Jenna Cole Photography-Chicago, IL » Lifestyle and Wedding Photographer

Cindy originally contacted me about the offer for free sessions I posted on Weddingbee. When I bought my camera and launched Jenna Cole I went on a portfolio building blitz, and offered free sessions on a first-come first-serve basis, but Cindy contacted me too late and so I thought I had lost her. Lucky for me, she changed her mind and decided to book, and put all of her trust in me and let me choose the shooting location.

Things started out muddy, and a little bit smelly, but these two smiled, laughed, and cuddled their way through like professionals.

Oh and by the way, Cindy has a daughter of 7 months. Can you believe that? They are the cutest little parents.

Paulino was not comfortable in front of the camera, but we (as in Cindy and I) worked hard to make the process as painless as possible. It wasn’t that bad was it Paulino?

I loved this spot we stumbled on, with a great big island located across the water. If only we had a little rowboat to take out to it.

These are the looks I work to capture. The unscripted genuine looks of love that make our worlds go round.

While driving over to our first meeting location I spotted this playground wall, and suggested that we wander over to it and see if we could make some magic happen.

If this isn’t magic I don’t know what is. The smirk on his face, the smile on hers with a look back toward him, the hand holding.

Our last stop for the day was in a random field of flowers located close the the playground. The house next door looked deserted so I felt relatively safe tromping through their field of flowers.

I rate this my best dip photo so far and I owe it all to these two.

Paulino didn’t mind one bit when I suggested we do a shot with Cindy as the focus. Can you blame him? Does she even have any makeup on? Natural beauty is my favorite kind.

THAT SHOT!

My first shot of this style, and I LOVE it. Sometimes I look at just when I need a little pick-me-up, that’s how darling I think it is.

The end of the night, we were losing our light, and I asked them to spend just a few more minutes in the flowers.

Cindy and Paulino, I have a lovely, lovely time with you. You trusted me so completely, and I think it paid off for all of us in the end. Paulino, you’re such a great sport! I hope that you will feel a tiny bit more excited to have your picture taken from now on. Cindy, thank you so much for coming back to contact me again. I really enjoyed working with you.

Best,

Jenna

I doubt there are many people from Central Washington reading this blog (hey, I lived there, I know it’s mostly made up of cows and crops), but I’ll be in Royal City and available for portrait sessions on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd of July if anyone is interested in booking with me!

I promise to make you look like this:

Not like this:

I have several unique and gorgeous engagement sessions that I’m currently working on (and dying to show you!) All three of these couples really put their trust in me and we ended up with fabulous photos in return.

I frolicked in what looked like someones yard with Cindy and Paulino.

Elizabeth and Casey agreed to wander around the Forth Worth Stockyards at my request before visiting the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. Two completely different locations with awesome results!

Jennifer, Rece, and myself were confronted by a cop while in this little sunflower patch. The resulting photos are worth the trespassing I think.

I have three exciting sessions this weekend, a wedding in El Paso next weekend, and then I’m heading out of town for my sister’s wedding the weekend after that. Whew! Is July this crazy for the rest of you? No matter how busy things get I’ll keep posting so you can keep up with everything I’ve been up to!

Jasher and my husband work together and were also roommates for a few months, so we know this couple very well. Jasher’s a great guy with a very forgiving personality. I know this because I accidentally dead bolted him out of his own apartment one night. He had to throw rocks at the window to wake me up so I could let him in. Hopefully he likes these pictures enough to call it even.

Lindsey has the best fashion sense of anyone I know (well, I might call it a tie between her and her “Irish twin” sister), and so I was very excited to see her customized Carolina Herrera dress. It started out strapless and she went through nine fittings to make it temple-ready. Nine! I barely made it through two. As I expected, her makeup, shoes, accessories, and dress were all perfection, but I think my favorite part of her look was the huge smile she displayed throughout the day.

A very big thank you to Philip Thomas for letting me act as guest/second shooter for the day. It was a little rough in the beginning, this being my first “wedding shoot” and with all of those mirrors in such a small space, but he was infinitely patient with me and more than willing to offer advice and pointers. If you’re looking for a discreet photojournalistic wedding photographer with a charming accent in southern Texas Philip is the way to go!

The day started at Lindsey’s childhood home, with the bride and her sister getting their makeup done in mom’s bathroom.

She’s pretty.

Lindsey’s baby, Coco, got a new dress just for the wedding morning. She was moping around a bit, and I think it was because she knew that her mama was going away for a few weeks. (To Aruba!)

At an LDS wedding the photos of the couple emerging from the doors married are as iconic and wonderful as the first kiss photos at other weddings. Photos aren’t allowed inside the temple so these are the very first documented moments as man and wife.

Beaming!

I know and love every single one of these girls. And freely admit to feeling a little bit dowdy when we all get together because they all look t his fantastic every single time they leave the house. Actually, I would bet they all look this fantastic while lounging around the house as well. And don’t even get me started on what their combined shoe collection would look like. Utopia.

Between the temple and the reception there was a nice break several hours long. We all snacked, laughed, and took a few quiet moments before the party began. Though the day was a little bit longer overall, I think the two of them really appreciated having a moment to breathe in the middle of their celebrating.

The Father of the Bride’s toast was hort. Like just a few sentences short. But I love this knowing look exchanged between sisters that says “Yeah, this is exactly what I thought would happen.”

THAT SHOT!

It’s grainy, I know, but look at the expression on her father’s face. This is his youngest daughter and it’s obvious he adores her.

And I also for some reason love the framing with the disco ball and the DJ in a tux and bowtie in the background.

“Throw your hands up and shout!”

“And also, throw your stuffed giraffe in the air.” What the?

Jasher and Lindsey, I love you guys. Thanks for inviting us down to San Antonio to spend the weekend with you. The river walk was lovely, the temple was perfect, and my back ached for days after all the dancing I did at your amazing reception. I’m looking forward to the many dinner parties and game nights I expect to have with you in the future!

Best,

Jenna

Yissel and Matt are our favorite “work friends”. Matt and my husband work together and we always look forward to attending work events if we know they will be there. They’re both enthusiastic about life, and a little bit sarcastic, which is one of my favorite combinations.

Yissel was scheduled to have her baby boy yesterday afternoon and I haven’t heard from them yet which I’m hoping is due to the fact that they can’t break away from their sweet new baby for even a moment.

When Yissel and I were brainstorming about her session I sent her some photos to use as inspiration. They were all really classic maternity session shots, lots of hands on bellies and eyes gazing off into the distance. She replied and asked if I would be interested in doing something a little different, at their apartment, showing scenes from her everyday life. The answer wasn’t just yes. It was YES.

We were doing some shots with the vaccum while Matt was working on the couch. I know this has been done before, done many, many times before, but I couldn’t resist.

Yissel actually bought this napkin long before she got pregnant. LOL

Have you had this flavor? The baby has, and he likes it mucho.

They are moving out of their apartment next week (isn’t that timing awful?) but they had his dresser all set up and ready for him anyways.

I want this rocking chair.

Aren’t they the cutest?

A change of clothes meant it was time for a change of jewelry as well.

How do you think she got those toes painted with that cute big belly of hers?

Matt had previously explained Yissel’s interesting new sleeping habits and now I got the chance to see how it all worked. Yissel wasn’t joking when she said she uses a mountain of pillows every night.

“Hello, are you over there somewhere?”

Then it was time for the daily workout. I’m ebarassed to say I can’t even run half as fast as a pregnant woman. I’m going to blame it on back surgery, and not how extremely out of shape I am.

Matt figured he would get a workout in while Yissel had her picture taken.

THAT SHOT!

I love this so much. I might see if I can sell it, that’s how fantastic I think it is. Isn’t that the cutest little bump you’ve ever seen?

Good form Yissel. And now I know how you kept those hot legs all 9 months.

As we were finishing up in the gym I noticed this patch of Black-eyed Susans across the street. Even though Yissel hadn’t asked for it I asked her if she would change one last time so we c ould do some “pretty” maternity shots as well.

And I’m sure the baby will be glad we got one of mom and dad being sweet together as well.  I love these two.

Matt and Yissel were kind enough to let me stand all over their furniture and on their kitchen counter in order to create this series of shots which attempted to replicate life from Yissels point of view. It’s my first attempt at what I like to think of as “conceptual portraiture”  and I’m hoping I have more clients in the future willing to let me expirement a little bit with them!

Yissel I can’t wait to meet (and of course take pictures!) of your beautiful new baby. Thanks for spending the morning with me (and for coming along on our safari later that afternoon!)

Best,

Jenna