Kathleen & Brett [Iowa City, IA Engagement]

Kathleen was one of the first people I met through the family I work for (she is their daughter's best friend) when I moved to Iowa City, she was 15 at the time (seriously, this makes me feel so old!!). I remember her introduction very clearly, "Hi, I'm Kathleen, Jess' best friend! You'll be seeing a lot of me." Turns out this was a very good thing, as Kathleen is one of the kindest, not to mention one of the funniest people I've ever known. Last fall I had the pleasure of taking photos of Kathleen and Brett (they modeled for me on a random Saturday), which is when I officially met Brett for the first time. Brett is just as kind and funny as Kathleen, and they both truly have the biggest, most genuine hearts - making them both beautiful inside and out.

I feel so incredibly blessed to know these two, and honored that they chose me to document their big day next August. I had such a wonderful time taking their photos last Friday morning, they are so deeply in love and I think it really comes across in these photos. Enjoy!

















I just love this next series of 3 images...














I think this one is my favorite, but it's so hard to choose!








At the end of the session, Kathleen asked if I could get some shots of them walking down the bridge. After walking a little ways, they began to skip. It was so cute, and 100% them. These two images make me so happy, I hope they make you smile too!

Thankful

I just wanted to take a minute to give thanks today. I hope you are enjoying your day off with your family and friends & eating delicious food!

Thanks to my wonderful clients who trust me to document their lives and important events. I will forever be grateful for your support, I truly have the best clients and am thankful every single day.

Thanks to my husband, family, and friends who support me no matter what. Thank you for helping me fulfill my dreams.

Thanks to Einstein for making me smile every day, just by being such a cute, furry mammal.

I am so grateful for every opportunity and experience that comes my way, and I hope that many great things come your way too. Happy Thanksgiving.

Party Time, Excellent...

A little Wayne's World reference for you on this Wednesday! Anyways, I apologize for the lack in posting recently. I have been battling a bit of a cold, so took last week off and am just now getting back into the swing of things. I hope you all are staying healthy as this weather keeps switching from beautiful to frigid (can you believe it snowed last week?) and back again!

I took these photos at Myelle's 1st birthday party the last weekend in October. Lindsay (her mom) and I became good friends after we met when I did Myelle's 6 month session back in the spring. I was invited as a guest to the party, and brought along my camera to take a few snapshots. I mainly wanted to share the decor photos, as Lindsay and her mom Marita are pretty much AMAZING. I wish they would plan parties for me! :) All of the Halloween decorations were so cute, classy, and perfect for the occasion. I especially love the little banner that Lindsay made, featuring a photo from each month of Myelle's first year of life.

New Look

You may have noticed the new look around here lately, and I wanted to take a minute to say a huge thanks to the team at Braizen - Ashley, Alicja, and Tyrie were just some of the individuals I had personal contact with and they were amazing.


Branding was a new experience for me, as the original Jen Madigan Photography logo was one I came up with by myself one afternoon (and clearly I'm no graphic designer!!). I wanted something that people would remember, and that was truly unique to me. So, after filling out a very long questionnaire and speaking with Ashley on the phone, they came up with 4 wonderful concepts. We ended up merging two of them to come up with the gorgeous branding that you see before you (also thanks to Penny Lane Designs for helping me by implementing the branding into my blog design!).

One thing I wanted to incorporate, as you all know, is my spoiled little sidekick Einstein. Turns out that it was fate that Mr. Ein would end up being a part of my branding because my last name, Madigan just so happens to mean "little dog". (Cue Twilight Zone music now...)

Anyways, I hope you all love this new branding as much as I do - I was so excited for it all to be implemented (and my new business cards should arrive soon I hope!) from the moment that I saw the finished product. Honestly I can't thank the Braizen team enough for doing such a wonderful job.

Hope you all are having a fantastic week!!

Emersyn [Newborn]

I'm sure most of you remember Chelsea and Richard, my first wedding couple from last October. Chelsea contacted me this summer to get on the schedule for newborn photos and I was ecstatic! It's one of the best parts of my job, getting to see my clients' families grow, and I was so thrilled for Chelsea and Richard. The lovely Miss Emersyn Belle was born on October 23rd, and so this past Sunday I traveled up to their home in Independence to take her newborn photos.

Truly this baby is one of the most gorgeous I've ever seen, and she was such a good little model!! I can't say enough good things about this baby girl (or her parents), so I should just let the photos speak for themselves. Chelsea and Richard - I hope you like the preview! It was wonderful seeing you again, I'm so happy for you both. Josh and I feel lucky to have met you, and we hope to be able to document many more milestones in your lives.

*Special thanks to Andrea from ForeverHandmade for loaning me some of the headbands and a blanket used in this session. Credit is given above the photos in which these items were used. You can visit her store HERE.













I don't normally take detail photos like this but I couldn't resist this time - those lips!!


The cream headband in the following photo is courtesy of Andrea from ForeverHandmade on Etsy. You can visit her store HERE.


Chelsea crocheted this sweet pink hat, I just love it.




The brown flower headband, red headband, and cream blanket in the following photos are courtesy of Andrea from ForeverHandmade on Etsy. You can visit her store HERE.