Nashville Family Photographer + Filmmaker | The Douglass Family
Getting to film his sweet family and their rhythm together is such a blessing. This was our 2nd film together and it went just as beautifully as the first. I connect with this family because they homeschool and we do too. I love watching them crack jokes together, play games, jump and play…. making sourdough and even running out into the rain! Which I have never had happen in a session before.
Having your family filmed is something you will never regret, I promise you. You’ll watch it back over and over. Years later, it becomes increasingly valuable to you. Your kids will want to watch it and I even have some clients’ kiddos that go to bed with their little video albums (after 3 family films, I gift them one). It is so powerful to show your kids that their daily life is SO good and worth living. Give them evidence of the love and laughter and good times. Someday, they may cling to them. I would love to connect with you about filming your family!
Homeschool Family spending time together.
Husband and Wife on trampoline, kissing.
a Boy and his Dog
young boy on trampoline
dad and daughter jumping on trampoline
Homeschool girl learns piano
Homeschool family making sourdough
Dad and son play chess
Nashville Family Photographer | Fall Family Photos …but your real memories
All around Nashville, every year, thousands of residents seek having their fall family photos taken. Get in and get out, get the wardrobe, the location, the light and box checked.
But I have grown to see over the years that these photos don’t really give us our memories. In fact, they become a place holder for where our memories should be.
Fall Family shoots are about the clothing you wore, the light, the field you sat in.
But in-home documentary sessions are about your real life moments unfolding and letting me - as a fly on the wall - capture those and tell that story back to you.
The Myers Family had their family shoot at home in October. The leaves had just begun to change and the temperatures were a touch cooler. They had mums and pumpkins to decorate their front and back yards with and so that was a huge part of their photo shoot. They also love Fall bonfires. This was the absolute perfect fall family shoot! It captured their real life of juggling two boys while doing home projects on the weekends. Letting the older son help. Taking breaks to nurse… all part of their typical days in this season.
There truly is magic in our everyday… and it’s not in the big moments, but truly these micro moments in the in between. The ones that are harder to see because we’re in the depths of parenting. Capturing those, gives us this beautiful incredible keepsake that is unlike any other. For your next round of fall photos, holler at me and let’s tell your real fall family story.
Nashville Family Photographer | Why are family photos so stressful?
You booked your session months ago and now its DAYS away. You don't have your wardrobe chosen, your kids have snotty noses, and you feel like you cannot keep up with your to do list.
Family photos... POSED family photos (which includes "lifestyle") are SO STRESSFUL. Choosing wardrobes that match but not too matchy .... knowing you have invested money and time into this little hour session that MUST GO WELL OR ELSE.... which leads to bribes and threats and an overall BAD experience.
I have the answer for you that will remove at least 90% of that stress.
STOP DOING THEM. Why?
They are not all that meaningful... they do not capture the snuggles you get first thing in the morning, or the toddler babble your two year old speaks throughout the day. They do not capture the way your nursing infant loves to play with your hair... or the voice of mom reading her child's favorite book. They miss the moments where your 5 year old catches a frog and has the dirtiest hands. Or what about the sound of laughter that fills your walls? All of that is missed... and for what? So you can have a Christmas card photo and check the box for annual family photos? That express fake happiness because in reality you were so stressed and sweaty from wrangling all the kiddos for the shoot.
Just stop doing it. You won't miss those photos, I promise. And if you do, you can always grab a mini session, they're literally on every corner!
Okay, it all sounds good in theory, right? Let me show you what clients have said about the ease of their family film and or photography session (I offer both!)
Check out my family films here! And if you are not quite ready for a video and photos session, learn more about documentary photography here!
Franklin, TN Newborn Photographer | Welcoming Walt
Walking a journey into motherhood is a passage into a new self as a woman and a person. Add into that any other struggle or variable, and the journey becomes that much more complex. But I have seen in my life as a mother, that the harder the struggle, the brighter the light is at the end.
Watch their film here:
Kate, the mommy of baby Walt, told me - no - admitted to me during her session that she prepared herself to not really become a mother. After many miscarriages, Kate struggled to fully believe that her dreams of being a mother would ever come true. Im so glad she was wrong.
Capturing meaning in a family's moments together. That is the goal of a family film. That is the purpose. It isn't to show a glamorous technical gorgeous session filled with gorgeous light and blurry background. Films and Photography are more than that to me. I would rather my images be extremely simple but tell a deeper story to the families within them. I would rather have 5 likes on IG and FB and have my clients sob over their photos and film. That is the ultimate reward.
Thanks for reading and listening.
Warmly,
Jennie