For This We Prayed!
Have you ever met someone that was so selfless? Just pure love and a desire to walk in God's divine purpose? Well I have the pleasure of knowing two people who share those qualities; James (JT) and Marianna (Mar). I've known JT and Mar for going on 2 years now. They are members of our church and have always stood out to me from their welcoming smiles and warm spirit. They both serve in ministry; JT has a love for his guitar which he plays for the church choir and Mar helps spread the gospel through our church media team. In Fact, that's how we were introduced! I am the church photographer and also play a part in the social media team with my photos.
Last year I hosted a "Giveaway" on my social pages when my Instagram page had hit 200 Followers. Mar and JT had participated and ended up winning a free session with me. I was excited because they are both beautiful people inside and out and I just knew we would create amazing images. Time went by and they hadn't booked yet, so I figured they had forgotten about their session. This Spring after taking pictures for church staff; Mar reached out to me about JT graduating and them possibly booking a session soon. I was so excited about them finally using their Giveaway session; only to be surprised that they would be using that session the following month.
I honestly assumed they wanted a couples session; either way, I was excited and so ready to work with them. We met in March after JT's College Graduation; we captured a beautiful session in the Historic District of Norfolk, VA. It was there that they announced to me about the news they had brewing; they were going to be adopting and wanted to use their photo's to surprise family and friends! & I was the first to know!
I honestly couldn't even focus for the rest of our session because all I could think about was; what a favored child! He or she is going to have amazing parents. I felt so blessed that they chose me to document their story. How amazing is it that God aligned us all at Crosspointe Church to learn from one another and be a blessing to each other? Won't he do it?!
Mar had shared her ideas with me about location, style and the overall vibe. We agreed that we'd do the session in their backyard, we'd keep colors neutral and the vibe would be elegance with a pop of chic. That was all I needed to get my wheels turning. I had all of the props, and asked Mar to grab the custom items. Together we created a beautiful backdrop with key elements to help tell their story.
Just The Two Of Us
We decided we would start the session off with documenting the love that Mar and JT share. While these two are inseparable; I can tell that they needed a bit of direction with posing at first. Once I started them off, they took over and blew their session out the park. As you can see; Mar ended up in a tree lol. JT is the relaxed and logical one in the marriage and Mar is the spontaneous and adventurous one; and together, they are a match made in heaven.
JT and Mar's property has a lot of open land with a ranch located right behind their home. The horses kept us laughing with all of their dramatic screeches; it helped lighten the mood and get them to relax for the session. As a photographer, it's very important to me that I am able to read my client's body language. I've gotten so good at it that now I can tell when something's uncomfortable or they aren't feeling a certain pose. I encourage that we have fun throughout the session, with little to no interaction unless absolutely needed. This helps them show their most authentic version of themselves; while I am like a fly on the wall capturing it all.
Implementing Movement
The day we did the session, we had a slight breeze. I wanted to implement the weather into our story so I decided to use Mar's hair. Hair is an amazing way to show movement in your images. Thankfully the wind gracefully blew through Mar's hair and I tasked her to let it do it's thing. While having JT sway her gently, you can see her curls dancing in the breeze.
Another way to add movement into a photo is a "flowy" dress. Mar came prepared with both, which helped highlight her movement beautifully.
Intimacy
I really enjoyed capturing these two and how tightly knitted they were. This is key when capturing couples! I try to be sure that they are always touching somehow, whether its chest to chest, hand in hand, back to back, nose to nose or a sweet kiss. This tells the story that they are inseparable; and yes indeed JT and Mar were inseparable throughout the entire session. Just look at them!
Another great thing I like to focus in on are details. There's a great deal that goes into documenting moments. One thing photographers seem to forget is that we are capturing "age" as well. As we age and our skin and bodies change; we will take on a new identity. I try to capture hands, eyes, and hair. These features tend to patina over the years with wrinkles, color and texture. Your client's will appreciate capturing them in every season of life to have for them and their loved ones.
The Announcement!
Surprise!
It was a bit difficult to announce their adoption without the letter board. We didn't want to leave family and friends guessing that Mar may be pregnant, so we wanted to be very specific about what was happening. Mar had come prepared with her letter board and I had brought my own as well. We were doing two different sceneries so we chose Mar's letter board for this setup and my letter board for the other setup; that helped kill time and have things ready to go. JT and Mar also purchased some of the sweetest adoption books to help tell their adoption announcement; after seeing the book with a little fox on the cover, I knew we had to highlight the little fox plush that I had brought as a prop as well. It worked out perfectly.
Mommy Glow!
Mar is glowing ya'll! In this season of life, God has chosen Mar to selflessly Mother a child that her womb did not hold. Although her tummy may not swell and her bosom's won't make milk; she is still more than worthy of earning her Title "Mommy". She will love deeply and nurture her baby to walk in God's purpose for them. She is the Mother God created especially for this child; & I cannot wait to meet the child God especially created for her and JT. Congratulations to these two!!!! May God pour down blessings on them both, all the days of their lives.
