Jen Amato Photography Blog

Every so often, I get the opportunity to photograph a special portrait session that really warms my heart. Last year one of my past clients, Brittany asked me donate a portrait session for an auction. Brittany’s sister, Melanie was about to deliver a baby with a heart condition. They were having a big charity event to raise money and needed donations. Without any hesitation, I donated a session to help in any way possible. I often keep up with sweet Olivia’s journey by following Brittany’s facebook page or Olivia’s website. To my delight, Brittany’s other sister, Melissa bid on my session at the auction and WON! I was so excited that I was going to be photographing her cute little family! I asked Melissa to write a few words about her journey with her 5 beautiful children….

Hi, we are the Martin family.  My wife and I have been together for 11 years.  As you can tell, we are a very special family.  All of our children come from very different places and situations. They have each had their own struggles to overcome in their little lives.  We have been very blessed that God sent them to us to love!  Because of our ever changing home, we have not had the chance to get a family picture together.  I was so excited to get a sitting with Jen!  She has taken pictures of my sisters family and I knew she would get the perfect images for us.  Our experience was even better than I ever could have imagined.  She was patient with the children and with me, as I chased the 2 year old around to get him in the pictures.  Thank you Jen for capturing my beautiful family, I am so grateful!

Thank you Melissa, Brandy, Trey, Evie, Ellie, Brian, and Brady for a wonderful shoot! These kids were some of the sweetest, most well-behaved children I’ve ever photographed. There were times throughout the shoot when they would just come up to me and hold me hand. At one point little Brady took hold of my camera and pressed the shutter button to take a photo! Then of course he giggled!! Anyway, I love sharing heartwarming stories with all of you blog readers…. this session reminded me how truly special it is when God brings children into your life to foster or adopt. I got back in my car that afternoon when the session was over and thanked God for giving me such a rewarding job. He opens my eyes to so much beauty in this big old world. Thank you again Melissa for allowing me to capture your babies!!

Here are some that I loved :)

Meet Leslie! A wife, mommy, pharmacist and 6 foot tall beauty! I could tell that Leslie was going to be fun, energetic and ready for anything from the very first email she sent me! She modeled all the up until she went to pharmacy school and now several years later… she is ready to give the modeling thing a whirl again! We had lots of fun strolling through the Quarter finding interesting spots to photograph! As you can tell from these photos, Leslie totally knows how to work the camera. I always love when I get the opportunity to shoot a unique session – it definitely hits the refresh button for me! Leslie had a few sassy outfits and a couple of cute beanie hats for headshots towards the end! We had lots of fun!!

So here are some of my favs from the day: