J May Photo

When I was a little girl, I would pretend with my sister Angela that it was my wedding day.  She was the groom or she was my best friend helping me get ready.  Often we said, “When I get married… I want to do…”  The little girl part of me always seems to play a roll in how I shoot weddings.  It was never a thought in my mind as a kid that I would photograph anything, much less weddings!  In fact I didn’t even know I liked photography until I got a job as a stylist for commercial onset photography when I was 19.  I did that for about 5 years.  Still… the photographers were like, ‘the dudes’ and the designers/stylists were ‘the girls’.  Needless to say, I didn’t pay too much attention to the camera.  Besides, we shot with medium format cameras.  Those things are beasts!  Or at least they were, 10 years ago.  Todd and I moved out to Vegas when I was 24, and shortly after I wanted to get back into the photo world again.  I called around and researched a bit and found a wedding photographer that wanted an assistant.  And so it began!  That was 7+ years ago when I made that phone call.  I remember when he handed me an extra camera and said, “Okay… go ahead and start shooting.”  I was like, humm? How do you turn it on?  He was patient with me and very technical with settings, light and business ethics.  I was a young padawan and he was a photo ninja.  2 years later we moved back to Dallas and within a few months the itch came again to be in the photo world.  Today, I’ve owned my company for 5 years and shot over 100 weddings.  Today, the little girl in me comes out in every wedding as I photograph details, smiles and most importantly relationships with family, loved ones, and God.  As I look back I realize, I’ve grown to be my own photo ninja

Tessa and Ben said ‘I do’ infront of family and friends at The Belo Mansion in Dallas.  It was a perfect day!  There were little girl dreams everywhere. One of my favorite parts of the wedding is photographing the bride getting ready.  I start by getting pictures of the bouquet, the dress, the shoes and jewelry.  Usually the girls are still busy with makeup and hair, so I busy myself with the details.  Hair and make-up shots should be done when the bride is almost finished, or when the finishing touch is being put on.  I ask if possible to have the bridesmaids get into their dresses first before the bride.  That way when they are helping her, they are ready and look perfect in the shot.  Most of the time, this is when Dad shows up to see his daughter.  She is ready and glowing.  Dad, more often than not, I can see him gulp or take a deep breath or cover his mouth in awe of his beautiful daughter.  For me, my eyes water.  Every time.  Tessa’s Dad came in, put his hand over his mouth and then pulled out a tissue and quietly wiped his eyes.  Todd and I have 3 daughters.  This day is right around the corner for him.

I had so many getting ready photos that I decided to split the wedding up into parts.  Part 1 is Tessa and the girls getting ready.  I decided I wanted to show more of the footage or documentary part of what I do.  Setting people up in groups and lines is the tiniest portion of my wedding photography.  Outside of those formal shots, we are cracking up, crying, making fun of silly things, chasing kids, finding details, checking the clock to stay on schedule, meeting families, trying out poses in Vogue and so on.  Truly the wedding day is one of the most exciting days of life.  I am blessed that I get to witness through my lens the most exciting days, over and over and over again.  Enjoy Tessa’s little fairytale wedding that came to pass just a few weeks ago.  ~ Jen
View full post »