Jessica Lemmons Photography Blog, Longview Washington (Wa.) photographer.

They are just adorable!  I photographed Judah and Becca a little over six months ago when they said “I do”.   They are such a beautiful couple inside and out  and a joy to photograph!    I used the downtown Kalama area again and I just LOVE it.   The settings were perfect for the look I was going for with these and I am so happy with how they turned out!  The reason they decided to do this session was primarily for Christmas cards, but also “just because.”   “Just because” sessions are a great way for a couple to have some photos of themselves without the hype and stress of a wedding or the expectations of an engagement   – it’s a great way to just show two people, very much in love, and enjoying life.   I love it!  (My hubby and I are going to be having our own “just because” session in Seattle here in a few weeks and I can’t wait!  Be watching the blog for it….)

Thanks Judah and Becca!  You guys are awesome!

The Green family has to be one of my favorite families out there to photograph.   Their little guy is absolutely precious and has one of the most amazing smiles I have ever seen.   We did their family session in downtown Kalama last Sunday and I was just loving some of the locations that we used down there.  There is so much color and vibrance to that cute little town – I definitely plan on photographing there more often!

Thank you guys for having me as your photographer, I hope you enjoy your preview!

And a few just for fun!  

Keela is an absolute sweetheart – she goes to the youth group at our church and I’ve learned that she is just as beautiful of a girl inside as she is on the outside.  She had some really great ideas for her senior photos and I have to say I am SOOOOO happy with how they turned out. My favorite senior sessions are usually the ones where the seniors come up with a few of their own ideas – not that I can’t come up with ideas, but my ideas don’t always mesh with who “you” are as a senior.  Bringing your personality to a session is KEY in expressing who you are through your photos.    I loved that Keela wanted shots on the beach with an antique chair and with her car.   My favorite one is the last one of this set…I had way to much fun processing it.  :-)

Thank you again Keela!  I had a blast with you!  :-)

This was an extra special session for me…Nicole is a good friend of my younger sisters and has become a good friend to my husband and I over the last little bit.   We love her to death and it almost felt like I was photographing my little sis.  :-)   I really enjoyed myself on the session and having a gorgeous subject was just one more added bonus to an already great session!

Thank you Nicole – I love you to death and had a blast with you, Car, and my crazy husband.

This was my second time photographing the “K” family.  I just love their little guy, he is so full of life and always in the greatest mood!  He’s your typical busy two-year-old boy – full of mischief but SO adorable!  I really enjoyed their session, perfect weather, perfect day and perfect setting.   A big thank you to the “K” family for having me as your photographer!

I’ve still been a bit behind on the ol’ blog, but I wanted to share some of my favorites from a few (ok…more than a few!) recent sessions.  Last Saturday I did a batch of mini-sessions at Lake Sacajawea here in Longview, the purpose of the mini-sessions (besides family photos) was to raise money for a missions trip that I’ll be going on this coming January.  Through my home church (Fathers House) I was able to promote a Christmas Card special with all of the profits going to pay for a trip I will be making with a wonderful friend of mine to Uganda.   The fundraiser was a great success!  I had 8 sessions booked that day, most bought Christmas cards or photos for their family and friends, and I am happy to say that the funds are helping to pay for a big portion of my trip.  I’m still completing orders, but overall I was thrilled with how giving people were and how excited everyone was to be a part of a fundraiser.   I can’t wait to travel to Africa – I’ll be doing a lot of photojournalism as well as working with an orphanage in Kampala doing a vacation bible school and hopefully traveling to the World Vision Children of War Center in Gulu as well.    I’ll be gone for just over two weeks but I’ve decided to go ahead and take the entire month of January off so that I have time to prepare as well as recover when I get back.    I’ll be sharing lots more about the trip as it gets closer, but in the meantime I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to all my wonderful friends at Father’s House for being a part of this fundraiser.  You guys have blessed me so much!!!  Thank you!!  :-)

So without further ado – the photos!

This is Elle – she babysits my kiddos a lot while I’m working.  We all love her!  Isn’t she gorgeous?!?

I love real smiles!!!!  

I met up with Lane this last Friday for her senior photos – We did a mini-session at the lake and we’ll be doing another session later on in the spring so that she can get the best of both worlds.   Mini-sessions are becoming a popular choice this year for a lot of my seniors who can’t decide whether or not they want fall or spring photos.  I really like being able to offer lots of options to my clients so I’m thinking it’s going to be a great win/win situation for us all this year.   Lane really wanted to have fall colors in her photos and what better place to do a session than at the lake with all of it’s beautiful trees.

Thank you Lane for having me as your photographer!  I enjoyed meeting you and I’m looking forward to our spring session!  :-)

I’ve done a few sessions for the “B” family in the past, but this was my first time with the WHOLE family.   They are such a great group of people to work with, and I just loved how some of these turned out.   You might recognize a few faces from “D’s” session or from “C’s” session.

Thank you to the “B” family for having me as your photographer!  I hope you enjoy your preview and the rest of them will be finished soon!

Dana booked me a few months back for her September wedding.  When I first met her I couldn’t help but like her!   She was just one of those fun, happy and energetic girls that you just can’t help but enjoy being around.   When I met RJ last Saturday I could totally see why it was they fell in love!  They were both just happy and fun people, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed so much during the “formal” section of photographing a wedding.    My abs were more sore than my feet after the wedding.

Their wedding was held at the Lewis and Clark hotel in Centralia.  I loved the venue – it was absolutely beautiful inside, with lots of space for the wedding – they still managed to pack the house with all their family and friends though!

My friend and fellow photographer Cindy did an AMAZING job helping me that day.  She was an absolute joy to work with!

Here’s a few  of Dana at the hotel before we headed over for formals -

The boys

The plan had been for RJ and Dana to not see each other before the wedding, but Dana wanted to do photos ahead of time and also wanted to surprise RJ.  So while I was taking photos of the boys she had one of her bridesmaids give RJ a card. .  While RJ was reading it Dana snuck up behind him with her Dad to surprise him.

The look on his face was priceless!

Then we jumped into the “formals”.

I have to show just one more with the skateboards…..I was laughing so hard when we did this!

Once we finished up with formals we headed back for the ceremony:

The reception was very fun!   Great food, great music and lots of joy!

The cake:

The Rings:

And a few of my final favorites from the day:

RJ and Dana got married last Saturday, it’s going to be a few more days before I get their preview up, but I couldn’t help but post just one.   These two make me smile!