Franklin Tennessee Photographer | Amy Weber's Worship on Video
Back in August, I had this vision of a film. I have a friend, Amy Weber, who owns Releve One - a barre and dance / fitness studio in Franklin - and she has turned it into a ministry over the years - its been amazing to watch. She has classes that are aimed towards worship and she works closely with Blue Monarch - which I want to share more about.Who Blue Monarch Serves:Blue Monarch is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit designed to serve abused and addicted women along with their children. We accept women who are currently recovering from physical, emotional and/or sexual abuse, alcohol or drug addictions, poverty and mental health issues. We accept women with children under the age of 9 and women who are pregnant.What Blue Monarch does:
Blue Monarch offers each woman a one to two-year residential program specifically designed to fit her individual needs and help her further her education, break her addictions, become a better mother, obtain a job and gain independence.
The reason I want to share about this is that it is near and dear to my heart. I am currently donating to this organization. Okay, back to Amy's film.So back in August, I had seem so many videos of Amy worshipping Jesus with her dance that I kept envisioning her in a film / video. I mentioned the idea to Amy and she loved it, but due to busy schedules, it got moved to the back burner for a minute. Fast forward to the end of September, Im involved in an online Filming Life Academy and quarterly, they post film challenges to push an area of our creativity. They posted their newest Arthouse challenge for the end of 2021, a Moving Portrait. A Moving Portrait Film is usually centered around one main subject, capturing details of that person and their environment. I had the AHA when this came out as our next challenge, that I would be filming Amy. and she has the most gorgeous light in her studio.To be honest, going into this film, I was not as sure about how to would turn out as I thought I was. I thought I had this strong vision for it, and the lord basically told me to sit down and let Him handle it. And handle it HE DID!Filming was a breeze and amazing, I knew I wanted no audio of Amy herself or her music. and I knew I wanted all slow motion. Editing turned out to be more challenging than expected. Let's break down why.This wasn't a family film. There weren't unique situations to tie into one story. Like a person doing some cooking then a person going outside. You couldn't tell what was first second or last. How as I going to tell the story that she was worshipping? How would the viewer feel when watching this film? Can I translate Jesus into this film? It quickly became too complicated for my flesh to be able to sort out. So I took step away, and worked on some other things and let it simmer.This is usually the right thing for this scenario. It really helps to step away and come back fresh. I wanted a very dreamy feel and Jesus did the rest. There is scene where I overlay two clips and there's a cross formation. I would love to say I did that, thought of it all myself. But truthfully, Jesus did it. When it came together I was amazed. I spent a lot of hours on this project and it definitely did a lot for me creatively. It also did more than that, and Im not really sure what that is yet. If you're really into Jesus, you understand what that means.So I finished this amazing film and posted it, waiting to hear feedback to hear what people felt. Did they grasp the story line? Also, my caption for the post on FB and IG. I struggled and struggled on what the heck I would post as the caption. Amy Worships Jesus? what would it be? I was sitting there ready to post, when I took a deep breath, and told my flesh to get out of my mind and connect with the spirit and see what He says and there it was: The Holy Spirit spoke to me and I realized, Amy wasn't my subject.The Holy Spirit was.Here is the caption that was chosen for me: I intended to film Amy worshipping Jesus in her own way - through movement. But like most things that involve our savior, things are not as they seem because you’re seeing with your flesh. Turns out, Amy wasn’t my subject, the Holy Spirit was. Can you feel it?So after watching the film, let me know. Did you feel the Holy Spirit?So after all of that ^^^^^ Here is the film:Amy - A Moving Portrait. from Jennie Pyfferoen on Vimeo.xoxoJennie
Nashville Newborn Photographer | Baby Emmett
I have been a photographer since 2010. I initially fell in love with newborn posing and quickly mastered it. For years I posed newborns, but after a while, something shifted for me.I realized I was just copying other’s work. I wasn’t actually becoming me - Jennie Pyfferoen the creative artist. I didn’t know I was creative. People would look at my work and say I Was creative and I would reply “no I just copy work”It wasn’t until the fall of 2014 when I went to a Jinky Art Workshop where she told me I was creative and an artist. I dont know how she saw that. Thats when my perspective began to shift.I stopped posing newborns and began transitioning to lifestyle - but that was just a middle place, on my journey. In the summer of 2017, I found @Courtney and haven’t been the same since. I had this realization of “What am I doing? Im not even truly serving my clients well” Because I wasn’t giving them what I knew they needed 30, 50, 80 years from now - what their children and grandchildren would need decades from now. Family films are simply the modern version of home movies. Ironically, in 2021 when everyone has a camera on them constantly, we have lost sight of the real purpose of memory making.Here is a black and white sneak peek of a recent Newborn Baby Documentary Film + Photos Session.... 
Franklin TN Documentary Film and Photos | Real is the new perfect
If I asked you to think of your favorite people and the memories you most treasure with them, would you say it was when you were posed on a quilt in a field for your annual check list family session?
No. you wouldn't.
So why are we investing in just this type of photography? Im not saying no to posed or lifestyle sessions, but I am saying we need to say yes more to real life memories. Meaningful sessions with the purpose behind them to preserve our memories.
I have been a photographer for almost 10 years. Its been trend after trend after trend. and at some point around year 7-8, I subconsciously became sick of it. I didn't know why. I didn't know what happened exactly, other than my own family had our own documentary shoot.
I had hired a photographer from Australia, who was visiting the area, to film my family. She said the session came with photos, but initially, I didn't care much about those.
But then, I received the images before the film. and the images had me breaking down in tears. This moment changed my heart forever. I entered into a transition of finding my own authentic self as an artist. and never looked back.
It all makes sense in hindsight. My degree is Psychology. Im excellent at reading people and moments. at Feeling what people are feeling. I just allowed trendy photography to deter me from my true inner self for far too long. I still love capturing families outside in lifestyle sessions, but it doesn't feed my soul like documentary.
My theory is, is that inside all of us, particularly mothers.... there is this part of us that wants raw real photographs and videos of our everyday. As mothers, we can see that the boo-boos, the sick days, the stories that are being told to our children, the quick hugs, the long snuggles, and the giggles, are the real moments that make our hearts go pitter patter. I just think we are too afraid of something way off in left field, to fully invest and jump into it.
I hear it all the time .... "Our lives are not that interesting" and Im here to tell you, thats a lie you're telling yourself. Your life is interesting. Because it is your family's story. and that is the most interesting life that there is. Photos and film of your family - that goes above and beyond any staged session that there is.
I met with a momma the other day, as she is hiring me to capture her life with a 3 year and 1 year old twins. I asked her why she wanted a film. I wish I could have videoed her long answer. I will try to paraphrase what she said. It made my heart soar.
"I look back at photos of my 3 year old as a baby and I already find that I forgot things that I didn't realize I would forget. I have always wanted a big family and I feel so blessed to already have 3 kids. Its absolute chaos, but I love our chaos and I want that story to be told"
Y'all, I nearly cried listening to this mommas heart!
One final thing. Preserving these memories, isn't just about what momma wants to remember. It is also about documenting the childhood of her children. Capturing life as it happened - so that your children can look back and remember their LIVES and how they LIVED in YOUR family.
So lets get back to the heart of photography. Preserving our real raw memories, so we can look back and truly remember.
If you want your family captured, contact me here!
Warmly,
Jennie
Franklin, TN Family Documentary Photographer | Collinsworth Family Film
I have had the honor of photographing this family's babies when they were little. I know their story. Its a story of many mothers out there, a struggle to have a healthy pregnancy or a pregnancy at all. Investing into IVF and freezing embryos. I work with a lot of these families, as they seem to treasure their motherhood journey that much more. Check out their family film here:
Shooting underwater was beyond fun! They have a pool and swim ALL the time. So this was very typical of them. I love entering the homes of families and filming and photographing a part of their typical, real life. We get to know each other well before hand, so I can understand how they think and what they do. We choose the best parts of their day that they want to remember.
If you want your family captured, contact me here! 
Warmly,
Jennie
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
Nashville Baby Photographer | Owen's Lifestyle Session + Film
Baby Owen is so loved. His family loves to read to him and rock. They play on the floor and watch their little baby grow daily. This first year always goes by too quickly. Its made up of hard times and happy times, and these little bitty special moments - flashes of time - in between. As the baby becomes more mobile, its almost like time goes exponentially faster. I love capturing this sweet calm between the chaos for families.
If you want your family filmed, contact me here!
Warmly,
Film:
Owen | 6 Months from Jennie Pyfferoen on Vimeo.
