jamie Emig was off working with the guys so I started working with the girls.  Below are a few of my favorites from the bunch we took.

There’s also some great shots of just the bride during this time!

We’re going to jump ahead a little more.  Imagine guests arriving… the bridal party walking down the aisle… the exchanging of rings…  “I now present you man and wife…”

The happy couple!

This is my favorite shot from the day.  Marina and Matt had trees worked into the theme of their wedding, so they were very excited to have a few shots taken with this amazing tree.

Of course we had fun with the whole bridal party too!

Toasts, dances and cake, oh my!

What can I say?  This was an amazing day and it meant the world to me that Marina and Matt included me in such a special way.  You two are adorable and I wish you a lifetime of happiness!

It’s time to start featuring the Class of 2011!

Below are a few images from my session with James.  He was a great sport, as most guys aren’t into the whole “photo session thing” like the ladies are!  We actually kept is short and simple, doing the session around their property.

I had some fun with his images – giving them a little different look that I’m used to.  Male portraits just lend themselves to a more rustic, rough look.

I think this is one of my favorites – mostly because we captured a great smile!

Thank you very much James for putting up with me and for being so cooperative!  I hope your mom is happy and you don’t have to go through this again anytime soon!    Best of luck with your senior year – have a blast!

You might remember Devon from last summer.  I did her senior portraits at the beach – how lucky was she?!?!? 
(If you want to talk about having your senior portraits done at the beach, feel free to give me a ring and we’ll see if we can make that happen!)

Well last weekend was Devon’s prom and I was lucky enough to be her photographer for the pre-prom festivities.  As anyone who has been to prom knows, the photo sessions before hand are just as important as going to the prom.  This is probably one of the first times you’ve been all dressed up with fancy hair and glittery dresses and you HAVE to document this on film!  Sure mom and dad have cameras, but, as Devon’s mom will probably agree – it was nice putting the responsibility in the hands of a professional who had charged up batteries and plenty of memory cards!  How many people in your group said “my battery is dead” or “my memory card is full”…  not a good thing on such an important night!  Devon’s mom was able to enjoy this special time with her daughter and friends while I did took care of business!

Below is a slideshow of Devon and her friends enjoying the pre-prom excitement.

Keep me in mind next time you’re looking for the celebrity treatment!  Being followed around by a camera at first seems a little odd, but once you adjust it’s great to be in the spotlight, especially during such a fun, important time if your life!

REMEMBER — if you want to get dressed back up and have some post-prom fun in you dress — let me know today!  I’m offering some great specials to early “trash the dress” sessions!  Feel free to include some friends – getting dirty is more fun with a friend!  Sure — the date’s are allowed too!  They don’t have to re-rent a tux – we can work with jeans/khakis and dress shirts…  more of the relaxed look!  Let’s have some fun!!

Okay, time for blog catch-up number two – Sormariel!  Sormariel’s mom gave me a call asking if we could get a few quick shots to balance out the senior portraits she already had done.  They really wanted a few outdoor shots and I was happy to help!  We meet at Willow Valley and walked around and explored the areas around the pond.  It was nice to be back there, it’s a fun place to play!  Here are a few of my favorite shots from her session.

Let’s start with a few classic black and white shots.

Look at those eyes!  Wow-e-wow!

I love the willow trees at Willow Valley!

One more of the beautiful Sormariel.

The lovely lady of the pond!  I now have a new favorite spot and will be sure to use this when I go back.  Be ready to do some rock climbing!

This next shot should be on the cover of a fashion magazine!  We had everything set-up just right, including the wind machine!    Boy do I love this shot!

Another one of my faves!  Again we turned that wind machine just right! 

As we finished our journey around the pond we stopped for a few final shots down in the grass.  Now that we were wrapping up the fear of getting a little dirty wasn’t as important!  As Sormariel will attest, I was down on the ground too – no worries that only she got a little dirty!

There you have it — some of the fun with Sormariel.  Enjoy the last few weeks of your senior year, congrats on the achievement of graduation and good luck at Temple next year!  It was a pleasure meeting you and working with you!  Best wishes Sormariel!

Wow!  Boy am I behind in the blogging!  If you’re a fan of Snapshots By Jess on Facebook then you’ll know how much I’ve had happening in front of the camera lately!  May has turned out to be a great month and I want to thank everyone who has allowed me to be a part of their special event or moment!

I’m going to start my blog catch-up by introducing you to the gentlemen of 4 PM Curfew - Larry, Steve, John and Jim.  They needed some updated shots for their website – and I was happy to lend a hand (or a camera)!  We met in Mount Joy at the Donegal Presbyterian Church where Steve is Director of Music.  His special connection allowed the Quartet to have access to the church for changing, etc.  For those of you who follow my blog regularly you may recognize some of the scenery.  I actually shot here in the past with Beth, and Cameron Estates is directly behind so the water feature is often used in photo sessions!

Steve, the baritone, was the mastermind behind this session.  This shot is mostly for the remaining three members of the Quartet…  who really needs Steve anyway!  As I said, he’s the baritone! 

Okay, in all seriousness now…  these guys put on quite a show for me…  they did some great posing (especially as good singers… ha! ha!)  Really – they were great – and YES, the did sing for me – quite a few times!  I can only imagine the song that goes along with this shot!  “Sad-sack” John was clearly upset about his little duck…  I’m sure there’s quite a performance to be seen when theses little yellow guys come out to play!

There’s one in every bunch…  well in this bunch there’s actually four…

As I mentioned, they did sing a few melodies for me… and I captured some “action” shots as well as their posing…  if these two don’t speak volumes of the fun we had…  I’m not sure what else I can do!

Be sure to keep these four in mind if you’re up for some laughs and quality entertainment.  They are “for hire” – so check out their website for who to contact and more details on the members than you’re bound to actually want to know!  Brief summary, one’s from Texas and lived in Hawaii, one is a engineer, one thinks waxing cars is fun (I know who to call next time!) and one sang the National Anthem better than Roseanne Barr!  I’ll let you dig deeper to find out who is who!

Thanks a bunch guys for the great evening!  I can’t wait to see your updated website and maybe one day I’ll show up in the audience (with my camera) and capture more of your crazy fun!  Keep singing and reminding people how to smile!

I have a lot that needs posting, but this is one I’ve been meaning to do for a while!  Below you’ll find some more of the love between Marina and Matt.  We’re getting super excited for their May 28th wedding at Riverdale Manor…  can’t wait to share in their special day with them!

Enjoy the smiles!

PS – keep in HiRes and enjoy it full screen!  Click the far right “square” under the show!

So I was digging through my Google Analytics this morning and I realized a common theme in the last month — Dress Trashing searches and views, especially Prom Dress Trashing!  My previous prom dress trashing posts have been viewed A LOT!  Thanks for stopping by!

If you’re seriously thinking about giving this a try, please contact me TODAY!  I’d be more than happy to work out special pricing for you and a few of your friends for a fun session with a little bit of dirt and a lot of laughs!

Here’s a link to my current “trash” session blog posts…  check them out and bring me your ideas and you can be added to this blog!

Thanks again for stopping by and please feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas!

Happy Prom!

Jess
info@snapshotsbyjess.com

Justin and I got together again to capture some more images of his rifles.  Here are a few more pieces from his collection.  He should be here to narrate as each one has some back story which, again, I won’t pretend to remember.  All I know is they are pretty darn cool and took some neat photos!  This first one is the one my husband was anxious for Justin to bring over and I’m sure you’ll see why.  The wood on this gun is awesome as are some of the details!

I decided to get a little more creative with the angles. 

Great shot to illustrate depth of field!  

Justin also brought along a pistol. 

We took a few shots of a rifle Justin is currently working on.  Yes, these are made by hand – the old fashion way!






This is a powder horn…  what they’d carry their gun powder in!  Look at the details!



As I mentioned before, you can learn more about Justin and his guns from his website.  He’s a wealth of knowledge and skill and enjoys chatting about his passion!

You may remember Marina for the bridal shower fiesta, so below is a familiar face!  Matt and Marina will officially tie the knot May 28th and we really wanted to get an engagement session in before then!  We were all able to sync our calendars to meet for an pre-wedding engagement session last Sunday and it’s time for me to show off some of my extended family members!  Marina is my husband’s cousin so this wedding is getting the extra special treatment!  There are a ton of favorites from the session and I’ll try to keep this post within reason…

We started at the Lancaster County Central Park – one of my favorite places to shoot.  I love the outdoors and I love the options the park provides.  Rockford Plantation is a local favorite, not only for history buffs but for weddings!  Check it out if you’re planning a wedding!  Okay, enough chit-chat…  enjoy a few images!

This should probably be my ending shot, as it looks AMAZING on my blog!  You guys are so freaking cute together!

Gorgeous!

I love capturing the “fun” couples have!

Change of venue…

Trees, trees and more trees!

After we had enough of the grass and trees we headed downtown for a few shots in the city!  Matt’s the county boy and Marina is the city girl – we had to be sure to incorporate both aspects of their lives in this shoot!

Classic downtown Lancaster shot!

I was so ready to join them!  It’s the beginning of May and we were all ready to jump in the pool!  It ended up being rather warm!  Good thing we started early!

I had so much fun with these two, I can’t wait for their wedding day!  Not only are they going to be a beautiful couple I know they’re going to have a fantastic day together and having the privileged of capturing the memories means the world to me!

Matt and Marina – enjoy the next few weeks and all the final prep for your big day!  It’ll be here before you know it!  Get ready to enjoy the best day of your life (up to now) and I’ll see you on the 28th!