the best of 2013: portraits || dfw portrait & wedding photographer

These end of year posts are some of my absolute favorites.  I get excited to sit down and scroll through all my work from the past 12 months and whittle down hundreds of pictures into my very very favorites.  So here I am about a month and a half late, posting my recap(s).  I'm certainly not going to miss out on this fun, even if it did take me way too long to put it together.  You also may notice several pictures from sessions and weddings that I haven't blogged yet, but they're coming soon!  *pinkie promise*  Today will be all of my portrait favorites: engagement, senior, proposal, etc. then all of my wedding favorites will be posted sometime in the next week or so.  Thank you to everyone who trusted me with such happy and precious moments and days of your life this year, it was an honor and a joy to work with you!

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

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