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My name is Jessie and I'm a wedding and portrait photographer based in Leesburg, Virginia. I'm glad you found your way here! My blog is just as important as the actual website, if not more! My hope for this blog is to not only show off my amazing clients, but also to give you a sense of who I am without a camera in my hands. It's so important to really connect with your photographer on a personal level, so here you will find information about whats going on with my business, but also in my life and in my heart. Whether you're looking for a photographer for your family, looking for ideas for your own wedding, or just love looking at pretty pictures, grab a cup of coffee and stay a while! Make sure you drop me a note and say hello!
I’m not gonna worry
I know that You’ve got me
Right inside the palm of Your hand
Each and every moment
What’s good and what gets broken
Happens just the way You plan
But You’re here
You’re real
I know I can trust You
Even when it hurts
Even when its hard
Even when it all just falls apart
I will run to You
Cause i know that You are
Lover of my soul, Healer of my scars
You steady my heart 
And I will sing to You
Cause of everything You are
You steady my heart
January 27, 2012 - 7:49 pm - good words to meditate on and that picture is absolutely stunning!! have a good weekend!!
January 27, 2012 - 9:36 pm - Beautiful!
It’s so crazy for me to think that the first time I photographed Josh and Terresa and their family was almost 5 years ago when their son Jacob was born! I had just put the name “Jessica Smith Photography” on my hobby which was quickly turning into a business, and I called them up and asked if I could take some pictures of them to practice for some a few sessions I had coming up. These were some of the first portraits I ever showed new clients right after I started my business, when Jacob was about 5 weeks old: 
and then a couple years later, their sweet girl Anela Mae was born and I got to document her entire first year! 
these days, Jacob and Anela are a LOT bigger… 
… still best buddies… 
… and not the babies anymore! Meet their new baby brother, Lucas! 
Doesn’t Lucas look just like Jacob and Anela when they were babies?! I spent the entire day with them and I’m pretty sure I called Lucas ‘Jacob’ at least three different times when I was holding him! 
sweet baby: 
Josh and I led YoungLife together when I was in college and I learned so much from him and Terresa! I’m so thankful that years later they are still some of my best friends, and model so well what I hope my family will look like one day: 
look at his little smile! so sweet! :) 
ha! somehow I don’t think this is Lucas winking at me, but more saying “hey lady, can you STOP with the pictures and just let me SLEEP?!” :) 
Jacob and Anela are SO sweet with Lucas! 
LOVE those precious smiles! my favorite :) 
all the boys: 
Josh and Terresa, I’m so thankful for your family! Thanks for sharing your awesome kids with me :) Love you guys!
When I sit down at my computer in the morning, the very first thing that always demands my attention is my email. Somehow it seems there is a never ending pile of them to reply to. Funny how the more emails I tend to send out, the more I receive! Its a vicious cycle, i tell ya! :) Once I make it through my inbox, I give myself some time to check in on some of my favorite blogs. In this industry it seems like everybody has a blog, and understandably so! The bookmarks folder for “blogs” can get out of control so fast as I’m always finding new photographers that I love! However, lately I’ve found a few blogs that have nothing to do with photography, and those have become quickly the few that I always go to first. Maybe its because I so often struggle to put my thoughts into words, much less coherent sentences, and for these few it just seems second nature. So I thought today I’d share with you some of my favorite sites to read, in hopes that they would be the newest additions to your own bookmarked pages! :)
I always get excited when I see that Tiffany Wingard has a new post up. Her family is the most common topic, and I guarantee you will fall in love with her two gorgeous kids and the hilarious things they say and do within the first post. She has already been recognized in the blogger world for her site, and i’m secretly praying that by the time I actually have kids and have to attempt this whole being a mom thing, someone will have the good sense to pay her to write a book and publish this lady:
Sammy Adebiyi is my most recent blog discovery, and I have spent hours and hours over the past couple weeks digging through all of his past entries. One of my favorite aspects of his blog is the conversation he always gets going through the comments his readers leave. I love seeing all the different forms ministry can take, and they for sure have a sweet community happening over on his site. If nothing else, go to his site and on the right hand site read through the “most popular” posts, and you will be hooked.. guarantee it :) 
This is my friend Katie Covert’s blog, and has always been a favorite of mine. Katie has been one of my best friends for the last 6.5 years and God has used her a countless number of times to speak truth into my life, and so I’m glad she has this outlet to share experiences, scripture, and life lessons with the rest of the world :) 
I only met Johanna Gusman about a month ago when I did pictures for their family, and first saw her blog when she reposted the images I did. After that I spent a while reading through her site and found myself sitting there thinking, “wow this woman is going to change the world, one country at a time!” Read, and be inspired :)
Happy reading, friends!
January 24, 2012 - 8:47 am - So I wanted to like your post on face-book but it wouldn't let me. Just wanted to say a huge thanks for this. Thanks for posting and reading. Means a lot. God bless you Jessica.
Typically by the time the maternity session rolls around, most of the mamas-to-be are ready to just have their baby in their arms. Some of them have had an easier pregnancy than others, but usually they are ready to be done with the ‘pregnant’ part. Not Julia, she is the definition of glowing. From the moment she emailed me she was talking about how she enjoyed being pregnant and this miracle that she and her husband had been given, and even now being just a couple weeks away from her due date, she is just as content as ever, and you can tell in these images how completely happy she is. I got to spend the afternoon getting to know Julia, Raymond, and their sweet pup Tala, and I cannot wait to meet baby Foster in just a few short weeks! :)
How stunning is Tala? and those big blue eyes! such a pretty puppy:
even if she is a little camera shy ;) 
Julia had a few special family items that she wanted to include: 
this baby will be coming home to the sweetest Winnie the Pooh nursery, and I can’t wait to show it off when the baby comes!
We walked around Old Town Winchester for the majority of their session, and even though it was freezing outside nothing seemed phase these two :) 
love all the different textures in this shot: 
LOVE these next two!
pretty afternoon light: 
They opted to not find out the sex of the baby.. what do you think, boy or girl?! :) 
Enjoy these last couple weeks and I can’t wait to see you both again soon! :)
January 19, 2012 - 4:07 pm - I love Old Town Winchester and I love your photos, Jessie! Breathtaking as always! <3
January 19, 2012 - 6:55 pm - Great job capturing the temperment of Julia, Raymond and Tala. Very nice.
44 fourth and fifth graders. 11 chaperones. 2 days at Great Wolf Lodge. 3 hour bus ride. 1 huge water park. Arcades. Water slides. Ice cream (for breakfast). Camp songs. Apples to Apples. Staying up extra late. Exploring new places. Tons of fun.
Getting to know new people. Conquering fears. Compromising and consideration. Relationships being built and strengthened. Friends encouraging each other. Thankful hearts. Lots of laughter. Bedtime devotionals. Christ’s love exemplified.
Last month I was able to help with the K.G.B. Christmas service, and so when I got the call this past Friday that they needed an extra chaperone for their overnight trip Sunday-Monday to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, it didn’t take much convincing to get me to sign on :) I had the best time with my group of five girls, they were so excited and genuinely thankful to be there. I didn’t know any of them going into the weekend, but I found myself praying for “my girls”, whoever they were going to be, from the moment I signed up until the moment I met them, and it was so sweet to get to know these girls that the Lord had handpicked for me to spend the weekend with. I may be a *little* biased, but I think I had the best group of girls :)
This weekend is all about building relationships, and I loved seeing the girls get to know each other better and open up to me. We played lots of “get to know you” games, and even with all of the water slides and games that Great Wolf has to offer, they were perfectly content to sit in the hot tub and play Two Truths and a Lie for almost an hour! I loved that they were happy to get to know the people in our group and that they saw value in that too. A great time was had by all involved, and they were already talking about next year’s KGB trip on the ride home!
I brought my camera with me, and even though it spent the majority of the time in the hotel room, I did manage to sneak in a few quick shots here and there :) Here’s the whole group right when we first arrived, ready to GO!
trying to win the award for best chaperone ever one ice cream sundae at a time: 
I did a quick shot of each group before we got on the bus to head back home, but I’m particularly fond of this one :)
Happy Wednesday!
January 21, 2012 - 6:15 pm - Even chaperones can have fun! xoxoxo
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by Jessie
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