Playdate: Brooke

Note: I’m sharing these personal details of Brooke’s life only after contacting her and getting her permission to do so. I would never, ever, share personal  information about the lives of my clients without their consent!

Brooke is an amazing person. I know you read this on a lot of photography blogs, and it starts to get old, but it’s so incredibly true in her case. She is creative, strong, courageous, and beautiful. Here is the email she sent me a few months ago in response to an offer I made for free portrait sessions:

I was wondering if you’d perhaps be interested in something non-bridal or wedding related. You see, I got married last year, to a man I thought I knew inside and out. Unfortunately right after the wedding he turned into a complete stranger, and became severely emotionally and physically abusive. So, after about six months of trying to do the impossible and be perfect enough to avoid punishment, I left and got an annulment this December. And now all the beautiful, absolutely gorgeous magazine-quality photography from my engagement, bridals, and wedding are incredibly painful to look at. For some time I’ve been doing a sort of “Yay Me!” shoot, something to celebrate the woman I am, and the life I have now, away from abuse. Maybe something sort of stylized like a bridal shoot, but in engagement-style attire?

When I read her words, my heart melted. I wanted to give her the most amazing images she has ever laid eyes on. I wanted to help build her back up, after a horrible experience that threatened to break her down.

Brooke is amazing because she survived with her head on straight and a smile on her face.

No wait, I take that back, Brooke isn’t just amazing. She is marvelous, stupendous, and astounding. Brooke has taken her experience, and worked to make something out of it. She works for a non-profit organization called ANTHEM, the Alliance for North Texas Healthy Effective Marriages. She spends her time working with men, women, children, husbands, fathers, mothers, couples, trying to teach them how to have better relationships and live better lives. She has allowed herself to become a public face for abusive marriages, tesifying on the behalf of marriage education at the Capitol a few weeks ago.

Brooke is an example to me.

And Brooke has cute shoes.

We met up at one of Brooke’s favorite restaurants, Campisis, and the original plan was to order Coca Cola and a cannoli and take a few casual shots inside, but when I arrived I immediately knew it was going to be too dark inside so I asked if she would be willing to shoot in the parking garage instead.

Brooke didn’t even blink an eye at my crazy request, and so we headed out to the dirty deserted covered garage near the restaurant.

Don’t you just love the way she is popping her foot in this shot? Brooke is completely self-effacing.

You know those little gathering areas that apartment complexes invest in? The ones that nobody ever uses? I’m completely in love with the one at Brooke’s complex and if I lived next door to her I’m positive I would use this one.

Her hair color, smile, and shoes made the shoot what it was for me. I couldn’t get enough.

Although I love a good sepia/B&W image as much as the next photographer, this is the only image from her session that I ended up desaturating because the colors were just begging to be seen. I love the way the light is falling on her face here.

Thanks to Kelli Nicole (who was in town and tagged along with me for this shoot) for suggesting this great angle!

Brooke, I’m completely in love with your style. That is all.

If I didn’t have pudgy piggy toes these would most definitely be on my MUST HAVE list. Brooke’s footsies looked adorable in them (of course) and she almost has me convinced I could pull them off too. Almost.

Brooke, what are you smirking at?

This is the point in the day where the session turned from “Brooke’s Portrait Time” to “Brooke and Her FABULOUS Apartment Time”. She’s a graphic designer, and the things she has done with her apartment (on a very tiny budget), had me drooling.

Doesn’t this table look like it’s straight out of a magazine?

The deer couple on the top left were cut-out, assembled, mod-podged, and painted from scratch. That fabulous art piece on the top right was turned into a jewlrey holder the night before our shoot (isn’t that such a  fabulous idea?) I know my husband would be very jealous of her collection of seedlings getting ready to bloom.

Now back to Brooke. Brooke has two bookcases. One for the books that make her look fancy…

And then another filled with books that prove how fun she is. (Hint: Her current favorite read is covered up by my logo a little bit. Can you see it?)

We need to go back to the purple couch she is sitting in front of in this photo. She bought them at Ikea and then hand-dyed them. Hello Most-Creative-Person-I’ve-Ever-Met.

There is no denying it. Brooke is beautiful.

THAT SHOT!

Oh how I adore this image. Someday I would like to do an entire shoot filled with soft and pretty images just like this one. And if you were wondering, she plays the piano quite well.

Brooke, I want these images to be everything you were hoping for. I wanted to reach deep inside the camera and pull out portraits that show how beautiful you are. Portraits that would somehow convey what a unique, selfless, fabulous woman you have become after everything you have gone through. Thank you for working with me, and thank you for reminding me how important it is to work to serve and love others. How lucky I was to work with you this day.

Best,

Jenna