Nashville, Tennessee Family Photographer | Surprise + Reaction
Mid September, Jessica reached out to me. She had had a long journey of getting pregnant and she and her husband were finally expecting a new baby due in the spring! She wanted to surprise her in-laws and sister in-law with gifts and photograph their reactions. of course, I couldn't wait, because this was new and fun and totally jam!
We disguised the shoot as a photo shoot ? - we did some fun posed and some candid photos of the family. They were so easy to work with! Her mother in-law is originally from Costa Rica and is just bursting with life and happiness. I wanted to take her home with me, she was the sweetest. She and her husband were so gorgeous together and I love how natural their photos turned out.
Jessica is due in the spring with her new baby and they're building a new house, so a lot is going on! But the shock factor was achieved, for sure.
Here are the images of them opening the gift and the gift tells them they're going to be an aunt, grandmother or grandfather....
My job is to anticipate moments. I have thought about the emotional embraces since she booked me. They were far better than I imagined.
Onto my next challenge!
xoxo
Jennie
Nashville, Tennessee Birth Photographer + Videographer | Crystal's Birth Video
Up until recently, I haven't been able to offer Birth Films or Photography. We dont have family that lives in the area and my kids were too young. But our lives have shifted. My husband's job is more flexible to be able to leave and come home midday if needed. My boys are now 9&12 and can stay at home for limited times.
For the past 4 years, I have had my dozen or so doulaand midwife friends beg me to do births. But I resisted for the reasons already mentioned, plus I really needed my sleep.
Crystal is amazing. I was crying as I was filming. I was in awe of her calm and bravery. Crystal has 2 girls and this was her 3rd. Her first two were hospital inductions. She’s a nicu nurse as well and dreamed of her home birth.
After Presley (her 3rd baby girl) was born, she said home birth unmedicated was significantly easier than hospital induction.
I was at her house for about 2 hrs before baby arrived earth side.
What I found most fascinating about this home birth was the lack of interference or commentary. Never did anyone announce how close to birth she was. How dilated she was. They were very hands off. They knew momma could birth. And they simply allowed it.
At one point crystal said “for a second I thought I could push but it went away” and the midwife replied “okay then don’t push”
Basically. Trust yourself.
Trusting your self is 95% of everything. And 100% of how a baby is birthed.
Crystal's Birth Midwife: https://www.sararosser.com
Crystal's Doula: https://www.rebirthingwellness.com
Crystal's Placenta Encapsulation: https://www.instagram.com/the.mamadoula/
Crystal took the time to write a review on my google page: "Jennie is so amazing!!! What she captured during my daughter's birth is absolutely priceless! Watching her video afterwards was such an empowering, whimsical, and spiritual experience!!! There were moments that had just happened days before that I had already forgotten, until I saw the video! My 2 yo, who was present at the birth, requests to watch the video frequently, she absolutely loves it. I can not wait for my youngest to be able to see the moment she came into this world! My only regret is not having any of her videos before now! If I were to ever have another birth, setting aside and prioritizing funds in order to have her there will be a must for me! I look forward to having her do family films for us in the future! Hands down she is THE BEST in the business! Her passion and talents are a true gift! And she truly cares about each and every client! Having her at our birth was absolutely a blessing from God! If you don't hire Jennie, you will regret it!"
Big Sister was there for her momma a lot. Both girls were in the room and absolutely not panicked about what was happening. Kids often have an internal sense of what is happening. It is so neat to watch.
This bottom image of dad, mom and baby ripped me to shreds emotionally. Just an absolutely amazing moment. Raw emotion. I would love to capture your birth! Let's chat.
xoxo
Jennie
Nashville Newborn Photographer | Kate's in-home session
I arrived at my clients home on a Sunday morning in Nashville. The sun was shining and it was just a beautiful day. Fall is very near, leaves are starting to fall. After entering their home, Im greeted with warm smiles all around. Mom, Dad, and Grandma are just so happy to be together and to capture Baby Kate.
Noah and Lauren (aka daddy and mommy) were so calm and happy and seemed so content in their new lives as parents to baby Kate. Before our session I had learned a few things about the family. How Baby Kate falls asleep, what momma treasures right now in this season as a new mom. So we aimed to capture that for the whole family, so they could all remember the story of when baby Kate was a baby and all the things they did learning her personality and falling in love with her more each day.
Sweet Kate was in the best mood for her session, she let us change her a few times and I was able to shoot for over an hour. We truly had so much fun chatting and getting to know one another.
Now that I have edited their session, I look back at the photos and I see warmth. I see comfort. Safety. Love. I see the story of a new family that probably feels like having a baby is both a bit foreign and also feels like they cant remember before she was earth side.
Now that my boys are 9 and 12, I know Lauren will never regret having this time captured. Especially a session that shows their true nature as new parents. These photos will always bring her right back to when little Kate fell asleep curled up on her chest. or how they would have to take her out to the back porch to soothe her. She will remember their nursing journey (which is having some struggles, so Im praying it'll last as long as they want it to). She will remember the scene of her husband with their new daughter - how he held her or watched her. Also, he loves Kate's facial expressions, and I think we managed to get a few on camera.
I love being able to create memories for my clients. Its the best job.
Franklin Tennessee Maternity Photographer | Meaningful storytelling
Hi friend. Im going to be REALLY honest with you.Since becoming a family film maker and diving into documentary work, I have struggled with what to do with maternity sessions. Maternity sessions have become more about trends and dresses and the look than about the person being photographed. 
They’ve lost meaning. They don’t tell a story other than “this was the trend in 2021”I cannot tell one maternity photographer from another, they all use gorgeous dresses at sunset. Don't get me wrong, I support these amazing photographers and what they do. Their clients are loved well. But I do want to talk from my own perspective of why are we doing what we are doing? What is the purpose of this? What will we think of this in 10 years?
I’m just being honest and telling my personal viewpoint. I offered trendy maternity sessions for years. I even provided the dresses. Until one day, I realized that I wasn’t actually serving my clients well. 
I now see myself as their memory mentor ? helping them see the meaning behind their sessions. The session isn’t just about a pregnant mother. It’s about the story of who this mother is and how their child will be able to go back years later and see who their mom was when she was pregnant with them. If I had photos of my mom, she’d be smoking in 1982 and pregnant. What a story that would tell! This sweet momma and I had so much fun capturing her pregnancy. She’s a holistic health coach and has had the most nourishing pregnancy. She spends a lot of time in her kitchen cooking and making bone broth. 
Her skin always looks so amazing. Her smile is always radiant. She’s so happy and kind and sweet. 
She’s spent her pregnancy getting plenty of sunshine and movement as well as taking Epsom salt baths, writing in her pregnancy journal and rocking in her rocker. We wanted to tell that story. So that a decade or two from now, her baby will see how momma cared for herself when she was carrying the child in the womb. 
Now to find out if it’s a boy or a girl! ???
Happy Fall - Enjoy this gorgeous weather friends!xoxo
Franklin TN Family Photographer | What is Meaningful Photography?
Over the 11.5 years I have been a photographer, I have witnessed and been apart of the industry and how it anchored to the social media world. Social Media led the industry down its path and it still continues - the path towards being trendy rather than meaningful and purposeful.
If you think about what would happen to photography, if you couldn't see other photographer's work online.... every photographer would be unique and the images created would come from their own mind. They would capture what they uniquely saw within their session. We would also have a lot less photographers ?
Photos of your family should not be random. What I want for my motherhood friends is that they can reach the end of raising children and not have regrets because they can't remember so many little moments. They cant go back and revisit those parts of their life that matter most.
What is the definition of "meaningful"? To me, its capturing the essence of life and of your story as a family, your love for one another, the legacy you're leaving for your children, and capturing your love for them. The moments captured are not just for mom and dad, but they are for the children, so they can see how much you loved them. Not just remember it, but to be able to revisit it, is extremely important.
The only way to know what is meaningful to children, is to ask them. But we cant always know what our children feel is meaningful right now in their lives, but also what will be meaningful later.
The reality is our life as families, is never going to be perfect. But our photographs and videos of real life, show that yes, our life wasn't perfect, but there was ALWAYS LOVE.
In this article, a father expresses his regrets of how he lived his life before his son died suddenly at age 8. Even though you don't want to feel the pain of reading that article, read it anyway. Try to think ahead of how to live now so we dont have regrets one day. As best as we can.
When moms decide they want photographs done (or video hopefully) I want them to stop making the decision revolve around trends and Christmas Cards. I want them to decided to get them done and to choose a photographer that will make meaningful memories out of their session. I want them to be vulnerable enough to be captured in the most honest way. Because as I have said before and will say forever, our time here is limited. and someday, we might not have our lives as they are now. Don't they deserve to be captured in an honest way?
Franklin Family Photographer | What is the purpose behind photography?
What is the purpose behind photography? When I googled this, here is what I found:"Essentially, the purpose of photography is to communicate and document moments in time. When you take a photograph and share it with others, you're showing a moment that was frozen through a picture. This moment can tell someone many things, from the environment to what people are doing." Credit: Portraits Refined.I also found Why do we need photography? "Images can keep the memory of a loved one alive, hold a moment in history for future generations, be a witness to tragedy or joy." Via Time.com
(Two sisters from a recent family session)I asked this question to my followers on IG and here are some of the replies I received:"To preserve memories""capture moments""To document""To take you back to another time, place and feeling""To Remember""To freeze a moment in time""To Capture the essence of today and preserve the memories for tomorrow""To tell a story" (thats a favorite!)"To remember the little things that fade in our memories"So we need to ask ourselves, as parents who hire photographers, and as photographers who's job it is to serve our clients best, are we doing this?I have made it my job to best serve my clients by mentoring them through this, helping them to see their future and what is going to come - and what they will miss. While I am VERY happy to capture clients in the fall on a quilt in the field for Christmas photos, that type of session is not accomplishing the above statements.
Spring Hill TN Family Photographer | Summer Fun
I spent a few hours with this crew to capture their summer. It was already hot, even in early May. But it was so fun. They connect so easily with their children. When I am photographing a family, I try to capture each parent with each kiddo, to isolate that specific connection within a family unit. My favorite images were one on one - because they had such a deep intimacy to them.
If you have ever studied artists, such as Picasso and Van Gogh, you know that they went through phases in their work. I find that this happens to photographers too. When my babies were little, I LOVED baby photography (still do) but as they grew, my work found its way into family photography, motherhood photography, and capturing childhood. My favorite images right now are truly candid family moments and mothers with their children. They speak to me and through me and I love it. Its such a special gift, to give mothers the moments they see, and even moments they may not see.
I want to capture your life not for you for right now, but more for the you in 20, 40, 60 years. And not just for you, but for your children. I want to freeze your family’s journey right now and let you have it forever. I’m not just the photographer. I’m the memory mentor in your family.
Nashville Baby Photographer | Vera 3 Months Old
Baby Vera. This session was awesome. We captured some lifestyle and documentary photography for this family, their first session as a family because of Covid. What I loved about this session, was feeling the way they loved Vera, how confident they felt as parents, and how I could feel their connection not only in the images, but during the session. We photographed longer than normal, because the baby was in such a great mood. She had an honest blow out, so bath photos also occurred hahahaha!
At the end of the session, I was packing up to leave when from upstairs, dad calls “this might make a good photo!” - so I did what any amazing loving photographer would do and I unpack my gear and head up.He was bouncing his baby girl to sleep on this ball. Mom watched as I photographed it. I described how it would have felt to have this moment on video rather than just photo and tears came to her eyes.This session wasn’t a film session but we will do one soon. I’m so glad she has photos of this moment. It makes me feel a sense of happiness and stillness, seeing him bounce his baby girl. One day, she won’t need bouncing to fall asleep. This moment was fleeting.
Here is the email reply that momma sent me after seeing the gallery:"Jennie- I’m in tears. You are so perfect with capturing our family. I love Love love the photos and your work. You’re a true talent. It was so great to meet you and have you as a part of our journey. Tom and I are still discussing future sessions and considering a video as well. We will absolutely be in touch- you have customers for life with us. Thank you!!! "
