“I want to be me. Take me as I am.”

— Jill

A warmness emanates from Jill. She’s such a grounded, sweet person. Over the course of a year and a half, our paths crossed here and there while she was in yoga teacher training at the K10 Yoga CoOp that's located inside of Jasper & Fern. She was always smiling or in this quiet, reflective space. No matter where she was personally though, she always greeted me with a kind smile, occasionally exchanging hiking stories, body acceptance journeys and, every once in a while she'd say "I need to talk with you about pictures." The more I got to know her and the more she shared about her journey, the more I wanted to photograph her and looked forward to her reaching out.

Then she told me, "I'm turning 50. I need to do this."

The day was cold and bitter. I didn't much feel like doing anything besides curling up in a cozy blanket and sleeping. Yet, Jill came in with her warmth glowing and an excited but nervous smile. We sat on the couch beginning to chat and she extended her heart.

"I don't want to be something that I'm not," she said as we discussed the vision for her portrait session. She shared about her body acceptance journey - going from 300 pounds to fluctuating as she let go of the weight. She shared about her love for herself overall, not just with weight but with appreciating who she is and everything she brought to the table. Plus, she was coming up on her birthday and knew this would be the perfect way to celebrate her tremendous personal growth and her love of her strong body.

You see, she's a natural beauty, Jill. She has this way about her that reveals her confidence and tenderness as if she were letting you in on a secret. She has the kindest of souls and the warmest of smiles. We wanted to capture the free-flowing nature she had been working so hard to achieve, the fun bounce in her curls, the depth of her eyes and - of course - the warmth of her smile. And so, we sat in the space as friends, making space for her unfold in front of the camera.

The digital background purchased for the promotional images of which’s lighting I needed to match.

Hello, Lovelies!!

Recently we had the opportunity to work with the Spring Theatre, located right here in downtown Winston-Salem, on their promotional imagery for their production of The Secret Garden. The marketing director, who also happens to be an incredible designer at www.carrieleighdickey.com, approached me about photographing their lead (Mary Lennox) in a manner for which she could be then superimposed on a digital background they had purchased.

After examining the lighting in the original photograph of the desired backdrop, I decided I could replicate the light.

We had our session and I sent the final 6 choices to Carrie, who then presented the photographs to the producers. Carrie then edited the photograph of little Mary Lennox onto the digital background.

Watch the video below to see how we mimicked the look and what the final poster looks like.

Rebecca’s Professional Headshot with Winston-Salem Headshot Photographer Jasper & Fern

She came in poised, intention in every movement. She was the kind of woman who automatically commanded a room with quiet leadership. She smiled as we exchanged greetings and then sat on our dark velvet grey couch, setting a folder squarely to her side and then briskly folding her hands in her lap. Meeting her expectant air, I began to ask her about her needs.

Upon determining her need for portraits was specific to her profession, I asked “What do your portraits need to achieve?”

”I am not sure what I need. I know what I don’t want. I don’t want to be too corporate,” Rebecca replied swiftly. She was always straight to the point.

As I continued learning about her, I determined that, with her move to a director’s position at a new company in a new state and the different leadership and potential speaking roles she would be filling, she needed branded headshots to represent her fully. After expressing my assessment, she then handed me the folder.

I smiled. It was clear upon opening the folder that she had been assessing me much as I had been assessing her. She’s the perfect fit for her new director’s role. Inside the folder were magazine clippings of professional women’s portraits that were professional and just corporate enough without crossing into rigid territory. Off-handedly, Rebecca mentioned that there was a clipping in the folder of a pose which we had already discussed. I was glad for her scrutiny to make sure I was the photographer she truly wanted.

Her session ended up being wonderful! We achieved several different headshots to be used in a variety of forms, from her speaking gigs to her everyday office use.

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Want to go behind the scenes of a Branding Session? Click the button below and it’ll take you there.

The door was ajar and a chorus of laughter greeted me even before I knocked on at my clients’ suite at the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, North Carolina. Upon my knock, Lauren, the team liaison, ushered me into the bustling room. Hairspray clouds burst in the air as lipstick colors were mixed and cut across mirrored pallets. Against the wall, a team of stylists was hurriedly at work on the hair and makeup of several women.

As frenetic as the room was, if you stepped back to take it in, a symphony of beige, browns, blacks and dusty reds blurred together to create a cohesive, grounded color palette. It was a minor detail but somehow displayed just how well all 13 of these women formed together. This was the eastern division of Lancome. All these powerful, type-A women in one room working together like a well oiled machine. It was hard to not observe and admire.

The group of us briefly chatted. I’d been brought in to photograph their team headshots and team portrait. As I’d only had contact with the team liaison thus far, it was important to me that I gather as much about each person and how they interacted with each other as quickly as possible as well as dictate what could be expected from their time with me.

I worked with each woman one-on-one, focusing on their individual personalities. Then, we also did team portraits, feeding off of each others interactions. There was hair flipping and top-model smizing going on by the end, finishing out the session with just as much laughter as there was to start the day.

I can’t not mention these ladies below either! We had some extra time in our session. So, I made a point to photograph the style team who made the ladies above look awesome!