Nashville Family Photographer | Shepherd's Moving Portrait
This year I began playing around with a new type of film called moving portraits. A Moving Portrait Film is usually centered around one main subject, capturing details of that person and their environment. I love capturing these kiddos in this fun age of toddlerhood, just before school starts. They have such wild imaginations and are generally wild (more so boy) at this age. Capturing Shepherd's true inner personality was so fun. So much so that I had to constantly make sure I didn't laugh and shake the camera!
Dadda and Shepherd also have a band! That part was probably my favorite. When he counts, I nearly lost it. Enjoy and plan to laugh, a lot.
Shepherd | A moving Portrait from Jennie Pyfferoen on Vimeo.
Franklin, TN Family Photographer | A Morning with the Rains Family
I first filmed and photographed The Rains family 4 years ago, when their daughter was a newborn. It was a beautiful film.
Being asked to film them again, was a true honor. I love my clients dearly and am blessed that pretty much all of them hire me repeatedly, most of them annually!
For this film, we captured their beautiful family right now with a 4 year old. Mary Patton loves baking cookies and swinging on her swing set in the backyard. She and daddy love having tea parties and she loves jumping on daddy.
There were so many beautiful moments between this family. From giggles to quiet snuggles, it was a beautiful morning. She loves reading books, jumping on her bed and telling stories in her southern accent (which was entertaining to capture!)
When I was editing their film, I wanted to tell the story of the joy Mary Patton emits as well as the wild 4 year old she is at times. Their family connection was evident. I hope they treasure this film and the photos for years to come.
You can hire me for a family film here.
The Rains Family | July 2022 from Jennie Pyfferoen on Vimeo. 
Franklin, Tennessee Family Photographer | Down on the Farm with The Davidson Family
I had the most beautiful experiencing, filming The Davidson Family one beautiful morning in July. Rain threatened to reschedule our film, but we decided to give it ago. By the time I arrived, the rain was clear and it was a beautiful sunny - and humid - morning. This precious family has had a rough year, being in the hospital a few times, for weeks at time with their baby boy, Mac. The very first date we had set for their film was in March, but it was rescheduled due to hospitalization. When I did get to finally film their family, they had only been back together for a few weeks. With two other children, who are quite young, that was hard on their Family.
It was an honor to film and photograph their family and tell the story of how Jesus is the center of their family. We began the film with communion. I loved when I began to edit this film, how quickly the first clip (2 clips on top of one another) came together, highlighting their family home and farm as well as their family image and lighting the candle for communion. They had the most amazing audio throughout their film, starting with Andy reading the bible for communion, then Brittany praying and then singing. Their audio made this film what it is.
I also wanted to highlight the love their older children have for baby Mac. It was so evident that the children sense more deeply that he is special and loved so much. I was able to hold Mac, which after following Brittany's IG for a year now, was something I had looked forward to. Let me tell you, this baby has the most special soul. You can feel it. I cannot wait to see what he grows into! What God has planned for him!
I hope you enjoy their beautiful family film and their photographs. I cannot wait to film them again next year!
Contact me here for your own film!
Nashville Tennessee Family Photographer | Jackson's First Birthday
I was honored to film and photograph a First birthday in June. I have not yet captured a birthday. It was really great getting to do something new! The large family and friend gathering was so simple and sweet. The people were kind and just filled with love and gratitude. My favorite kind of people!!!
They held the birthday at one of the Grandparent's homes which happened to be nestled on a lake in Gallatin, TN. They were tucked away from the main lake and had their own dock. I loved observing the grandparent's making the food and all of the attendees love on Jackson. The weather was hot - June in the south! and the balloons kept popping as a result ?? but Lauren (momma) rolled with it.
Birthday parties are not something I can take on regularly - since Families are my primary client and my main passion. But this was really fun. If you are interested in a family film, please contact me here.
Jackson Patterson 1st Birthday from Jennie Pyfferoen on Vimeo.
Nashville, Tennessee family photographer | Common Activities during Family Film Sessions
I wanted to share a few common activities families do during their film. and I also wanted to share a BIG tip for the most successful films!
The FIVE most common activities are:
- Reading. Reading is this sweet special moment between parents and their children. It is common in my client's homes and allows for good audio that captures nostalgic moments from my client's lives as they are right now. In their lives, they are reading a lot. or an older child is learning to read and so that makes just such precious audio. It is also a good way to bring everyone together in one space. which allows for good connection and photos. You can see The Swope Family Film Here.
2. Rough Housing. Rough housing is another common theme I see often in films. Its something dad usually does and is easy for him - it comes naturally to him and it encompasses dad's connection with his kids. In addition, we get some really beautiful audio usually of kids' squeals and laughter. Dad probably says something about "gonna get you" which is something the kids will hear again years from now rewatching the film and it will bring them right back to those wonderful moments with Dad. See The Kessenger's Film here!
3. Dancing. Dancing is THE BEST. Assuming, it represents your family in real life! That IS the goal - capturing who YOU are as a family. But dancing really brings out some fun video. I cant usually use the audio much because it clashes with the music but it makes really great images and the video shows your connection with your kids and each other really well. All four of these images came from a dancing portion of their film! See The Richardson Family Film here!
4. Baking or Cooking. Many times, parents say they bake with their kids and want that in the film. It is yet another great option for families, because it can encompass your typical routine, while showing the connection you share. It can also... get silly and make for some really fun video and photography! See The Richardson Family Film Here!
5. Snuggling and cuddling! (Nursing too!) Many kiddos love snuggling and or nursing - and I hate to repeat myself but .... - it is just so sweet! They won't snuggle and or nurse forever. It is such a special thing being able to fit them into your arms and snuggle them. My oldest is going on 13 and I haven't been able to snuggle him in a few years. He is now 5'7" and MUCH taller than me. It is simultaneously cool and heart breaking. I hug him all the time and sometimes he holds my hand - and that's pretty special. (Okay, I think I got off topic going down my own memory lane!). Here are some snap shots of snuggles at some sessions.
Okay for THE BIG SECRET TO A SUCCESSFUL FILM!
It isn't much about what you do. THE BEST Films are of families just focusing on spending time with their kids. Its an amazing opportunity to unplug for a few hours and connect with your favorite people. Plus, you will get a film and photos that can remind you of what is most important!
Are you curious about having a family film done or documentary photography in your home? Holler at me.
Nashville, TN Family Photographer | What is a documentary photo session?
A documentary session is a photography session where I spend 1-1.5 hours with your family, photographing your normal life. Now, I don't just show up and shoot whatever - that would probably not work well. We use a questionnaire to gain an idea of what your favorite moments are right now in your season of motherhood and parenting. So whether its filled with the exhaustion of having a newborn and nursing a lot or you're chasing a toddler around - we are going to get some really amazing, story telling, raw, real life moments on camera. And YOU ARE GOING TO LOVE THEM.
Parents don't even realize what they are not having captured until it's there. It is so easy to fall in love with trendy photographs on instagram and facebook. But what I have seen in my 12 years photographing clients, is that the best most beautifully posed photograph doesnt.hold.a.candle to a meaningful photograph. Meaningful means that it speaks to your SOUL. It brings so much MORE emotion out of you seeing the photo. Let's be honest, I don't send over to my clients 150 absolutely perfect photos. Some are absolutely perfect. perfect lighting, composition, moment etc. But some - some are just okay in terms of photography perfection. But you know what? They are meaningful. and meaningful trumps perfect, ever single time.
I will always aim to get the BEST shots for my clients, but I will never be so full of myself that I deny them precious images because they wont win a competition.
Parents are getting to the later stages of parenting and saying "I wish I had more photos of our everyday life" and instead they have these beautifully posed Christmas Card Fall Photographs from every year. And those - those are meaningful. But we need to be sure to capture our everyday for the sake of remembering and encapsulating our legacy.
Book your family documentary session by downloading my client guide and inquiring here!
Nashville, TN Family Photographer | my top 5 client testimonials
Being invited into a family's home to capture them not only for photography but also videography is something I cherish deeply. I am so honored to be able to bear witness to a family's most vulnerable moments. I wish I could tell you every family film was absolutely peaceful and easy and just a walk in the park! And for some families, it is! most have a mix of moments ranging from boisterous to hilarious! Some are quite calm and sweet and some feel like absolute chaos (to the family - Im not bothered by any of it!). But every single one turns out an amazing film. Why? Because I don't need a lot of clips to make the film. I also can't use most of what I shoot to make a 3-5 minute film! I also have a trained eye and know where the best moments are. I can predict them most times and am ready to film it! But regardless of what happens during your session, I'm there calm and poised.
You see, None of it phases me. I see it all as beautiful life. and Life is truly filled with all range of emotions and behaviors and moods. It is what makes life so amazing! Below I wanted to share my top 5 Reviews from previous Film Clients! But first, here are 2 images showing a huge range of interactions during a film.
OOPS! I did SIX! I am just SO in love with this gig of family photography and film making. I truly cherish EVERY client. Giving them this treasure is an enormous gift. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this year unfolds.
If you are thinking about hiring me to capture your family, you can download my family photography and film client guide to learn more here!
Franklin , TN Family Photographer | What is A family film?
A family film is the ultimate way to capture your life together as a family as it is right now.
I spend a few hours with your family, alternating between video and photos. From these video clips, I will create a 3-5 minute cinematic film, or home movie, of your family. Kind of like wedding videography, but for families!
Think about how many video clips you have on your phone that you haven’t done anything with.
Probably more than you can count right?
When you book a family film with me, you are making sure that your memories aren’t lost forever in an old phone that you can’t turn on anymore. Or deep in the cloud with the hundreds of thousands of photos, videos, and screenshots you captured over the years.
Your film becomes the thing that you treasure most.
The video that you rewatch over and over together as a family. Preserving not just your children’s expressions and laughter, but your interactions and connections with them as a parent as well.
It’s the most priceless gift you’ll ever give your kids.
Back before we had phones, many families made homemade movies. We had these VHS tapes or whatever object and watched our family memories play on the screen. We would sit together and replay these videos, laughing and crying and telling stories amidst the nostalgia. It would help solidify those memories into our brains. We could replay a family member's facial expressions and laughter to our heart's content.
Despite having a device on us 24/7 and even taking videos and photos and posting them on social media for the world to see, we have ironically lost our intentionality when it comes to preserving these memories. Back in the day, when we took video, we didn't do it daily and super frequently. It was usually a special occasion, like our yearly trip to the lake or Christmas etc. This helped it become a permanent object in our home. It was also easier to do something with the videos, because we just ejected the tape and put it in it's special place.
So what can we do in the modern time period to bridge the gap between the way we did things and the way we do things now? Because what we are doing now is not ideal. How can we show our kids their lives growing up if we don't do something with our videos we take? We can't sit them down daily and watch our memories pop up on Facebook.
One way to make sure in 10, 20, 30 years we have true video to show our family, is to hire someone like me to capture your family every year. I will spend 2-3 hours filming and photographing your family. The entire session is custom to what your family normally does, to what memories are important to you. Each year, your film changes, and your family has changed. And you know that no matter what happens with phones or social media, you'll have videos to cherish and show for years to come.
I know there are 364 days left in the year I won't be with you to video, and you will want to use that device. So what can you do? The best thing you can do is sit down once a month and do something with your memories on your device. I use http://artifactuprising.com and print yearly albums from the images I post on Instagram. Each album is labeled by year.
But what about video? I have one friend who uses an app called 1 second everyday. Each month she makes a video of her family's month from videos on her phone.
If you are ready to book, click here!
If you live in the Franklin or Nashville, Tennessee area and want a film, I would be HONORED to capture your family. I also travel for films a handful of times a year, so if you do not live near me, feel free to inquire! I also offer documentary family photography - if you are not ready for a film or if I am booked for films.