Allix: portraits || ft. worth portrait & wedding photographer

I'm officially 1 wedding and 11 days away from maternity leave, which means that the past few weeks and days have been a whirlwind of trying to wrap up all of my weddings and portrait sessions from the summer, (aka: all sessions/weddings edited, galleries uploaded, disks mailed, emails answered, and blogs posted or prepped)  aaaand getting ready for the little raspberry to arrive (apparently that's important.  I guess ;)  So blogging has been a bit slower here recently and I'm excited(?) to say that won't be changing much anytime soon.  Excited because it means that big changes are in the works (a son! is coming! soon!) and I can't deny that I'm thrilled to be exchanging work for kissing my baby's cheeks a million times every day.  I love my work.  I really do.  But.  Um, hello, we're talking about squishy baby cheeks here..

I do have a few more things to share with you guys before I vanish into the mommy wonderland for a few weeks, and this is one of them.  Allix is a dear and darling photographer friend who modeled for me + my interns a few weeks ago at the Summer Adventure.  All of the girls were having so much fun taking her pictures that I could only steal her away for a few minutes, but these are a couple of my favs from our time together.  Thanks for being so lovely for our cameras Allix!

Much Love, Jessica Shae

Emily: senior 2013 || mckinney, tx portrait & wedding photographer

When I was ten I started taking piano lessons with grand visions of being able to play "Variations On the Canon" (George Winston's arrangement of Canon in D, and my absolute favorite piano song) and multiple other beautifully moving pieces on the piano in no time.  Those visions of grandeur were soon squelched when I realized that I had very little natural talent for the piano and it would in fact take years of hard work to get to the point where I could sit down and easily play whatever music was set in front of me.  Two years later I quit.

It wasn't until I was 22 and my 8 year old sister started taking piano lessons that I was re-inspired to try and take up piano again.  ("You're never to old to set another goal or dream a new dream..." right?!)  And that's where Emily comes in.  She was my sisters piano teacher and one of the pianists at our church, so though I knew who she was and had talked to her on several occasions I didn't know her suuuuper well.

I'm not going to lie, it's a slightly humbling thing to be an adult, taking piano lessons from a highschooler, and the oldest (by far) of all of her students.  But Emily made me feel so comfortable and like it was the most normal thing in the world for me to be there, fumbling through the most basic of scales and exercises.  Her quiet demure personality, sweet smile and constant encouragement makes her one of the easiest people to be around.  I loved getting to know her better throughout the year, finding out that besides teaching piano she also worked at the library, (helloooo childhood dream job!) was learning to play the guitar, and was taking dual credit courses at a nearby college while finishing highschool.  Basically she's a smarty-pants sweetheart all rolled into one :)  I was honored to take her senior portraits for her a few weeks ago, enjoy looking through them!

Much Love, Jessica Shae

Anna: portraits || ft worth engagement & wedding photographer

I love the little break that I get every January/February during my slow season that gives me the opportunity to work on more personal projects, and catch up on lots of little things that slip through the cracks all year long.  Planning shoots with friends and other photographers in between all the "real" clients I may book is so important because it gives me the opportunity to try new things and stretch myself with other creative people, without the pressure of getting perfect pictures to give back to clients.  
My Anna friend drove down from OKC a few weeks ago to visit and get some new headshots of me for business purposes (before I become greeeaaat with child ;) and I took some of her as well.  I wanted to try some new things with lighting and actually went the whole shoot without shooting her backlit (a huge accomplishment for me!  I just love that golden backlight ;)  I played around with more dramatic lighting, shadows + direct light and had fun with the change!
Anna is a fabulous photographer, but more than that is the kind of person that brings her creativity and art into every part of her life.  All her work is beautiful, but her personal work is usually some of my favorite stuff that she posts.  (Like the last 20ish pictures she recently posted in this album)  She's an adventurer at heart who lives outside the box, and it's always inspiring to spend time with her over a cup of coffee, or cameras in hand.  Enjoy this little glimpse of her beauty and then go drool over her beautiful work!  (p.s. you can see the pictures she took of me that weekend here)
Thank you Anna for driving down and for a weekend filled with laughter, chipotle, and pictures!














Much Love, Jessica Shae

just one || dfw engagement & wedding photographer

"The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment,

when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference

between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul

that the dream is reality ...and it really happened."

this is the first in a friday series I'm starting titled "just one" featuring one of my favorite pictures that I'm currently working on + a favorite quote.

2012 portrait favorites: portraits || dfw engagement & wedding photographer

I think almost any wedding photographer will tell you, though weddings may be our favorite/passion + hold a special place in our heart, there's something about portraits that are a breath of fresh air at times.  Weddings are a rush of adrenaline, being able to think on your feet, capturing precious moments and memories as they unfold before you, and creating beautiful images while working with whatever space you find yourself in.  Portraits are a whole different world.  You (or your client) usually get to specifically choose the location, and you have a relaxed amount of time to work with your client(s), usually during the best light of the day.  I love the ebb and flow that shooting both portraits AND weddings brings, and the way that each of them challenge me differently.
As I've gone through and tried to whittle down my favorite portraits to a respectable amount I can't believe all the lovely people I've been able to work with in the most beautiful locations over the past year.  Thank you old and new friends for making this passion of mine something I can call my job, and for allowing me to be a part of your lives in such a special way!
p.s. if you make it all the way to the end--leave a comment and tell me your favorite(s)?
























































Much Love, Jessica Shae