JBP Blog

Cuteness alert! This family won their photo session at the Greater Raymond Rotary Club Silent Auction last year and finally found a few minutes to redeem their purchase. Jen, Tom and their son Jack came to the studio with their two dogs, Moxie & Magic for a family portrait session.

We started out the session with Jack – hoping to get some good ones before he lost interest…he had some great expressions for me and my camera. Check them out:

We did manage to get a nice and neutral expression on a couple as well.

Jack’s dad is a tall guy…I think Jack has inherited that gene as well…he’s very tall for his age. I love this one…

Jen said it had been awhile since she and Tom had photos taken together…I think she said their wedding photos were the last professional images they had done.

The dogs were too energetic to bring into the studio, so we found a nice spot outside. Even in November, it was still warm enough for no jackets! Unusual for New England…

Magic is the black one…Moxie is the brown one…both were so sweet and just wanted to play. We managed to get them to sit still for just a moment and snap a picture

Thank you so much, Jen, Tom, Jack, Magic & Moxie! We hope you’ll come back again soon…

I had a very special guest in the Love Grows Studio yesterday – Miss Emma came by to help me with a project I’m working on. She came in with her siblings in November for a Studio Day Session and during that time, I found out she L-O-V-E-S having her picture taken. When I put out a “casting call” for volunteer models, her mom immediately signed her up!

They came into the studio on Saturday morning and we got to work. I told Emma that, aside from doing some tests with lighting and backdrops, I wanted to work on getting fun expressions from my subjects. That was no problem for this nine-year-old! I think this task becomes more of a problem as we get older…we forget how to just PLAY. Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

We started out on a white backdrop, which is something I’ve been wanting to brush up on. I really like it for kids – keeps it fresh and light.

I kept telling her mom that she could be an actress…she’s got great expressions and a very vivid imagination. She has also watched her fair share of Tyra and “America’s Next Top Model Search”. Mom said she was quoting lines from the show at the age of four! She was having trouble with the concept of “smizing”, but no problem looking sad. I think this photo came right after I told her “your mom just gave you a trip to Disneyland…but you don’t get to go until two years from now”.

We changed the white t-shirt for a black one…a little older looking, but it’s a great contrast with her skin and hair.

Love the one on the left below…

OK, these last two sets are my favorites. Playing with a little side lighting and removing the backdrop light (in order to get a grey background), Emma gives us a military salute (to honor her dad) and the Pledge of Allegiance pose. Or was that the Queen of England pose? They looked a lot alike.

Saved my favorite for last…who is Emma’s celebrity look-alike? I’m thinking one of the Olsen twins from their younger days…especially in the image on the right!

Thank you so much, Emma and Sarah, for coming in to the studio to “play” – I had a blast! I’ll be sure to call on you again!

I thought we’d switch things up a bit…I’ve got more high school senior portraits to share, but I want to share this maternity session I did right after Thanksgiving. Charlotte is just one week away from her due date and I’ll be showing you her newborn session soon.

This was one of our “Studio Day Sessions” at Love Grows Photography Studio & Gallery. We started off in one of Charlotte’s favorite t-shirts to show off her beautiful belly. Isn’t she going to be a gorgeous new mom?

Charlotte’s husband is a U.S. Marine and was serving in Afghanistan at the time these were taken. He has since returned safely to the United States and will be home for their sweet girl’s arrival. She wanted to incorporate a part of him in the shoot, so she brought one of his dog tags.

A little cliche, but kind of a nice sentiment just the same…and she has beautiful hands and a pretty wedding ring, so why not?

I discovered during a wardrobe change that Charlotte also has a colorful tattoo and thought it would make an interesting image (and no, they aren’t naming the baby Lily!).

Thank you, Charlotte, for coming in to capture this incredible moment in your life. I can’t wait to meet your husband and baby girl in a few weeks!

Hi blog readers!

It has been a very busy fall and early winter for me…I can’t believe I haven’t blogged any sessions since opening Love Grows Photography Studio!

Therefore, I’m spending some time catching up and will be featuring high school senior portrait sessions from this fall…first up is Bailey! I had a hard time with her name because my dog’s name is Bailey and I couldn’t quite get used to a human being with the same moniker. So, I kept calling her Brittany…she got used to it…eventually! Thank you, Bailey, for being so understanding!

Bailey is also interested in art and photography and has spent some time learning about both traditional and digital photography at her school. I loved her unique style, and she had the most beautiful skin and eyes…

I always try to figure out what celebrity people most look like. For Bailey, I’m getting Audrey Hepburn meets Gwen Stefani…

We did some studio shots as well. Loving the brick background – just one of the things that attracted me to our studio space!

She looked even prettier with her hair down…and I LOVE the gradation of color! This was Mom’s fave…and a large print of this gorgeous image is now hanging on her wall at home.

The afternoon light was amazing…the one on the left is my fave…

Thank you, Brittany Bailey for choosing me to take your senior portraits! I wish you great success after graduation from high school in 2012!

You may have noticed a few postings on my Facebook pages about “something big happening (regarding my photography business) on September 1st!” And finally, after almost two months of waiting, I can tell you what it is…hopefully it’s not too anti-climactic!

Back in the spring, I started doing some preliminary research on studio spaces. I just wanted a space to meet with potential clients as well as shoot with studio lighting (especially in the winter). The space didn’t have to be big or fancy (or expensive) – just enough to take “the next step”. So, I hopped on craigslist and started browsing the commercial rental ads. There were a few possibilities, but many of them were way over my budget.

Until one day, when I found a posting by another photographer who was looking for the same thing I was – a space to share with another photographer or wedding coordinator in order to both collaborate and share expenses. I emailed her right away, and within 2 days we met and were seeking out possibilities in the Portsmouth area. We had one space we really liked in a great location, but we just could not make it work financially unless we found a third person. After talking with a few other potential “space-mates”, and looking at many more spaces, we hit a wall.

Luckily, we both liked each other enough to want to make it work even if we couldn’t find space in Portsmouth, so we decided to explore other towns with less expensive options. Back to craigslist we went, and found a listing in the town of Newmarket – a great little community between Durham and Exeter – and it looked very promising. The price was right, the location was wonderful and there seemed to be a rebirth and renewal happening in the area with the renovation of the mills in town. So, after a few weeks of discussion (amongst ourselves, our spouses, and the property manager), we signed the lease…but now we had to wait two months before the space would be available.

As anxious as we were to get up and running, we soon found that the two months prior to moving in would be extremely valuable time in which to do more research, shop for items to furnish the space and put other thoughts and plans down on paper. We decided that we will continue to operate as our own businesses, but we still wanted to identify the space with one name. Amy had a piece of artwork that spurred a concept, and so we decided on “Love Grows Photography Studio & Gallery”.  We’ve also been trolling craigslist and furniture stores for bargains and working on business plans.

So that’s what we’ve been doing…until this week! We now have the keys to our new space and even got to go in and start painting a day early which is great, because we’ve got a LOT of painting to do – our offer for pizza and beer in exchange for some painting help still stands! Don’t be shy!

I’m so thankful to have met Amy (and her husband, Larry, who is also a band and fine art photographer) and be able to share this part of my journey with her. It’s been a fun summer and now I can’t wait to get the studio up and running! We will be having an Open House at some point in the next month to kick-off the new space. We will also have a website for the space up and running soon…our logo isn’t quite ready yet…but we’re working on it.

Here’s a few photos of the space “before” – while the former tenants were still there – and we’ll be posting new photos of the “after” in the next few weeks! It’s going to look a lot different…

If you’re still reading this, thank you – you’re a trooper! It’s going to be a great adventure and I’m very excited (in case you can’t tell)! Amy and I hope you will stop by and check out our new digs – stay tuned for the Open House date, or contact me for hours and directions!