Winter Warm Up - Lindsey and Wesley

Warm your heart, warm your soul. If you're looking for the warm, cozy, feels-good-all-over kind of sentiment look no further. 

Meet Lindsey and Wesley. 

Forget hot chocolate, sweaters and log fires this winter. When things get chilly - I'm calling these two. Between the way he makes her smile and the undeniable sparkle she puts in his eyes - there's just something very genuine and endearing about the love they share & it just...radiates. 

{to finding the one who keeps your heart warm}

-jbw-

Wilson Family | Portraits

Enjoyed spending an unseasonably warm November afternoon with these folks! Here's a little sneak peek into their family session. You'll recognize Tabatha from her many appearances on my blog - as a subject and also a second shooter with me. Her mom and brother made the big trip and flew in from Oklahoma to spend time with her and she knew there was no better time to capture them all together.

Looking forward to sharing more of their session! 

{to big trips that can't keep us apart}

-jbw-

Julia & Clint | Portraits

Engagement, wedding, maternity. All milestone moments in life when we decide to capture where and who we are in photographs. What about the moments in between? The times that really make us who we are?

There's no better time than right now to have portraits made with the person (or people) you love. Julia and Clint have been married for a little over a year now. They simply wanted to take the time to capture who and where they are in life and love with a portrait session. I couldn't have been happier to be obliged!   We planned their session on what turned out to be the perfect fall weekend - the height of autumn leaf season. It couldn't have been lovelier! We began our session in downtown Raleigh and wrapped things up at Clint's favorite local golf course. Julia and Clint were perfectly comfortable - not just in front of the camera - but also with each other.  

As a wedding photographer, it is my joy to capture Day One. As a married person, I know that it's all the days after that grow and deepen your relationship. It was my joy to get to capture Julia and Clint's married love, beyond Day One. 

{to day one, and one thousand, and beyond}

-jbw- 

Truschel Family

It usually works out each year that the bulk of my work is focused on weddings and couples. so I am limited on the number of family portrait sessions that I commission. Usually they are families that I already have a relationship with, so I was excited when Loren submitted an me this fall to photograph her family as it was nice to expand realm a little. 

Photographing families is much the same as photographing anything else; and yet very different. Kids are busy and kids are very interested in being kids and usually not very invested in taking photos. So, my approach to family portraits is this - to capture your family organically interacting with one another. This means playing. Running. Jumping. Swinging. Laughing. Twirling. 

Whatever it is you do as a family when a camera isn't around is what I want you do when my camera is around. Just be you. Because that's what you're best at and that's what makes your family beautiful. 

My favorite memories of my own family are the ones when we were just being "us".  What I would give to have illustration to those memories.  That desire is what shapes my approach to how I photograph families. 

I love looking at these images of the Truschel family, because in them I see that they are just being them. Running. Hugging. Laughing. Playing an endless game of "one more time, Daddy!"

When they look back on this fleeting season and on their memories, I hope that I have done them justice with these illustrations. 

What I would give to have done them justice. 

{to illustrating memories}

-jbw-

Castro Family

Forget stopping to smell the roses. 

After seeing these shots you're going to want to stop and crunch the leaves! 

You may recognize these little faces from last year's fall shoot (or you may not, they've grown so much!) There's something so fun about family shoots. Unavoidably organic - because really, kids will be kids - you get 100% real and I love all 100% of the Castro family! It was fun to catch up with all of them and I enjoyed picking up on how they've grown and changed over the last year. 

Documenting a family is a weighty responsibility. One day, each of these children will be adults potentially with families of their own. They'll want to look back on the times that will have shaped them into the people they'll have become, and family photos are one of our most treasured ways to do that. Being able to know that I've captured a picture of the Castro family history is something that I cherish! When they look back on their family in 2013 I hope they see people who were full of adventure and overflowing with love. At least that's what I see!

{to family history}

-jbw-

Amy & Luke | Elopement

I've had the pleasure of shooting many weddings now. Big weddings, small weddings and everything in between. Until Amy and Luke contacted me though, I had yet to photograph an elopement. 

It was incredible.

Take a wedding and strip it of everything unnecessary. No decorations, no flowers, no food, no fanfare. Simply a bride and a groom. And a ceremony in which they soulfully, whole-heartedly commit to love and serve one another for the rest of their lives; apart from any distraction. 

This was Amy and Luke's day, and they invited me to capture it. I felt honored to be so close to their wedding as it was incredibly intimate - just them and the officiant. Following the ceremony to walk the grounds of the Inn at Meander Plantation to photograph their first moments as husband and wife. 

Luke and Amy and laughers. Throw your head back, close your eyes and laugh from the heart kind of people.  I don't know where life will take them (I pray it's always an easy journey) but I have no doubt regardless of the twists and turns, they'll be able to look back on their story & smile and laugh together. 

That's what joy is about. That's what love and marriage are about. 

That's what Amy and Luke are about. 

{to looking back on your story}

-jbw-