At 4:00 | flower mound photographer

The boys' playroom is one of my favorite places in my home. Sure, it is a perfect place to help corral the millions of toys they have and provide entertainment for the boys. And sure, this is where we have our 'magic couch' in which you want to fall asleep after sitting on it for less than 2 minutes. Most importantly though, is it has beautiful light in the afternoons which is perfect for photographing those crazy boys. We recently rearranged the playroom and I commented to my husband 'This is perfect!'. He said 'Yes, we can put a big TV across the couch now and watch movies in here.'. I said 'Noooo...the couch is in the perfect spot for the pretty light!' Ah, the joys of being married to someone on the verge of being obsessed with light and photography.

Anywho, last week the boys were playing in the room AND the room was relatively clean. Both make for a perfect reason for me to grab the camera and start shooting. Plus, this totally fits into the tips I shared on Ways to Document Your Life Through Photography. Thomas was practicing his speech with the train toy, we pulled out the remote to get a couple of us in the frame together, the boys read a magazine, and Thomas eventually found my phone sitting out and couldn't resist its temptation. Here is our life 'At 4:00'.

Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in day-in-the-life family photography sessions, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2015 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.

Photographing for YOU | flower mound photographer

A couple weeks ago our family went to the lake to eat a super healthy donut breakfast. I got a million cute pictures of the boys and Brad, yet this was the ONLY picture I was in out of about 400.



That night as I was going through the pictures, I told my husband what I really wanted for Mother's Day was for me to teach him how to take better pictures so I could be in the frame. I really love all the photos I have of my sons and hubby, but I feel like most moms- I am missing from the photos. Rarely am I in the photos and a lot of that has to do with me wanting to be in control of the photos. Through no fault of his own, Brad doesn't take great pictures simply because he doesn't have a passion for it like I do. So I always want to be the one taking the pictures. I really want to give up my control issues and make sure I am in the photos too. And yes, even on the bad hair days and on the days where I feel like I need to lose 40 pounds (which, by the way, is about every day). And yes, even if it means that the photos are not perfect.

So, the next day I was outside taking pictures of John because he lost his first 'real' tooth. (He had two teeth pulled so this was the first natural loss!). Then he asked to take my picture. Although I would like to believe he wanted to take a picture of ME, he really just wanted to use my camera. So I did and this is what he got.

Again when I was looking through the photos, my immediate though was 'I am in a photo, but not with any of the rest of the family!'. So while that is still a work in progress (and thanks to the tripod I got in a couple pictures last week during my Day In The Life), I had another thought pop into my head. I realized I don't have to be in photos solely to show my role in my kids' lives. Yes, I am their mommy, but isn't there more to me than that? Don't I have hobbies and interests that are worth documenting with photos just like I do for my family? So for this particular picture I realized it shows what I am like at 7:00 in the morning. Still in my workout clothes from a 5:30 work out class because I don't want to take the boys to the gym day care. Hair pulled back because that's just what you do with curly hair when you haven't showered yet. Big smile on my face because I am hanging out with my oldest son on the morning he lost his tooth for the first time. All part of ME, not MOM.

A couple days later I read this post from Fearless and Framed which talks about photographing people around you. It just so happened I was going to a Mom's Night Out scavenger hunt with my Moms Club friends so I took my big camera along with me to photograph other meaningful people in my life. I have been in this group for about 2.5 years so I have truly enjoyed all the play groups, parties, outings, and I have definitely valued our MNOs! All perfect reasons to snap a couple photos and I was in one of them! :)

So, have you taken photos for YOU lately?

Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in storytelling family photography session, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2015 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.

8 Ways to Document Life Through Photography

Recently I shared my Day In The Life which is a fabulous way to document what life is like for your family on a random day through photography. I will absolutely love to look back at this to re-live those days of having three young boys at home. I thought today I would share some 8 ways you can document your life with photography- some more manageable than others!

1. Day In The Life
Obviously you can do a Day In The Life. Take a random day and photograph as much as you can of your day from the minute you wake up until you go to sleep. Try to power through at the end of the day to get as much of your day photographed as possible!

2. On The Hour
Similar to Day In The Life, pick a random day and take a photo every hour, on the hour. Or at least once an hour. This would be great for those busy lives and you only need to take about 12-15 pictures!



3. Project 365
Many people tackle the Project 365, which is taking a photo a day for a year. I started this project in January and made it until the middle of February. For me personally, I didn't like feeling forced to take a picture and many times I hated those forced pictures. However, I am also the type of person who is ALWAYS taking photos. So maybe I don't take one a day, but several days out of the week I am photographing something and so I decided not to do the once a day deal. If you do want to tackle the whole year, check out Facebook for groups dedicated to this for inspiration and encouragement! Lots of people like this project to force them to find things to photograph that represent their life and then make a big book at the end.

4. Project 52
Can you guess what this is?! Yep- taking a photo a week for a year. This one is more my speed and I could pick my favorite weekly photo. Again, there are facebook groups for this too.



5. Theme Photos
Several blogs and websites pick a theme for the month, week, or day. This is to serve as creative inspiration to photograph something that fits with the theme. Check out Snap Maven who usually posts a good list of links with themes or CM Glimpse which is an instagram project with daily prompts.

6. Before 9am
Photograph your family's daily routine before 9am (or 7am, 8am, etc). This would be great for people with older children who are in school or working parents.



7. Every Day for 30 days
Instead of photographing for 365 days straight, what just 30 days? Seems doable, right?! This might be fun for a summer month when your routine will likely be different than during the school year.

8. Bedtime
Lastly, photograph bedtime, or any other normal routine or event for your family. Perhaps baths for toddlers, dinner time with the whole family, afternoon walks, family game night...there are probably lots of small routines that your family has that you can quickly photograph throughout the year.




Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in storytelling family photography session, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2015 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.

Saturday Morning with the Pynes Fam | flower mound family photographer

Ashley wanted a family photo session to capture life with young children on a typical Saturday morning in Grapevine, Texas. And what a doll family they were! An outgoing little girl paired with a precious baby dying to walk was the cutest thing ever. In true toddler-energy fashion, a quick 45 minutes showcased playing in the playroom, a quick snack break, gardening, playing in the yard, and ice cream treats. 

I was thrilled to read this on Ashely's Facebook page: "Love how Jen Jamotta Brown captured our family exactly how our we are on a Saturday morning... a bit unkept, but really happy 

smile emoticon These pics are priceless to me!! Thank you, Jen!"

Music to a photographer's ears. 

Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in storytelling family photography session, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2015 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.

A Day In the Life | Flower Mound Family Photographer

Last week I joined in the Day In The Life fun along with Ali Edwards. I have done this with my own family before (like this one almost a year ago and even my first one  ever without any pictures) and love doing it. Looking back at our day is so fun and I know this will be wonderful to revisit in a couple years to see how life has changed. From two breakfasts to two school drop offs to a visit from the tooth fairy, I love these days and am happy for it to be documented. 

What I loved most about this activity was seeing the video I made of our day put together. It is more powerful than just clicking through photos. I was able to realize how much I love this kind of photography and I hope that other families realize how special this is- to see their family in real life, the daily routine, the little moments. This is much more meaningful to me than posed portraits in a grassy meadow, which are pretty and great for display on a wall. But I want the every day events photographed too.

Jen Faith Brown is a family photographer specializing in storytelling family photography session, either in home or on location. Jen is married with three young sons who keep her quite busy and give her abundant practice in photographing always-moving children! Jen is now booking 2015 sessions in Flower Mound, Southlake, Highland Village, Lewisville, Coppell, Frisco, and surround DFW areas. Please visit www.jenfaithbrownphotography.com for pricing and to view sample galleries.