Katelyn’s Senior Portraits

When Katelyn’s mom reached out about documenting Katelyn’s Senior Session, I was SO excited! Katelyn is our neighbor + my girls’ favorite babysitter! She is just the sweetest, most down to earth + creative person, and we love her!  She even repurposed this dress from a men’s shirt! 

 

Can’t you just see her bubbly, joyful personality coming through in her senior portraits? I love that they reflect who she is so well.  We choose Freemason District because of the variety it offers with lots of character! 

This white wall, Katelyn’s creamy skin tone + the dusty blue dress are so pretty! I wish I had looked so effortlessly put together in my senior photos! 

This gorgeous Free People blue dress is a favorite from my Client Closet. It was perfect for her! 

I think this is one of my most favorite portraits I’ve ever taken! This dress was just made for twirling. Adding movement is the easiest way to look more natural in front of the camera!

I love that Katelyn chose outfits that really reflected her unique sense of style for her senior portrait session. Having 3-4 outfit changes really help bring variety in a portrait gallery! 

I honestly had the most fun photographing Katelyn’s senior portraits. She was relaxed, joyful, and a total natural in front of the camera! 

 

This beautiful Norfolk beach session is one of my all time favorites! Dreamy light + soft colors make it beautiful, but it’s extra special because I’ve known this mama for almost 10 years! I’ve been documenting her family since the little blondie was a newborn, and I photographed the littlest dude’s birth!

Tai is one of the most amazing moms I know, and she is in the midst of a challenging season. A motherhood photo session is such a special reminder of how strong + blessed she is.

Session styled using http://www.styleandselect.com

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, VA. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio located in Chesapeake. 

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP newborn experience, schedule a custom portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

One of the biggest things I missed about Virginia when we moved was the beach! Specifically, I love beach photo sessions at East Beach! The colors, textures + movement combine to make for such joyful images.

When I arrived at Each Beach for this sweet family’s portraits, I realized that most of my sessions here have been in the fall. The light is completely different! In the past, the sun has set behind the houses + dunes, filtering the harsh light. But in summer? FULL ON SUN! Also? So many people celebrating Father’s Day on the beach!

I arrived early, as always, to scope out the situation. I quickly realized that with the bright sun + crowds, I’d have to find somewhere else to start!

Thankfully, East Beach is just darling, with charming homes + beautiful landscape! The sun was just peeking through these established oak trees, and I love how the rich, warm tones compliment their outfits.

Isn’t this family just precious? I first photographed Sindy when she had her very first baby bump, and it’s so amazing to see how her family has grown. It’s so special when clients become friends.  Sindy is my favorite sourdough baking, garden growing, kombucha fermenting fellow crunchy mama.

This is our 7th session together, and I love how my photography skills have grown along with their family. I always love collaborating with Sindy on the vision for each session, and that they are drawn to images of natural, joyful connection. When you have multiple young kids, everything is just less stressful when the expectation for perfectly smiling, looking at the camera little ones is relaxed. I adore images with movement- twirling, running, hugging. Isn’t that what childhood is all about? Kids are energetic + joyful,  and everyone is happier when they aren’t forced to sit still + say cheese. 

Aren’t these beautiful pastel tones just beautiful? I am so happy to be back in Virginia, near the water! The sea grasses + golden sun are my favorite!

I had such a hard time narrowing down their images, because they were all just beautiful! 

 

I am so excited that this family is getting an album, so that these beautiful images won’t just live on their hard drive! I adore creating heirloom pieces that will bring so much joy for years to come! Babies don’t keep, and these are the moments you want to remember.

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, VA. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio located in Chesapeake. 

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP experience, schedule a custom portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

       

When we moved back to Hampton Roads last summer, I was so excited to discover all the fun places that popped up while we were away! Sweethaven Lavender Farm was at the top of my list, and when I saw they were hosting a lavender festival, I bought tickets for both weekends!

Unfortunately, the pandemic had other ideas. I’m so glad we were still able to make an appointment to pick our own lavender bouquets + enjoy the farm!

It’s about an hour away for us, but so worth the drive. The rows of lavender + beautiful farmhouse shop made my France loving heart so happy. I’m so excited to return next month when another variety of lavender + a field of wildflowers are blooming!

I highly recommend cooling off after picking your bouquet with the lavender lemonade. It’s as refreshing as it is beautiful! I also took home some of the lavender hand frosting + it’s heavenly!

Both my girls loved our time at Sweethaven Lavender Farm. It’s always interested to see how their age + personality differences manifest in new situations. While Adelyn very carefully snipped each sprig of lavender for her bouquet, Everly explored + ran until she was a sweaty mess. Adelyn slowly savored her lemonade, and Everly didn’t move until she had slurped every drop.

Our paper wrapped bouquets are displayed in each of our bedrooms, and we plan to dry them so we can enjoy a beautiful lasting souvenir! 

Check out their website to sign up to pick your own lavender bouquet! It really is the perfect escape during these weird times! Also, my head is filled with ideas for a dreamy portrait session here…who’s in?

 

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, VA. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio in Chesapeake. 

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP experience, schedule a custom portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

 

I was a little nervous about starting my business over when we moved back to Virginia, but our neighborhood has been such a blessing! I’ve love meeting each new family, and having so many of them become both friends + clients is so fun!

I was so excited to finally connect with Sarah + Josh – Not only do they live a few blocks down,  Josh’s parents live right next door! We randomly met at the park one day + haven’t looked back since!

Sarah has become my gardening friend, and it’s so fun to have someone to learn + celebrate with. No one else was as excited for that first tiny tomato sprout! She is the absolutely sweetest, and always popping over to drop off a new fertilizer, pea trellis, or bunny fence!

It was such a joy to photograph sweet Annalise’s newborn days. She was such a precious, sleepy baby, and made my job so easy! Isn’t it so crazy how much Annalise resembles mom, and big sister Abigail is her dad’s twin? One of my favorite things about this beautiful family is how excited + involved Josh was. So many times, dads are just taking photos to make their wives happy. But Josh? Sarah says he’s the memory keeper of the family. What a sweet, sweet thing to have a dad who cares so much about preserving these precious, fleeting moments. As a newborn photographer, it doesn’t get any better!

I have such a soft spot for sisters, and I can’t wait to watch these two grow up together. Abigail is just a few months younger than Everly. It’s so crazy for me to imagine her as a big sister, since there are 7 years between my girls. Sending all my patience + coffee to Sarah + Josh, and any other parents of two in diapers!

Client wardrobe provided by JJP. Session photographed in my studio.

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, VA. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio located in Chesapeake. 

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP newborn experience, schedule a custom portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

Happy May, Friends!

Have the last six+ weeks of quarantine flown for you, or are they dragging on forever? I feel like it’s a mix + every day feels different!

I am SO ready to get back to photographing my sweet clients!  With Mother’s Day coming up, I want to do something special for the mamas! I know that you’ve been doing ALL. THE. THINGS + you totally deserve something special!

I’m still brokenhearted that I wasn’t able to host my Motherhood Event, but now I’m so excited to shift gears to offer a really special Mother’s Day Gift Certificate Box! You can forward this post to your husband, and I can coordinate with him to surprise you! Shh…A Kendra Scott necklace, a JJP Gift Certificate + some other of my favorite goodies might be involved!

I’ll make it easy on Dad to give you something extra special, and easy for you to feel beautiful after weeks in yoga pants + messy bun! We can choose a date later, so no stress about that! For your session, you’ll get to shop all the stunning new dresses in my Client Closet + have the option of adding hair + make up to really be pampered! We can do a motherhood session with just you + your babes, or include Dad too! 

I’m SO excited to start photographing again, and can’t wait to get you + your sweet family in front of my camera! I’m here if you have any questions! 

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, VA. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio located in Chesapeake.

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP experience, schedule a custom portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

When my soul sister, Sharon, came to visit last month, It was the first time I’d seen her with a baby belly! We have been best friends for 24 years, since we met in a Hanson chatroom on AOL when we were 13. We’ve been through it all together. From frizzy hair middle school days, first boyfriends, boy band obsessions, bachelorette parties, traveling the world, and now motherhood!

The last few years have been full of change, uncertainty, and taking big leaps in faith.  I get emotional thinking about the beautiful place she is now.

Of course, I had to document her beautiful baby belly with some intimate maternity portraits!

I so love minimalist, natural maternity photos, with a simple color palate + beautiful textures. They’re so breathtaking + timeless, without a bunch of props or distractions. It’s the same philosophy I take while documenting newborns- tiny babies + bellies are so beautiful just as they are! My sweet white studio is the perfect place for an organic, intimate maternity portrait session!

I can’t wait to meet her sweet boy in just a few months!

Wardrobe provided by Jessica Jeremiah Photography + is available for client use. This session was held in my Chesapeake, VA studio + is the perfect option for lifestyle maternity portraits.

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, Virginia. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio located in Chesapeake.

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP experience, schedule a custom maternity portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

One of my most favorite parts of being a photographer is getting to document sweet families as they grow! I first worked with Kristina + her adorable family for their fall portraits when Alice was 6 months old.

Now, they’re in the studio for a Motherhood/Milestone session now that Baby Girl is 9 months! Alice has *the* brightest blue eyes + the most expressive little face. She was SUCH a joy!

I’m so passionate about getting mamas in front of the camera- think about it…especially in the iPhone age, our kids will be very well documented, but who is so often absent is the one who is taking the photo! There are a million reasons to hide behind the camera, but honestly, most of them just won’t matter in a few years, and you + your kids will cherish having images with you in them!

I just love how joyful Kristina is. It’s so obvious how much she just adores her little one! These are moments that go so quickly, and even though you think you’ll never forget, even these memories start to fade eventually.

Let’s Start Planning Your Motherhood Portraits!

So, Mamas- I’m making it easy for you! I’ve got a beautifully curated Client Closet that both photographs well + is flattering that you can shop. I also have an incredible hair + makeup artist who can help you feel like the most gorgeous version of yourself. So let’s do this! Don’t let all of those million reasons stop you from getting in the photo + snuggling your babes. My sweet little studio is the most perfect place for Milestone + Motherhood sessions, with dreamy light + neutral tones (and bonus, you can get the lifestyle look without having to clean up your house!). This motherhood journey is full of challenges + joys, and you don’t want to forget any of these precious moments!

 

 

Wardrobe, accessories + props provided by Jessica Jeremiah Photography + are available for client use. Session photographed in my Chesapeake, VA studio.

Jessica Jeremiah Photography specializes in newborn, baby, maternity, motherhood, and family sessions in Hampton Roads, VA. Jessica creates dreamy, joyful images outdoors + in her all white lifestyle studio located in Chesapeake.

I am so passionate about serving my clients + making it so easy to preserve precious memories, every step of the way. If you’d like to know more about the JJP experience, schedule a custom portrait session, or reserve your date, please visit my website or email me directly at jessica.jeremiah@gmail.com.

Happy New Year, Friends!

Are y’all as disoriented as I am? Seriously though, Adelyn went back to school today + I am so excited to get my life together!

Yesterday was all about packing up our Christmas decor, cleaning + organizing so now we have a fresh home that feels almost empty! I LOVE that feeling! As bittersweet as it is to take down the tree (and vacuum a million pine needles up), I love the change + space, like there is room to breathe, with lots of possibilities.

Like everyone, I’m also reflecting on 2019, and setting intentions for this new year + decade! I’m so thankful to be back in our home in Virginia, and finally feel settled after our move from Memphis last summer. Moving, setting up a home/business in a new place takes SO much mental + physical energy, and it feels good to have that behind us! Our next hurdle is deployment, which apparently I’ve been in denial about because we’re in the single digits now. Yikes.

Knowing that I’ll be solo parenting for at least half a year, simplifying, organizing, automating + outsourcing are my biggest priorities right now! Making our home/life/business run as smoothly + as stress free as possible feels like a really productive way to spend this first week of January. Here’s what I’m setting up, and I’d love to hear from you! Let me know what makes your life easier!

1. Grocery Delivery:

Y’ALL. I know I’m late to the party, but I’ve never lived where this was available! Seriously life changing for me!! Since a huge part of my healing journey involves food, I basically make all of our meals + snacks! That means I’m at the grocery store often, and my faves are a good 25-35 min away. That time + gas money adds up! I was SHOCKED to see that Whole Foods delivers all the way out here through Amazon Fresh, and I literally cried happy tears when my groceries showed up on my porch!

Also? Costco delivers through Instacart! In our family, Ameian is the one who keeps track of  + buys the paper goods at Costco, and makes sure all bathrooms are stocked with TP. When he’s gone, it’s not uncommon for us to be down to one roll in the whole house- oops! So now I can have our supersized TP order delivered (also hope it prevents me from buying the wrong kind + being stuck using 1 ply for months on end!). And one more bonus is that my carts are saved so I can just order my usuals without having to waste time searching for them. HOURS OF MY LIFE SAVED, and no chasing a wild toddler through the aisles!

2. Diaper Delivery:

Hopefully our days in diapers are limited (although judging from Everly’s current habit of running away screaming “NOOOOO” when I even mention the potty, we may still be a ways off). We’ve are loving Abby & Finn– I love their plain white diapers- they’re soft, hypoallergenic without the fragrance, chlorine + other yuck, and haven’t leaked or caused rashes. It’s been so great to not have to frantically search through all the diaper bags + car stashes, or have emergency runs to the store because we ran out. I’m all for freeing up brain space by getting rid of stuff I have to keep track of! Ps. I have a discount code if you want to try them!

3. Cleaning Service:

It’s no secret that cleaning my house isn’t something I’m really good at consistently. I have a hard time remembering what to clean when, get pretty overwhelmed, and end up just doing it when it’s bad enough to notice. I have a feeling that just knowing someone is coming to clean will make me do a better job! Also, we are working on decluttering/ purging so having less stuff should make it easier!

4. Meal Planning:

Like grocery shopping, meal planning is something that takes a lot of brain space + time for me. Especially when it’s just us girls, I’m honestly ok with repeating meals pretty frequently. Having a list of easy, go-to meals is so helpful, as is choosing a category for each day (Monday- soup, Tuesday- tacos, Wednesday- salad, Thursday- noodles). It makes figuring out what to make each day more manageable vs searching the endless amount of recipes on Pinterest! I really like my Simplified dry erase magnet to keep me on track!

5. Track Social Media:

I’m realizing how much extra “stuff” takes up time in my day. I have my phone set to give me a warning when I’ve had enough screen time, and seeing the breakdown of how much time I’m spending on my phone each day (unfortunately not very productively) was a wake up call. I buy into the lie that I don’t have enough time, but really, I’m just not always spending the time I do have wisely. Hopefully, cutting down on mindless scrolling with make a difference!

6. Laundry Detergent Subscription:

Laundry detergent is another one of those things that I’d rather just not have to think about! Like toilet paper, I’m notorious for running out. We’ve been using My Green Fills + really loving everything about it! Their tag line is “refillable laundry freedom” and I can totally support that! It’s a super easy subscription that you can adjust frequency or products any time. I love that it’s nontoxic + eco friendly- no synthetic fragrance with hidden chemicals, my clothes smell so good (they use essential oils or you can get unscented. I’m SUPER sensitive to fragrance but this doesn’t bother me!). You get one plastic jug on your first order, and then a small pouch of powder as a refill- it ships in a super tiny box + no more plastic jugs in the landfill!

Ok, that’s all I can think of right now. Did I miss any of your favorite ways to outsource, automate or simplify or will you try any of my tricks? Here’s to a year of being able to focus on the things that matter!

Would you believe that everything about this session came together in the matter of a few days? Claire and I were hanging out in our cul-de-sac watching our crazy kids last weekend, and she mentioned that she had been meaning to schedule family photos! Of course, I immediately got excited because her kids are SO sweet and full of personality (and stinkin’ adorable, too!), and I knew we would have the most fun!

I was coming home from a rare solo Target trip the next day when I caught a glimpse of the most gorgeous white trees from the interstate. You better believe I exited like a race car driver in my Volvo, and used my photographer sixth sense to find them. When I pulled up to a field lined with three gigantic trees in full bloom,  I literally sat in my car with my mouth open, feeling like I just hit the jackpot! Ya’ll, the way the soft, golden rays filter through the blossoms & create the most beautiful glow is totally the photographer version of winning the Powerball!

Thankfully, Claire was onboard with a last minute location change, and we started finalizing outfits! This is often the most stressful part of getting ready for a portrait session, but with my awesome Style Guide & membership to Style & Select putting together outfits that coordinate but aren’t too matchy is so easy! Claire had chosen a beautiful dress, but mentioned she wished she had a pink chiffon skirt to complement the dreamy blossoms.  Thankfully, I have one in my Client Closet & popped over to let her try it on. On a whim, I also brought a pink tulle skirt that was my very first purchase for my  collection.  It took two years of waiting for just the right person to wear it! (Claire’s IG handle is “pinkclairebear” and the woman wears dresses to bike ride around the neighborhood…so clearly it was made for her!)

It ended up being absolutely perfect for their session, and their canvases will look so gorgeous in their light & airy home. It’s so important to consider your home decor when choosing a location & wardrobe for your portraits. That way, your printed artwork will blend in seamlessly!

I absolutely loved working with this precious family- Sam Harris kept me giggling, and the photo of Charlotte & her mama under the tree just makes me swoon. Also, can you believe SY & Claire hadn’t had a professional photo of them taken since their wedding 7 years ago? Even though most sessions usually focus on the family & kids, I love pulling Mom & Dad away for a second.  Most parents rarely have photos of just the two of them, but it’s so important! I can’t wait to see their gorgeous artwork up on their walls! PS. How sweet are those high fives after a fun session?