Simmons Family Sneak Peek!

This past Sunday I had the most fun with the Simmons family!  This was my second trip to the Arboretum that week, and man, did we have a blast!  This is one of favorites of all the kids together.  I'm almost done editing and will be posting so many more from this shoot, can't wait for you to see them!

Thanks to Octavia, Sean, Kobi and Keisha for rocking this session!

-Jess

"Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn." - Elizabeth Lawrence

Autumn is an absolutely beautiful time for outdoor portraits, especially when the leaves allow for some extra natural props for the kids to play with.  As much as running around in the leaves with little ones is a blast, this time of year is great for couple sessions as well.  The changing leaves represent the beauty, as well as the necessity of change and growth throughout each year.  And who doesn't love to be dressed up nice a cozy in light coats with scarves without being stuck in the snow!  

This past Tuesday, I had the pleasure of photographing a great old friend and his girlfriend for their almost-two-year-anniversary!  Dave and I went to high school and college together and I've known Liz for a couple years as well.  We went to the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain, MA (if you look back to very early blog posts you will see some photos of my dancer friend Angie posed in the changing leaves of this same location 3 years ago!).  The Arboretum is the most beautiful, versitile landscape ever! You could wander around for days, never passing the same tree twice - perfect for photoshoots! Anyway, let's get to the good stuff - here is Dave & Liz, enjoy some of my favorites from our afternoon in the chilly November weather!

Of course we have to end on a silly one - here the happy couple is clicking their heels at the same time!  If only we had brought balloons and then it'd look like they were floating away together!  Love it!

Thanks again Dave and Liz, you guys made my job so easy and are great models!

-Jess

"I don't want people who want to dance, I want people who have to dance." ~George Balanchine

I've been meaning to update my blog more often, things have just started getting pretty busy for the upcoming Holiday season!  I have had a bunch of shoots the last couple weeks and can't wait to show you some great photos! Most recently, I had a shoot last night, and I am so excited about the photos I had to put up some favorites!  My friends Angie and Guerreiro are both skilled dancers and capoeira students.  We have done photos before, but I think this particular shoot is one of the best! Their connection, attitude and overall awesomeness truly shine through in these photos. 

Check back later this week for more rockin' sessions!

-Jess

October Fall Adventure!

Today my friend (and fellow photographer) Aimee and I went on a little photo excursion!  We ended up going to a beach in Gloucester and then wandered around a farm in North Andover.  Here are some of my favorites from the day!

 

Can you tell we had a great time?  There were some pretty rockin' crab shells and seagulls all over the place!  Check out this purple guy!!!

 After we had our fun at the beach, we had a little road trip to North Andover... And the farm fun begins! The farm had a petting zoo area and there were about 10 super super super cute fawns. They are just the cutest!

And they were hungry too! It was pretty amazing, there was this white pipe next to a food dispenser where you could give the deer food - when you put quarters into the dispenser, all the deer jumped up and came over ready to eat!  That little guy couldn't wait and was just chewing on the fence in anticipation!

^^ A personal favorite ^^

This guy was especially unique.  This was a beautiful white swan that was pretty upset about being in an enclosure full with mud, and was pretty occupied with taking his drinking water and cleaning his dirty chest feathers when we first walked by.  But, come our second passing, he kept (might I add quite aggressively) biting and pulling the fence with his beak.  Although a bit alarming at first, it made for some pretty cool photo opportunities.  I love that decorative lump of skin hes got on his forehead!

Of course, we ended our adventure with a trip to the farm stand area and although most of the pumpkins, apples and corn was gone, we had some photo fun with these beautiful gourds! Happy fall everyone! Thanks for checking out my blog! Many more great photo sessions to come - weddings, families, engagement shoots, pet sessions, and more!

-Jess

Wildlife Portfolio Link

To all the fellow animal lovers out there, check 'em out!

http://jclementsphotography.com/Wildlife/

All photos are available for printing please contact Jessie via email (Jessica.anne.Clements@gmail.com) for all pricing inquiries, questions or comments.

There is also a much earlier blog post that showcases a lot of my wildlife work shown in the slideshow as well as some of the thought process behind my frequent visits of zoos and farms in the New England area.

Enjoy!

-Jess

37th Annual North Easton Harvest Fair!

A couple weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of having a table to promote my photography business at the 37th Annual NRT of North Easton Harvest Fair!  This was my first time at the Sheep Pasture, and it was just as beautiful and friendly as I had imagined it to be. It was a special feeling arriving to the farm and setting up my work alongside the 100s of other local businesses, artists and crafters.  I was told this fair averages 5,000-10,000 people coming each year!  While the majority of tables were set up outside in the fields, I shared a lovely little barn with three painters, a bluegrass band and another photography studio.  I had a blast meeting tons of new people, showing my wildlife work to kids, and promoting my portrait business!

 

 

 

I had art prints as well as framed works from my wildlife collection for sale.  I got such a great reaction from my work and it was such a pleasure meeting so many fellow wildlife enthusiasts! (What better place to bring my animal work than a farm!)  As fun as it was to show my personal work, I had a great time meeting all the families that stopped by my table and talking to them about how fun outdoor family photoshoots are in the fall!  I had some cute little information packets for people to take with my business card, a special fair-goer's coupon and some information about how JClements Photography does portraits.  I had such a great Sunday at the Harvest Fair, and hope to work further with the lovely families I got the pleasure of meeting! Enjoy the photos and I will be posting a link to my wildlife collection very soon!

 

To check out more events hosted by the NRT of Easton, check out their website!

http://www.nrtofeaston.org/events.html

Thanks to everyone who made this day super friendly and fun!  I will definitely be planning to set up a table at the Harvest Fair again next year! Hope to see you there!

-Jess

It's A Girl!

The other day I had the most fun with Sarah and Will shooting their maternity session!  I'm still finishing up editing the session, but love the photos so much I had to share some quick favorites! Enjoy!

Check back later this week for more lovely maternity shots! Thanks again Sarah and Will - you guys are the best! Only a couple more weeks and we'll get to meet their beautiful baby girl!

-Jess

"Whatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same." - Emily Bronte

Up until June of last year I had the majority of my photographic experience in animal and pet portraits, children, families, events, dancers, etc.  In the beginning, I was a bit hesitant to get into the wedding business.  I had shot portraits and events before, but weddings seemed to pose lots of high pressure situations that I wasn't sure I was ready for.  But, man oh man, was I wrong! I got the chance to assist my friend, Caroline Alden (www.carolinealdenphoto.com) at my first wedding in the summer of 2009, and ever since then I've been hooked!  Wedding photography is like combining the best parts of portrait photography and event photography with the chance to be a part of the happiest, most exciting day of two peoples lives.

The wedding that Caroline and I shot together was absolutely beautiful!  Aparna and Thomas had been dating long distance between Denmark and Boston for five years, and this big day was the celebration of their wedding, but also marked the day before Aparna would join Thomas to live in Denmark.  The ceremony was intimate and held in Aparna's own backyard.  It followed traditional Indian customs, with some traditional Danish traditions mixed in.  The entire wedding party was dressed in Saris, there was exquisite henna tattoo work, and vibrant colors everywhere.  It was truly a beautiful experience seeing two different cultures come together and everyone being able to celebrate love together so harmoniously.  Here are some of my favorites from this wonderful day...

 

It all began at the bright and early 9am hair and make-up party !

 

 

 

Getting ready photos play a really special role in the wedding photographs. At first this seems silly, who wants to see me before I have all my make-up on and frantically getting ready?  But once you see all the photos together, you realize how organic a wedding album can be when you have the getting ready shots in the beginning and the party at the end framing the wonderful ceremony in the middle.  Also, we get to catch wonderful little moments of anticipation, joy and how the whole family is involved in the process.

 

 

 

Is that not the most beautiful henna work you've ever seen? This is just the beginning of the wonderful colors, textures and designs of the day!

One of many advantages of having two photographers at a wedding, is that you can have coverage of two different activities/locations that are happening at the same time.  As the bride and her mother were getting ready at the house, the groom-to-be, his family, and most of the wedding party was waiting patiently ontop of a hill about 4 blocks down the street. Since we had two photographers, Caroline was able to stay with the bride while I went up the hill to document (and thoroughly enjoy) this exciting tradition.  The large wedding party was accompanied by a drummer who played the entire four-block walk back to the house.  Although it took us a mere 8 minutes to walk to the top of the hill, it was about a 30-45 minute trek down the hill of continuous dancing that was led by the groom fully clothed in the traditional Indian sari carrying a beautiful white umbrella.  It was such an amazingly happy, celebratory "dance parade" of sorts, I couldn't help but have a huge smile on my face as I was photographing (I may have taken moments to dance a bit as well).

As we reached the house, the groom was greeted by the bride's family and more wonderfully traditional Indian customs followed. 

 

I absolutely love the photo of Thomas and Aparna's parents walking together.  Such a genuine, wonderfully happy and peaceful moment of a family coming together.

 

 

 

 

 

 And now time for some dancing!