Jen Amato Photography Blog »

Hi, my name is Jen and I am a Natural Light Photographer based out of New Orleans! Welcome! I specialize in Engagement, Maternity, Family, Children, and Birth Photography. As a wife and mom of 5, I understand how important capturing those fleeting moments are. Making my clients feel comfortable in front of the lens, photographing priceless memories and building relationships with people in the process are my main goals. There's always lots of fun couples, sweet families and precious babies gracing the presence of my site! Be sure to check back, I'm always posting new sessions! Click the "Information" tab above to email me if you're interested in scheduling a shoot :) I can't wait to hear from you!

Sophia :: Portraits

Tuesday, January 25, 2011 Posted in Children

I couldn’t wait to share these photos with you all! Do you remember this little sweetness? Here’s her first day of life, I remember it like it was yesterday. Sophia’s parents, Ashley and David are such great friends to Randy and I. We love our weeknight dinners with them and our friends, Dana and Tim. This is something we’ve done a lot lately. We all go to one of our houses, open some wine and cook dinner together. Sweat pants and looking a mess, haha! It doesn’t matter because the company is what we enjoy. The past couple of times we’ve gotten together it’s been to watch our Wedding videos or Jersey Shore! So the gang came over this past Sunday – Ashley and David hadn’t seen Sophia’s photos yet, so I decided to put them into a little slideshow for them :) It was fun to watch it this way with music.

Sophia makes top ten best dressed kids! She was a doll during her photo shoot- I LOVED every minute of it! We are so fortunate to have them in our life, so taking these of Sophia was very special. Love her like she’s my own! She is so precious, it’s funny to see all her different expressions. One minute she looks like David, the next Ashley. Sophia turns ONE next month- crazy how fast it went by!

Posted in Children

Andy & Holly :: Engagement

Monday, January 24, 2011 Posted in Engagements

Been up since early this morning editing away. I had an engagement session scheduled for 10am but it needed to get rescheduled due to goofy weather! Right after I post this, I’m headed out the door for a little jog. Trying to turn over a new leaf this week. Eating real healthy, exercising more often and hopefully I’ll learn to make a bit more time for myself. I was chatting with my friend the other night and we got on the subject of work. She’s said she’s been trying to wake up about 15 min earlier just to get in some “me” time before her busy work day begins. Whether it’s meditating, a little yoga, praying or just drinking your cup of coffee outside on the porch. I am so guilty of waking up and going straight to my computer to respond to emails and begin editing. I can’t tell you how many meals I’ve eaten and how much coffee I’ve consumed in front of this here computer! About 2 months ago, I started mapping out my blogposts and editing schedule. This in turn allows me to blog more frequently and alleviates a good bit of stress. Instead of feeling like I just need to work work work until I can’t see straight- I’ve dedicated a certain amount of time to editing per day, certain blog posts on set days, etc.. I can’t tell you how much this has helped me not to get burnt out. This business will always be a learning process for me and I will continue to find ways to make things better. So back to my point- I’m going to try extra hard to get up earlier and start the day off on the right foot. I’m sure it will make a difference. I challenge you to do the same if you find yourself popping out of bed every morning and the first thing on your brain is ”what you need to do.” I often start my posts with random things I’m thinking about. If it affects just one person on how to view things differently- then I hope it was worth reading :)

I photographed Holly and Andy last week in the French Quarter. It was another one of those mornings where I woke up and wondered if we were going to have to reschedule. It briefly rained in the early AM and there was huge amounts of fog. I was afraid their photos were coming to come out cloudy looking. Well as was fine and I LOVE the way their photos came out. You can see hints of water in the streets and and some interesting foggy looking backgrounds. Holly and Andy were a blast, they goofed off, laughed and gave each other the sweetest faces throughout their session. I can’t wait to photograph their Wedding next month.

I hope you enjoy their photos and try giving yourself a little time out in the morning tomorrow. I did and it really helped :)

Tomorrow I’ll be posting my friends little girl Sophia and I’ll have lots to say. She is the cutest… well you’ll just have to see tomorrow.

Posted in Engagements

Past Brides & Baby Bumps!

Monday, January 24, 2011 Posted in Weddings

This is definitely worth posting when I thought about it- thanks to facebook updates I’ve noticed lately that 4 of my past brides are all expecting their first child!! Congratulations to Katy, Tiphanie, Jessica & Bridget!! This makes me really happy, so I just felt like sharing ;)

Maybe I can see if they will email me a photo of their bump? Then I can put it below their Wedding photo!!

Bridget & Ryan – Married February 7, 2009

Here’s a photo of Bridget and Ryan now- Brittany Reese took this while she was in town for Bridget’s Baby Shower last month.

Jessica & Sean – Married November 14 ,2009

Tiphanie & Martin – Married December 19, 2009

Katy & Caleb – Married March 13, 2010

Posted in Weddings

Austin & Elizabeth :: Wedding

Friday, January 21, 2011 Posted in Weddings

I first met Austin & Elizabeth when I photographed their Engagement Party a few months ago and they were just as sweet as I imagined they were going to be! Then shortly after I shot their Engagement Session at Audubon Park, it’s been so great getting to know them over the last few months. Austin & Elizabeth were married on January 8, 2011. Preparation began at The Ritz on Canal, the Ceremony was at Holy Rosary and the Reception was held at New Orleans Museum of Art. MoJeaux was so fun and everyone surely had a great time dancing! I remember saying how much I couldn’t wait to photograph at NOMA. I studied so many years of Art History at LSU, I’m a bit of an art nerd. I just love the feeling you get when you walk into an art museum :)

Elizabeth wore her grandmother’s wedding gown- and after some tweaking, the dress fit her perfectly. She is absolutely stunning and made a gorgeous bride! I loved the light pink PJ sets she had for her bridesmaids. It’s the first time I’ve seen that and I thought it was super cute. Overall, the day was magical – I’m so lucky to have been there documenting their love story! Thank you Elizabeth and Austin, we had a great time- you guys are awesome!

Posted in Weddings

Cork Board Project!

Thursday, January 20, 2011 Posted in Crafty Projects, Personal

Hey Ya’ll! I’m just taking a little break from editing today to share one of my recent craft projects with you! I started this tack board probably about 4 months ago, maybe even longer. It all started when I broke a mirror… BOOO I know! I was trying to hang it and I pushed too hard and there it went, a crack all the way down the center. So what was I going to do with it? I saved the broken mirror pieces which I am sure will find it’s home someday when I use them for another craft project. I was left with the mirror frame and didn’t want to throw it out…. I decided I wanted to make a tack cork board for my office so I can hang up all the cards that my clients mail me.

So here is my process of turning a mishap into art. These are all taken on my iphone- so quality isn’t that good, but you get the gist!

First Randy helped me cut the cork, so that it would fit right in the frame.

What it looked like before I started laying newspaper – nice but just boring..

Day One!! I’m outside enjoying the beautiful sun on the patio table. Started putting down the first few pieces. It’s easy… just cut paper into strips, then paint on the glue with a small paint brush, next just lay strips across.

Day Two!! I’m inside now- about 3 months later, haha! The pieces will hang over, that’s okay- you can cut them off later.

Lexie really enjoys laying on whatever project I have going on….. Laundry, Newspaper, Magazines, you name it!

Day Three!! Another couple of months later.. I am now at my parents house working on this. It’s a Sunday, Mom was cooking, I took the day off, just enjoying the day, being lazy, etc…