Jeannine Pound Photography: Blog

Jayden - Mount Si Class of '24

Wed, 29 Nov 2023 21:15:53 GMT

I have been looking forward to photographing Jayden since he was about 10 years old! His mom, Amberly, & I had talked about doing a family photoshoot with their her "Littles" forever ~ and now finally that day arrived for me, for Jayden's senior portraits!!

Jayden just finished his Mount Si 2023 Football season

~ with honors!

Jayden was named by the Kingco Football Coaches:

2023 All-League 1st Team Guard

2023 All-League 1st Team Defensive Lineman

& special recognition

2023 All-Conference Lineman of the Year

Congratulations!!!

Amberly had been my daughter Joy's horseback riding instructor. She was very understanding, I think she understood Joy's hopes and fears as my daughter perched on the various horses, moving around and around the small barn or the large arena, working on leg pressure and the slightest shift of position as clear communication to the animals. Amberly was encouraging and stern in appropriate amounts, she was great!!

I know this year is poignant for Jayden's mum ~ enjoying every part of having him at home until her son moves away to play for the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds for Division 1 football next year.

I so enjoy planning our photography sessions with my clients, I like asking where you would like to shoot, and what outfits to bring ~ Jayden mentioned the Elk Fields near North Bend ~ and the elk obliged :)

They entered the field as we did. One large bull led the herd, and another large bull trailed the rear of the group of about 50 animals. Both the bull at the front and at the rear kept an eye on us as their family passed through, both pausing to check out our action :) I think they were reassured that all was well :)

Jayden_-_Mount_Si_Class_of_24 Jayden_-_Mount_Si_Class_of_24

Thank you to my friend Josée Clermont for assisting on this crisp Fall afternoon! Thank you for the little video clips included in our Session Movie!

Jayden! I had so much fun with you! I'm happy for you and your family

& when I think of you I'll be praying for all God's strength & goodness in your new adventures!

Happy Senior Year!!

Summertime with Lauren ~ Tesla STEM Class of 2024 :)

Tue, 07 Nov 2023 00:18:37 GMT

Lauren!! I hope all your dreams come true :) I have so enjoyed cheering for Lauren in her club soccer career alongside my Zoe a few years ago, and I've enjoyed connecting with her family through her younger sister's volleyball with my Zoe & Sasha ~ this was a special time for me to get to know Lauren a little bit better ~ just herself :) We outlined what we were looking for as far as locations (fields, flowers, river) and matched the locations to her favorite outfits in advance ~ no surprises on the day ✔️

This was an early August session between Fall City and Snoqualmie :) If you are wondering when to book your photography and you love the colors and locations in Lauren's session, ask for a week in July through mid-August ✔️

We can plan our Session to the minute, but I NEVER know which outfit / location will be my personal favorite until we are there, looking at what we have in the back of my camera ~ with Lauren, for me, it was the tall yellow grass with her white skirt & denim jacket ~ I love this whole series so much!

Before showing more in the dry grassy field, this is our Session Movie ~ an overview of our afternoon ~

Thank you Jo James for assisting with photography and video on this pretty afternoon!

It is so valuable to narrow down our clothing options in advance, so everything is 1, 2, 3 easy peasy on the day. We knew that Lauren's silk summer top would flow with this section of the Snoqualmie River :) The whole scene related to images she had chosen as favorites prior to our Planning Session.

Let's go bouldering:

We are thankful to SC Farms on Fall City Carnation Road SE for their hospitality in their flower fields! We arranged timing in advance, and made a donation via Venmo for using their beautiful fields, we were gentle in our walk through the stems, and we often purchase bouquets at their fresh farm stand, or U-Pick. Bright colors! Such variety :) I like to bless SC Farms with grateful business so we are always welcome to photograph in their "workplace" :)

Lauren never wears much makeup in regular daily life, and she invited Kelli Strok ~ Makeup Artist to her home earlier on photo day because Kelli has a light & bright touch that is not at all too much ~ This was about an hour prior to starting our photography. Thank you to Kelli :) And Lauren does her own hair ~ flowing like the fields!

Now back to SC Farms, with some color variety :)

Lauren has been thriving at Tesla STEM High School ~ this tells me that she is a young woman with drive and academic acuity & curiosity ~ it is a choice school and a challenge!! She seems to have taken it in stride. She doesn't express stress, she has a serene countenance and playful relationships with her family, who ALL joined us at the beginning of our shoot for some sisters and family shots! This family laughs and hugs and teases ~ Lauren has a beautiful base before she launches!! Graduation will be this June 2024! She is interested in aerospace, engineering, perhaps flight school too ~ she seems calm, cool & collected ~ I think she's looking forward to new goals :)

Sunset at Sno-Falls Lavender, with yellow roses a well :)

Lauren! I am thankful that the Creator God made you just the way you are, with a sweet & humble nature and willingness to play :) Thank you for hanging out with me and making fun portraits!! I'm glad I know you!!

Lauren's ❤️ Verse:

"And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

~ Philippians 4:7

Family Portraits - quick & sweet at home

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 21:14:15 GMT

Suman & Melanie have a typical issue when it comes to making family portraits - it has been a LONG TIME, in part because life can be so busy! And their son is so crazy busy with sports (hockey) and just finding that time is hard to do - but we made it happen :) One outfit, 30 minutes, at their home, in between work and evening activities :) And it was perfect!

This is all Melanie wanted - a current family portrait :)

But we had some fun too :)

And I really wanted to get a fun portrait of Kaden at this age,

and he was amenable :)

He did his tattoo himself :)

He is in town for the summer, then back to his East Coast high school for serious hockey players in the Fall -

& the men :)

Suman was a professional wedding photographer in a previous era of life!

Shoebox Photography

& he has the know-how! he knew just how to get Melanie giggling ;)

These summer days are long and the beautiful "golden hour" stretches deep into the evening on weekday nights!

If you'd like family portraits,

call / write / text me

we can make that happen :)

Thank you, Suman, Melanie & Kaden!

I had fun!

Lauren!! Congratulations!! Class of '23 Woot! woot!

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 01:09:10 GMT

This shoot was such a pleasure for me!!

After getting to know her very outgoing big brother, Anthony, nearly 3 years ago for his senior portraits, I was so pleased to work with Lauren's Dad, Phillip, to make headshots for the City of Lake Forest Park mayor & city council ~ red, white blue & green! And all this time I have heard about Lauren, and that some day I would meet their sister & daughter, Lauren, and I've had it on my radar that I would get to meet her finally for her grad portraits!!

We sat down in Lauren’s kitchen for our Planning Session

and I immediately felt a connection because we both love Disney and Pirates of the Caribbean:) This came up while we were perusing portraits that I love on my Pinterest Inspiration Board ~
and Lauren was selecting portraits that stand out to her, and we talked about what she liked about them ~
the outfit? The expression? The colors? The lighting?

It was very apparent that we must have flowers ~ and dresses ~ and flowing fabric :)

And after the discovery of our mutual Pirates joviality, her corset was definitely in order :)

but we refrained from acting out the scene of the damsel plunging into the water ~

The week of our shoot, Lauren had her outfits ready to go, and on the afternoon of our portrait session we started at home with hair by Gretchen Delusky and makeup with Kelli Strok. And we whisked Lauren away to Sweet Blissful Blooms in Fall City, where the dahlias were blooming…

Thank you, Jo James! for assisting at the flower fields!

It was a short jaunt to the lower parking lot of Snoqualmie Falls. There is a beautiful thick forest -

and the river :)

Thank you to Lauren's mum, Melinda, who I believe helped Lauren decide on her fun jewelry!!!

Thank you to Lauren's pop, Phillip, who managed the pup and the reflector!

I love the boulders in this area.

And I love girl's best friend joining the party!

Lauren's pup, Holly, has delicate fur that flows in the waterfall breeze -

close up! Holly & Lauren!

At this time of night, the still parts of the Snoqualmie reflect the trees and colors of the evening sky -

Lauren graduated on June 8th!!

From the Woodinville High Medical Professions Academy :)

The school sounds amazing - already at the end of high school, she is well on her way to her profession, nursing - and she will continue the journey at the University of Washington this Fall!

🎉 Congratulations, LAUREN!!! 🎉

And check out or Session Movie

thank you Jo James for vid clips:

Lauren_-_Class_of_23 Lauren_-_Class_of_23

Chris - EHS Class of '23 - Congratulations :)

Mon, 12 Jun 2023 17:49:10 GMT

Chris_-_Class_of_23 Chris_-_Class_of_23 I started photographing Chris' family in late 2019 when they came to a family mini session day at Evans Creek Preserve. This is nearly 4 years later, and it was fun for me to ask Chris what he would like to do for himself; for HIS senior portraits. He wasn't too hot on the whole idea of photographs of himself, but he did it! He did it for his Mum :) Thank you. And we planned a couple places he would enjoy the most. The first was the gravel trail that runs along Remlinger Farm in Carnation. This is the Snoqualmie Valley Trail. It is quiet, it runs over rivers and through the trees, avoiding cars and towns. It is peaceful. It was beautiful in the late Autumn. And I appreciated getting to know this place ~ I had always been curious about this trail but I had never been here before.

Chris runs here with (and without) his Eastlake High School cross country team. Some of his best friends are his teammates. I have heard all great comments about the team camaraderie at Eastlake XC.

The trail crosses a river just to the North of the bridge that crosses the road into Remlinger.

We loved the color of the water below the bridge.

Thank you to Chris' mum, Kristi, and to Jo James for assisting!

Time to bring out the Track swag!

It sounds like it was a fun & crazy year to be on the Eastlake boys' distance squad !

Chris' whole family loves being outdoors, with some favorite sports being skiing & running -

Chris' second scene of choice was ... his home!

The back park-like yard, where Chris chops wood and plays with his dog, Max!

Chris and his family have been at my church, Pine Lake Covenant, for many years now :)

& I'm hoping to keep hearing word about him and seeing him once in a while after he goes to college!

Chris, I'm excited for you ~ for your future, for having had these solid years as your base,

and for your independent flight :)

May the Lord bless you and keep you and be your All in All :)

Ana!! Happy Graduation!

Thu, 08 Jun 2023 21:49:44 GMT

Ana!! Thank you for trusting me with your seniors!!

Happy Bear Creek Graduation!!!

I met Ana when she & Joy were soccer teammates in 1st grade!

(see the last portrait of this post!)

I had so much fun making senior portraits with her big brother, Daniel :)

And I looked forward to making Ana's portraits with her :)

Planning this session was a ball. It was fun for me to hear about what interests Ana.

We were given permission to utilize the theater of The Bear Creek School for portraits with Ana's oboe:

And we brainstormed ~ where to play with Ana's pup, Penny 🐶 ?

I loved Penny's coloring with Ana's white summer dress in the golden sugar sand and jewel toned river that winds through Duvall:

The color of this river with the sky reflection and greenery reflection was so gorgeous!! I loved it with Ana's white summer dress!!! #yestothedress

Ana does her own makeup 💄 and mom Ayoleida helped with Ana's hair ~ and swears you don't have to do much, her hair bounces with natural curls!

BUBBLES!

Local locations are wonderful, the easier to fit multiple scenes and outfits into our shoot :)

I am so grateful that we found opportunity to dance in a field of sunflowers :)

This is Lora Lee's A Maze Zing Sunflowers

and Lora Lee welcomes reservations by photographers!!

Get this dress!!

Ana, mi corazón está ligero y feliz ~

I'm excited for your future & grateful to know you :)

Enjoy the University of Oregon!!!

🙏🏻 Lord, I love this creation of yours, Ana! Bless her with a deep abiding dependence on your path for her future! Thank you that I know her! 🙏🏻

FLASHBACK!!

So fun!!

Ana is just to the right of middle,

my daughter, Joy, is top row far left,

and Ana's Pops, Coach Javier, who showed my family how to coach in a really awesome positive serious&fun way, is the coach at middle left :)

Ray! Eastlake Class of '23!!

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 03:53:34 GMT

Ray took me to a favorite spot for sunset! Wide open spaces with forests in view forever - even though we are looking over multiple towns in the lowlands and foothills, we wouldn't know the extent of that, it looks like a few homes but forest and sky forever - gorgeous :) This was super fun for me, I have been able to meet most of Ray's family in the last couple years and it just made me so happy that they trusted me for these senior portraits :) :) :)

I love that they chose this photo :)

Goodness, I love this one:

Thank you to Ray's Mum, Beth and to Jo James for helping on this sun drenched evening!

And the sun disappeared :)

And this pic makes me very happy :)

I loved getting to know Ray a little bit more as we discussed ideas for our portraits - and I'm hoping to keep hearing about their adventures in college and interests - what movies light them up, what music is the most enthralling - Ray, I'm so glad to know you, I want to stay in your loop :)

Goodbye High School!

Congratulations!!!

!!!

Kaylee ~ Redmond High School '23 Grad!!

Tue, 30 May 2023 23:07:11 GMT

Oh, I'm apologizing in advance Kaylee because lower on this page I have to show a baby photo ;) and a Little photo ;)

because they are so cute!

& because they are part of my own history too :)

Crazy fun for me to make senior portraits with you!!

Kaylee is my first person to photograph actually lifting in a weight room :)

Love this!

Kaylee usually lifts at her club, but we made our portraits in her family's home gym:

The best part was that I was constantly

"okay, hold that!" "oh - could you do that again?" "hmmm.. we can do better, repeat that?" "hold right there!"

Work Out Instructor Jeannine ;) Horrible! oh-so-patient with me, Kaylee!

But I do think K was having fun ;)

All of that was just one part of our Senior Portrait Session -

Another part was our trip to the University of Washington in Seattle - for the graffiti :)

Thank you "Saria" for this entire wall!!!

Is this funny green fellow (below) so funny?!?! what IS it?? a gas pump? a robot. a robot's claw? I like him. Thank you C2D!

Seattle's graffiti went nuts during COVID and has remained strong...

I personally love artistic graffiti -

Thank you Artists :)

There is something desperate about it - it is so very temporary -

It reminds me of making photos - the moments are extremely temporary - except we are holding onto them with our cameras -

Thank you to Jo James! For assisting!

Thank you to Kelli Strok for Kaylee's makeup!

Kaylee's vehicle :)

Our last location

was near Kaylee's grandparents' home

on the Kirkland Waterfront

at sunset:

Are you ready for the Little photos??

Aargh! My plans have been foiled - I need some help from Carolyn Victor or Amy Wagner - I'm looking for a photo of Kaylee & Joy sitting on Alki Beach with volleyballs, at an age where they were just sitting up ! Would have been 2009 - When I find, will insert here :)

Meanwhile...

One of my first photoshoots, back in 2013, was at Carolyn Victor's home :)

and this shot is one of my faves, with Kaylee with her cousin, Austin!

Love!

Kaylee!

I sooooo enjoyed hanging out with you when you were 0 years old on the beach and at the lake, and when you were about 8 years old making family photos with your grandparents, and when you were flower girl then junior bridesmaid at your cousins' weddings and finally making photos that YOU like for YOU, and I am excited for your next steps!!!

HUGE HAPPY GRADUATION!!!!

❤️

This is our Slideshow Movie of Kaylee's Senior Portrait Session:

Kjell - Class of '23 High School Grad :)

Wed, 24 May 2023 20:11:56 GMT

My good friend Kim connected me with Kjell's family ~ Kim and I have so enjoyed making her daughter's portraits, one session at home on their farm, and the other at the waterfront in Seattle :) I received a phone call from Kim one afternoon - she was in a car with her good friend, Teri, and Teri's son, Kjell - Kim introduced us to each other above the cacophony of the road, and wow! we were on our way to making plans for senior portraits!!! Can I mention how I love meeting people via recommendations!! I so love all the people-connections :) I visited Kjell's home soon after, and we sketched out his many ideas came up with a plan for his super fun and personalized shoot!

I was so intrigued with Kjell's first idea - 1910s-style photographs with a model of the Titanic he had put together :)

We decided on his pea coat for an ocean-going look,

and found contemporary photos of the Titanic's owner, architect & captain to inspire us :)

Kjell's mum, Teri, is a hair designer, so Kjell's hair was 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼 for his photo day!

Thank you to Jo James for assisting! Every shoot is even more fun (and easier for me!) with Jo :)

We made these photographs in Kjell's home, because our next scenario was on his home turf :)

And with his animals!

Let's call her Henny :) ~ Autumn ~

Kjell's whole family was present for this photoshoot ~

parents, sister, brother, nephews & nieces ~ and everybody joined in for family photographs,

we had a ball!

Our mutual friend, Kim, helped too!

The indoor pets were represented as well :)

I am so grateful for the adventures I get to enjoy alongside my clients, getting to know each family and making friends along the way.

I love bright new ideas and the dive I get to take with my people into their lives for an afternoon,

I'm grateful I get to experience the people & places & pets & activities that are special to each heart.

My prayer as I peruse these memories:

"Lord, bless this close-knit family!

Further encourage their close relationships with You and with each other

as Kjell leaves high school & experiences his next moves in life!

Amen" :)

Ashley - Eastlake High School Class of '23

Sun, 21 May 2023 21:53:52 GMT

I have known Ashley since she was an itty bitty at Samantha Smith Elementary! I get nostalgic with these young adults ~ especially when I can still picture her as 4 feet tall! Ashley enjoyed Varsity diving for Eastlake High School this year, so even as we had hair and makeup happening earlier in the day, we knew we were going to splash all the work away into deep cold dives by the end of our Photography Session!! Going with the cool water theme, we started our photography at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah -

Thank you to Kelli Strok (makeup) and Gretchen Delusky (hair)!

Services provided one after the other at Ashley's home - so convenient!!

Ashley has a passion for her Band family!

She has played her euphonium with this group for nearly half her life!

Fantastic inspirational band teachers at Inglewood Middle School ~ like "Taps" and Mr. Tran ~ inspired students into a HUGE Band at the middle school, emphasizing the teamwork and "family" of band students.

Two years of COVID restrictions and at-home school were a challenge! Mr. Dahlberg was swept into his Band teacher role along with the beginnings of COVID, and managed the transition to Teams online studies(!) When the high school band were able to play in person again, he was a newbie to the longstanding Eastlake halftime show culture! AND unfortunately was out with COVID for 10 days just before Eastlake's first halftime show in years! It was an awesome opportunity for upper classmen who had played halftime shows in the past to provide leadership for the younger students!

Our marching band at our football games enjoys putting on a show, Ashley was section leader this year :)

Each year, the Eastlake Band holds at least one celebration at Beaver Lake Park ~

so this park on another lake was another obvious choice for a senior portrait location for Ashley :)

And like my Eastlake kid, Joy, it was important to Ashley to make portraits in her regular every day clothes

in addition to her dresses that she loves -

especially for her senior yearbook portrait :)

Her Big Hero 6 bomber jacket & fun concert T's or logos to the beat of her own drum - these are Ash's staples :)

Thank you so much to Ashley's mom, Annette, for helping on this day,

and Jo James for assisting ~ Jo, I love working with you!

Thank you to Fiona! for making us so welcome at your home on the lake for these diving & swimming photographs ~

as the diver ended her beautiful September day with a dip in Lake Sammamish :)

Thank you Suman Chakrabarti for welcoming me to borrow 2 of your Canon lenses, I love the fisheye effect on the photo that begins our "Session Movie" :)

Session Movie Session Movie

Ashley!!

I had so much fun with YOU!!

You are a fellow imaginator & whimsicality lover ~ and you also possess a precise brass-tacks logistical mind that will enable your dreams to come true :)

Congratulations & I hope you enjoy your graduation next month!!!

❤️

Zach - Class of '23!

Tue, 09 May 2023 21:11:54 GMT

Big Congratulations, Zach! Soon to be a graduate, Class of '23!!

This was our SUNRISE Senior Photography Session last summer!

I'm so grateful for your willingness to make this happen this early - we had the baseball field all to ourselves -

and the sunlight was gorgeous:

Zach's Dad, Dan, played catcher & fed me great input for fun baseball shots!!

Zach's mom, Elaine, likes to plan ahead :) I am so happy that she discovered my little photography biz

and booked Zach's session a year in advance :)

As last summer approached, we refined Zach's booking beautifully

into his busy summer work and baseball schedule.

My friend Jo assisted, making video clips (see Session Movie at end of post) and a variety of photography angles :)

We are thankful for Tiffany Blake for Zach's family's hair styling

and Kelli Strok Makeup for Elaine, because we made family portraits as part of Zach's session :)

Tiffany & Kelli both arrived at Zach's family's home before 6am!

We liked this old painted & rusty metal background, I think it is interesting & it matches Zach's eyes :)

This forest is a place Zach knows well.

The trails are a common terrain for his cross country team, and close enough to his own home that he runs here often.

I love combining a more casual look with a dressier look, so a sport jacket on the trails was perfect :)

Our Session Movie :)

Zach's family chose a Signature Album with a brushed metal cover image.

We used an artsy black and white on the cover :)

We made several drafts, customized for Zach.

The day that Zach's mom, Elaine, received her Signature Album, she texted me:

"Thanks again, Jeannine. The book is exceptional and exceeded our expectations!"

Zach and Family, thank you for trusting me with your Senior Portraits!! I'm thankful for you :)

Joy Melody - Eastlake High School senior 2023 - and my kid :)

Tue, 18 Apr 2023 21:16:20 GMT

I'm feeling a bit nostalgic, quite hopeful and content, & a tad overwhelmed -

I've photographed so many so fun high school seniors over the years but - this girl is mine!!

My Joy will walk at graduation in 2 months! :) :) :)

Joy has assisted my photoshoots over many years, and it was just fun for me that she had been imagining ideas for her own senior portraits :)

We invited Kelli Strok, our makeup artist, and Gretchen Delusky for Joy's hair to our home the morning of our shoot,

and service at home was sooooo convenient & appreciated!

Joy envisioned her portraits in a field of tiny white flowers - and we were blessed with a verrrry looooong summer so we still had flowers in mid-October(!)

We were treated so well by Angela at Sweet Blissful Blooms in Fall City. Angela welcomed us to roam her fields and make our portraits. We bought bunches of flowers and had a BALL!

Cute video showing off this treasure of a flower farm is here: Sweet Blissful Blooms on YouTube.

Little white flowers! Asters :)

The jacket, the petite dress, so much fun...

Here's a secret ... there were only two rows of the tiny white asters left! They had been harvested, but the Lord provided - two rows was all we needed :)

And these lovely autumn standbys coming into bloom were just the colors for Joy's light carefree dress -

It was fun for our family that Joy used gifts or ideas from so many of us in her clothing choices -

It was a fun surprise for Grandma Janice & Grandpa Bill when they saw her photos and recognized her cross necklace.

Grandma Trish placed a few perfect stitches in Joy's dress to customize the fit so nicely :)

You'll see below the hat which was a souvenir from a special trip with Dad :)

And I enjoyed treasure hunting w/ my girl for pieces especially for this day!

The flower field was lovely - I felt like it could be the whole shoot and finished, but

on this day in Fall City it seemed that everywhere we looked was fun & picturesque -

and we wanted a couple more looks ;)

Over the river and through the woods -

Joy knew she wanted to use her cowboy hat -

She picked this up at a horseback ranch in Montana that she visited with her Dad, Tony, during a daddy-daughter vacation together when she was 16.

Serendipity is beautiful -

the summer had been smoky but all that mess in the sky made for a gorgeous orange sunset on this night!

The color in the sky went really nicely with the vibe of Joy's hat,

and then we noticed the dandelions in seed,

and these last portraits are some of my favorites :)

The album Joy chose is at home on its shelf in our living room:

(The framed photograph behind it was taken by my cousin, Amanda, when Joy was born!)

That's it except for a little video...

I'm just going to tear up now and swallow this lump in my throat -

I love this kid!!!

Marisa & Ben - RECEPTION!

Fri, 12 Aug 2022 11:44:46 GMT

Ben & Marisa have just been pronounced Husband & Wife ~ see the previous blog post ~ & the party is just beginning! The newlyweds took a few private minutes to savor the moment and realize how their lives have changed. Then they made their Grand Entrance from the "cabin", beneath the lights...

... to open the beautiful feast catered by CG Public House of Kennewick and featuring a separate creation by cooks (& friends of the family) Greg & Gregg: their BRISKET was mmmm- savory amazing goodness :) a highlight of the meal :)

Games & activities were everywhere during Ben & Marisa's reception,

even a visit by miniature donkeys for the kids!

Plus "Mr. & Mrs." corn hole

& giant jenga ~

& guest collaboration painting a canvas of memories in brushstrokes for Ben & Marisa,

the Bridle Bar serving up custom lemonades & a Mac & Jack's on tap & a fun lavender cider

Guests & Family at Ben & Marisa's reception, download your photographs here!

The white tent was beautiful with seating for all

Party favor place cards were created by Marisa's Mum, Lauren: homemade jellies with various (sometimes personalized) levels of spicy hot peppers :)

The exquisite rustic chic cake by Kerri's Cakes

Toasts & Speeches! Ben's Best Man, Gavin:

Marisa's sisters & Maids of Honor, Kara & Julia, introduced new lyrics to a classic Italian love song...

Dr. Wickerath & Dr. Titus -inspired lyrics

but were... corrected / interrupted... mid-song...

by a classicist -

You MUST watch THIS,

I was dying, I loved this interruption...

(THANK YOU so much Dave Davidson for contributing this phone-video!)

Video Clip 4 TY Dave Davidson Wickerath Sibs at Reception

This family!

Bud & Jim each toasty-roasted their kids!!

And Popi took his turn!

& Marisa thanked Eduardo for all of his help with all the wedding prep:

I loved the roses & birch round for the simply delicious cake & cupcakes by Kerri's Cakes

And as the sun began to set,

Ben & Marisa moved to their outdoor dance floor :)

Floor installation & string lights & white tent & tables, etc., were all set up solidly by Bear Event Services.

Our Entertainment Plus Disc Jockey was ON IT with the sound & music throughout.

I am so looking forward to video from videographer AWolfey Productions, but meanwhile, our first dance from my perspective:

Father Daughter time?

Sedate & Classic?

Let's get this party started!

Mother & Son dance - it is rumored that Bernadetta found this layered perfection dress at Nordstrom :) Love how it flows!

And with that, our guests are called to action :)

Let the night begin!

Dance Off!

Hmmmmm..... which guests will tie the knot next????

Let's find out -

We dance :)

Eventually, everyone moved closer to the music :)

Under the tent:

Thank you to my dance partner & 2nd photographer on this night, Jean Nissen (ne'e Webster, a newlywed herself!) who kept me dancing instead of only photographing & reminded me to eat and drink and did not allow a single piece of equipment to be left behind! You were awesome!

True to Tradition,

Ben & Marisa are not going to have a grand send-off and leave the party ~

they are going to dance until the night is through ~

I am SO HAPPY for B&M!!!

And their families :)
My heart is still so full from just participating in this day ~

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I'm looking forward to completing their wedding album :) :) :)

Guests & Family, be sure to find & download your photographs here :)

Goodnight All!

Marisa & Ben ~ WEDDING in Cascade Mountain Air

Sun, 03 Jul 2022 03:28:00 GMT

This family is a joy to just "be" with ~ I feel so blessed to be welcomed into the midst of them all !

Today I am describing July 2, 2022 ~ the wedding celebration of

Ben & Marisa :)

A bonus of this occasion for me was the presence & assistance of my Adventure Buddy & 2nd Photographer, Jean :)

Jean & I had access to Ben's groom's quarters in Roslyn, mid-morning on the wedding day - after we found it - I admit, I committed a city girl faux pas - eyes on Waze - or it was more likely Apple Maps because... we may be the first photographers to detour down a tiny little cart path in our search for this stylin' Groom's House! Found it! after a 12-point-U-turn :) This was the home of Ben's father's friend, Walker. It is a quintessential groom's house, this place is cool...

All the boys were there, having breakfast and telling Ben-stories :)

Yep, golf is on TV and just below the wall of glass overlooking a pretty tee and long fairway dropping away for a view of rolling Cascade foothills, at Sun Country Golf Course :)

Jean & I were fortunate enough to be present for the popping of the celebratory champagne :)

... and in a quieter moment, Ben wrote a note ...

Meanwhile,

the girls' house was as full as could be of action & makeup in mirrors & silky floral robes & flowers galore...

This is Marisa's family "cabin" in Cle Elum.

This is the place with the view of the Stuart Range across the pastures, the place where she grew up riding her horses, the place where she hosted a group of fellow University students for a getaway from the strain of medical school and that is when this became the place where she fell in love with Ben :)

I believe that Marisa's sisters joked that M had long known she wanted to be married at this place, and then needed to find the perfect man :)

Check!

Friends & family set tables beneath the white tent in the pasture, and delivered bouquets by Simplified Celebrations: layers upon layers of petals & sage green leaves:

Inside the home, with all the pattering of bare feet up & down stairs and sharing of mirrors & hugs, Marisa gave gifts apropos to this place & time ~

silver handmade bracelets from Stampede Jewelry by the Sisters in Suede :)

Mimosa refreshers with champagne identical to the boys’ :

& after Makeup with Kelli Strok, & during hair with Esther, & before trading her robe for her wedding dress,

Marisa read her note written from Ben ~

& then she was ready

This occasion, this commitment before loving friends & family, has been delayed & anticipated ~

Ben & Marisa's engagement photography sessions were in the summer of 2020.

Marisa was not able to have her grandmothers physically present during her in-store wedding dress shopping, but she brought them with her virtually :)

& then, fittingly, she had found the dress she was excited for via the 2020-way, online shopping :)

... Delicate lace train & buttons forever.

Ben & Marisa will be together always ~ so a small delay of just over one year from 2021-2022 to allow COVID prevention measures to take effect ~ what's one year in the grand scheme? Because of the delay, instead of being married as "baby docs" - newbie MDs - following their UW graduation, now they each have one year of full credentials lined up after their last names, they have now been

Dr. Titus & Dr. Wickerath, living & working in Denver, CO for over a year ~

So the "First Look" ~ the surprise factor at the beginning of this day ~ was very special for them. Marisa had managed to keep her dress a secret from her Ben, and it still fits her like a glove.

Ben's pale green bow tie & grey suit were splendid with the colors of the desert green succulents in the bouquets, and the bright pastel grass of the fields & spring sagebrush ~ there was an excessive amount of rain on the Cascades this Spring!

Ben left for the wildflower lupine field first...

And closed his eyes.

Family "Formals" were made with Ben & Marisa's wedding arch, a ranch style arch showcasing the mountains beyond with eucalyptus leaves:

Fun boots with flowing fabrics :)

This is when the heavy clouds began to roll in ~ and the wind to blow ~

and guests arrived & were seated ~ and the string trio began to play fun songs :)

On the strings are Marisa's godparents & their son, the family:

Carrie Rehkopf Michel on violin

John Michel on cello

Bryan Michel on violin

Pastor Dennis Hickman took his place and our families & bridal party entered :)

The wind arrived & played with dress fabrics throughout the ceremony :)

THANK YOU so much to the Wickerath & Titus family friends who contributed this phone-video clip of

Ben & Bernadetta & Bud walking the aisle to the Michel family's arrangement of "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles:

Video Clip 2 TY contributor - Ben walking aisle - Here Comes the Sun

& TY to the person who gave the Mother of the Bride this phone-clip of Austin walking his mum Lauren:

Thank you SO MUCH to both: Dave Davidson for this first phone-video clip, and our Italian family friends for the 2nd clip

of Marisa & Jim as they walk toward Ben who is waiting for them at the Arch

as the Michel family plays their arrangement of Elvis' "I Can't Help Falling in Love":

Video Clip 5 TY Dave Davidson Marisa walking aisle and blowing kiss Video Clip 3 TY Italians - Marisa walking aisle - i cant help falling in love

Marriage certificate is being signed

& we are officially...

Husband & Wife

Ben & Marisa are grabbing a few private moments before making their

Grand Entrance at their RECEPTION!

Next post!

Family & Guests of Ben & Marisa, please find and download photos here!

Celebrating THIS couple ~ Marisa & Ben

Fri, 24 Jun 2022 19:33:10 GMT

Today I am contentedly diving into memories of this beautiful engagement session for...

Marisa & Ben

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8 days from today - we will be celebrating with them as they tie the knot in Cle Elum, WA...

The memories shared today are actually from 2 years ago, the Spring of 2020.

I'm so looking forward to being with them again next week!!

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I'm starting from the end of our day ^ back in late June 2020 ~ We hiked the Saddle Rock trail to be there at sunset. This trail was new to me and gorgeous. The views overlook all of Wenatchee. The mountain is always there above the city. All the colors were pinks and deep red-browns. The trail was steep and worth it.

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Ben & Marisa met at the meet & greet for the UW medical school student body... each on the verge of the exciting and grueling world of medical school - I'm sure the occasion was celebratory - each student had been accepted to begin this new chapter in life - and I'm guessing there were nerves as well - hopes & dreams while trying to push away fears?

They had been acquaintances / friends within this larger group of med students ~ their impressions of each other increasingly positive ~

(LMK, M&B if we need edits to your story!)

And it was during a group trip to Marisa's family cabin / home in Cle Elum

that Marisa fell for Ben head over heels all-in :)

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Next weekend, July 2, 2022 ~ their WEDDING ~ will be at this same family home where they fell for each other :)

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Ben was a city kid growing up, and he fell in love with a rodeo princess -

he's been learning horses ever since!

I remember at Marisa's sister's wedding reception -

Marisa & youngest sis Julia stood up in their bridesmaids' dresses & cowboy boots with their microphones in front of the entire banquet tent & teased their new brother-in-law Eddie about how THE test he had needed to pass was whether he would like horses ~ or maybe whether the horses would like him?? ~ and Eddy had passed the Wickerath test with flying colors ~

Ben is right there on that road!! I think he's passing the test!

He only had a minor issue during this particular photography day ~

It seemed that our palomino, Louie, was a little...

jealous?

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I think Louie wanted to prove something to Ben -

and thus was created

one of my most favorite photos of all time -

because there is so much to love in this image!

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But Louie forgave Ben for smooching Marisa,

with a kiss for him as well:

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Test passed!

Yahoooo!

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I think I laughed at that series just as much writing this today as when it happened ^

When I received Ben & Marisa's original Save the Date card in the mail,

and I slipped the card from the envelope...

my breath was taken away...

[insert photo of save-the-date when I find my copy!]

We had permission to use a beautiful apple & cherry orchard...

It overlooked the Columbia River.

The sun was behind them...

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and I am SO LOOKING FORWARD to photographing these two more next weekend ~

with their families & friends ~

Ben & Marisa delayed their wedding in order to celebrate as a group without so many covid concerns -

I'm so glad -

SO MUCH has happened between then and now!

Cheers, all!! Until next weekend!

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Alex - Eagle Scout & Lake Washington HS Graduate!

Mon, 13 Jun 2022 12:32:08 GMT

I am so grateful to my past clients & friends who recommend my little biz online or over coffees with acquaintances ~ this is how I meet such fun people who I may not have opportunity to photograph otherwise, including Alex!
My first meeting with Alex was still prime COVID time, so we met in his backyard living area, with the toasty fireplace & covered deck, with beautiful greenery all around ~ which suits him!

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A lot of the words & thoughts that came up during our Planning Session were things like: rustic wood, metal structure, patina, boulders, bridges, river, rapids, forest, old growth, alpine, lichen, granite… polaski axe!

094 - Alex - Jeannine Pound Photography We settled on 3 locations we could use for variety within our 3 hour Photography Session. The weather was rather stormy in early November, so I was grateful for the block of several days we had reserved to be sure this could happen without TOO much precipitation (!)

We started with his haircut at Gene Juarez in Redmond:

& then to the 100 year old hop shed in Fall City for our rustic authentic solid timbers:

& then the boulders & dense forest of the Snoqualmie River :)

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Sometimes you find a clothing brand that fits your personal style perfectly. Most of Alex’s favorite outfits for his senior portraits are

Faherty brand. Casual & easy. :)

Fun fact about Alex's family: they own a guitar collection - some interesting pieces too! Fun with this one:

07 - Alex - Jeannine Pound Photography

067 - Alex - Jeannine Pound Photography Alex's family enjoy each other and I loved the stories and the teasing between them. I enjoyed learning about Alex's Service Project in a local park & earning his Eagle Scout Rank. The camaraderie between him & his Dad was obvious and the love of the outdoors is strong in both of them. Alex's Mum is fun-loving and determined and she has the devotion of her boys & husband; they have a loyal & fun dynamic ~ so much fun to witness.

CONGRATS on your Class of '22 graduation, Alex & !!!!!

Slideshow movie:

Alex_-_Class_of_21_Instagram_version Alex_-_Class_of_21_Instagram_version

Grace in Seattle - Class of '22

Mon, 06 Jun 2022 16:34:51 GMT

I do enjoy escapades in the city - this time, Grace toured Pike Place Market & the waterfront with me. She had affection for the area because she had recently played the tourist there with her boyfriend :) And we also discovered picturesque corners that neither of us had tried before.

We started our afternoon at the small North Seattle studio of Hannah Bush, owner of Urbanista Weddings :)

Usually, I like to make our hair & makeup fun photographs in black & white, to block out any color distractions...

but Hannah and her studio are color cohesive & pretty, peaceful & beautiful just the way they are!

And into the city :)

The entrances for the Pike Place Market Parking structure are on Western Avenue.

The shops along Western Avenue have made this road quirky fun with bright colors ~ a perfect place to start!

The old brick walls lining Post Alley are favorites of mine!

So great to support the Pike Place Market vendors!

Local Color :)

I'd like to go back to the Hillclimb stairs between Pike Place & Western to photograph each of

artist Dan Webb's lamp holders who light the way...

he modeled them after friends of his, and they are each in plain sight but you need to have open eyes to spot them all :)

Grace is off to Whitworth University in the Fall!

She has already completed a couple years of general requirement courses during her Running Start at Cascadia College ~

and while there, she enjoyed sparking and planning social occasions for that student body ~

I'm sure Whitworth will be blessed by her imagination & project management skills in similar ways!!

I'm impressed by you, Grace :)

Grace's mum, Kim, was part of a women's bible study I was part of for several years post-college, in Seattle,

during those very formative parts of our lives when we were seeking the Lord intently during many big life decisions.

I can't tell you how the Lord strengthened me, and blessed me including with these friends for life, these witnesses of my journey :)

I was thrilled to reconnect with Kim one year ago and make portraits of Grace at 17.

That adventure story is here.

Session Movie for Grace's Senior Portraits:

Congratulations, Grace, on finishing & beginning :)

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Justin Class of '22!

Tue, 31 May 2022 00:27:23 GMT

Sooooo much fun for me... I met Justin when he was in 4th grade and he was so cute,

and it was Veteran's Day & yes, Justin, I'm doing this:

click here 🇺🇸 for that Veteran's Day family photo shoot when Justin was 9 :)

26 Playing together
🇺🇸

Justin is looking forward to a career in the American Military :)

But for this photoshoot we started a little bit cowboy :)

And you really should have heard the encouragement whoops from drivers on the nearby highway going through North Bend / Snoqualmie, this was so fun!!!

Justin is awesomely responsible with a firearm,

I felt completely safe with him :)

I was the only one shooting ;)

This Winchester is from 1896!

Justin's desire is to join SFOD-D

Special Forces Operation Detachment Delta

🇺🇸

making his way up to be a sniper team leader.

Face your enemy.
Live with courage, honor, commitment & faith.
~ “The Way Forward” ~

Color or Black & White? I can't decide!

I am quite fortunate in that we still have 1/2 of our shoot with Justin to go -

I think a guitar may be in order ;)

Happy Memorial Day

Thank you to current and future U.S. military!!!

Thank you in advance, Justin, for your future service :)

Alexis & Sunshine! ~ Class of '22!

Sun, 29 May 2022 22:14:57 GMT

Oh such joy for me to photograph Alexis :)

Her sparkling dark eyes &

her spontaneous mind searching out fun spots & angles with me :)

Alexis_-_Emerald_Ridge_Class_of_22 Alexis_-_Emerald_Ridge_Class_of_22

We were fitting in our photography session between dramatic bouts of rain &

Lexi's busy high school BASKETBALL season!!

Thank you to Blushing by Jen on makeup and Lori's Lovely Beauty on hair, who both came to Lexi's HOME:

& thank you to Kris, Lexi's mum, for corralling Cooper in the back yard & standing over my shoulder to get Coop to smile :)

We used locations between home & city hall & we found fun surprises along the way

like these gorgeous fall leaves :)

and the neighborhood basketball court worked well for us!

The sun is especially welcome when it pops out during a rainy week!

Sunshine!

Lexi is the daughter of my high school friend / college roommate, Kris.

Kris has always been so faithful to me! She has always seen the good in me & loved me & encouraged me to be strong & to be confident & to be kind, even when I was going through years where I was quite selfish and nearly-narcissistic & not the best me. She saw ugly sides and still loved me. We have seen each other through :) We both really came to know God / solidified our trust in God around the same time :) Kris is more than just a longtime friend, she's my solid & prayerful friend, and she is so much fun :)

I see so many of the best of Kris' qualities shining in this beautiful soul, her daughter, Alexis!

What a thrill for me to make senior portraits with Lexi!

Lexi,

Congratulations!!!

Class of '22!!!

Jillian! & gardens ~ Class of '22!

Sat, 21 May 2022 01:24:39 GMT

I think it is impossible to not smile when seeing

Jillian's smile ~

let your brain get happy & smile back :) :) :)

I believe I met Jillian when she was... two :)

so so so much fun to see you now & remember you then!!

The images in our minds' eyes for these portraits (and in our Pinterest picks) were floral ~

disregarding spring showers,

we went for it :) at Bellevue Botanical Garden ~

Thank you to Carsen at Gene Juarez Redmond for Jillian's hair today ~ and

thank you to Kelli Skok Makeup Artist, for providing Jillian's very natural fresh look :)

Jillian's mum helped throughout, Tiffany is used to doing this with me, this was our ~ I dunno ~ seventh time? between family and headshots and a sweet sixteen and senior portraits? See a handful of our past adventures here...

one older sis whose portraits Jillian loved...

another older sis who led the way for her family...

as my model at a horse farm...

and my first sweet sixteen shoot...

I think Jillian was definitely prepared!!

Engaging bright eyes :)

Little previews of Jillian's Album & Grad Cards :)

Jillian, I am so thankful to have spent this time making these portraits with you!!

Congratulations on your upcoming graduation!

My prayer for you from Mark 12:30, that you may always

love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength

and from Numbers 6:24-26 may the Lord make his face to shine upon you & be gracious to you,

the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace

xoxo

James - Gamer! & Eastlake Class of '22!!!

Sun, 16 Jan 2022 22:34:00 GMT

Planning / brainstorming sessions are ALWAYS so fun for me ~ when I ask "What do you like to do? Where do you like to go? What makes you smile??" ~ that is when I get to dive into my client's world and hang out there, learning about it all through my clients' personal "lens". Then we get to make up where our photoshoot will happen. James chose FOREST :)

We came to our location decision in a roundabout way; one of James' favorite games online is called Dota 2 & sports lush greenscapes interspersed with blackened destruction and all kinds of rocky mountainous terrain. We brainstormed public forests with awe-inspiring large old growth, and decided on a location that is also close to a beach and downtown Seattle... Discovery Park has it all!

Now, what would be a way to tie online gaming into portraits in our forest scene?

Then this happened!!

James' online buds, his Team, had this honorary T-shirt made for James ~ and he received it in advance of our shoot, it was perfection :)

The T celebrates their team's 1st place finish in a Dota 2 tournament that happened in August 2021, with an Illegal logo & "CHAMPIONS" squarely on the back:

and their team name, Illegal, with logo on the front (above), and James' gamertag thesmallnut written down one sleeve:

And can I even tell you how fun it was to me when James brought his Toothless slippers to be included in our senior portraits???!!? Awwwwww I love How to Train Your Dragon!!

Hi Toothless!

Next up: the car as the sun sinks in Discovery Park :) There seems to be extra gleam off these surfaces this evening :)

In our next scene we included beloved family pup, Bella ~ but she nearly stole your show, James!! What better than beach fun for a sweet pup?

My daughter, Sasha, was helping with pups (Bella and our Hana) and as the sun set on this rather COLD Autumn evening, she had her heaven by caring for both dogs in a nice cozy car while James' mum, Juliette, took over "photography assistant" duties as we ventured into the streets of Seattle. Here we found beautifully crunchy brick walls near Pioneer Square that I thought worked well with the jersey for James' rugby team, the Eastside Lions.

Fun fact: James has his roots in South Africa. His family's lyrical accents are fun to experience (yes, James, probably from growing up with your parents you still have a tiny bit of a proper sounding accent, it's great!!). And the South Africa flag has great colors for this same environment :)

I reallllly love to have a segment of our photoshoots reserved to dress "as dressy as you go" and THIS was SO MUCH FUN for me, atop the Butler Garage in Pioneer Square:

Thank you for viewing!

And thank you, Gene Juarez Salon in Redmond for James' hair :)

Our finalè today is a short video montage, our Session Movie :)

James!

I'm grateful to have spent the afternoon with you on that fine day :)

I'll be praying for your life and future every time I see your fun portraits!

Which I think will be often, as they scroll across my website!

I'm glad I was able to dive into your world for this day!! Thank you!

~ Jeannine

Faith ~ Class of ‘22

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 08:00:00 GMT

Making our Senior Portraits during Covid is… a little sad for me. Architecturally beautiful public indoor locations are not available for portraits showing noses and mouths ~ so we applied a little imagination & I love our results!! Faith dressed the part ~ elegance and beauty personalized with her own fun & outrageous details!! ~ then she wrapped sheer black tulle over her “cloth face covering” to beautify her mask for the occasion ~ see below …

This is not a political statement ~ it is simply a fact of our times:

We cover up hundreds of expressive facial muscles that are meant to communicate intent. By now we have all spent time with classmates, co-workers or friends without ever seeing their noses and mouths ~ our minds make up a story about what that person’s face looks like, and what expressions accompany that voice, then we interpret words based on our guesses. Sometimes we laugh with delight when we see each other outdoors sans masks; a little disoriented when a face and smile are not at all what we had imagined. The last two years of Faith’s high school career have taken place behind masks. Maybe some of us welcome the ability to hide, but I think it feels so good when others are interested in seeing the person behind the mask :)

Autumn gave us a riot of fun color for backgrounds:

The University of Washington campus looks nearly fairytale at times.

And sometimes positively Harry Potter-ish

Seattle has a crown - a CORONET of a park,

filled with such a variety of very individual gems -

Discovery Park on Magnolia Hill

and let's call its rocky windswept beach with the flashing lighthouse a bright gem flashing in golden sunlight:)

This was the part Faith looked forward to THE MOST :)

Faith's hair was styled at the Gene Juarez Salon at University Village.

I found such joy while getting to know Faith a little bit during this afternoon. She reminds me of a very good book, the kind that has plenty of laughs and even tears and lots of surprises, the kind of story that continues to delight & fascinate over a lifetime. Even though I've only seen a couple pages from the middle of this story, I can just tell already :)

I'm grateful to all who passed along the recommendation of my little portrait biz to Faith's family, we were a great fit!

Faith_-_Eastlake_High_School_Class_of_22

Daniel at Pioneer Square & Queen Anne

Sat, 11 Dec 2021 23:17:17 GMT

Field Trip! Daniel took us into Seattle, from Kerry Park to Pioneer Square ~

We started at Gene Juarez in Redmond, for hair touch up with Design Specialist Michael M:

Then caravanned to Seattle's Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill:

Then the Sinking Ship Parking Garage in Pioneer Square, at the foot of the Smith Tower

I enjoyed photographing Daniel with his very customized MINI Cooper, sooo photogenic.

The car has a lot of Brit accents as befits the kid who is headed to England for college post-graduation, and is a huge Liverpool soccer fan (jersey at top, and the red version below!) as well as a world traveler who enjoys meeting people and sinking into culture wherever he goes. Familiar Liverpool FC red:

And on to explore. Pioneer Square has buildings that have survived a lot of changes, the structural brick has character, is crumbly, and is interesting to the eye. I liked the texture and details to Daniel's' Timberland jacket in this area as the sun was sinking:

My daughter, Sasha, joined us to make little video clips and help carry "stuff" and that was fun for me. We inserted a handful of her clips into a slideshow of Daniel's favorite portraits here:

Daniel - Class of 22 - full length Daniel - Class of 22 - full length

At a different time, we also met for some local color and portraits with Scouse, Daniel's pup :)

I am thankful to have been able to make senior portraits for Daniel & his family!!

It was crazy being in Seattle again for the first time in a long while during this COVID era!
So much is happening with the viaduct down and the view opened up.

I enjoyed a tiny taste of a former tradition of mine when we stopped by Dick’s after dark, just prior to Daniel heading out to a movie with friends ~ Sasha and I contentedly savored hot food on our drive home, after the chilly October weather… good times 😊

Zoe - let's play !

Thu, 30 Sep 2021 21:54:04 GMT

Zoe already had a host of FUN straight-face awesome UNEXPECTED images posted on her Instagram, so I could SEE how she likes to play, with images & attitudes & expressions & clothes & IMAGINATION ~ Zoe is all about being playful :)

At the beginning of our afternoon...

we met with Corey T at the Gene Juarez Salon & Spa in Redmond.

From there, Zoe & Mom Brenda drove the

Zombie Outbreak Response Vehicle

(more on this below)

to Snoqualmie Falls Park, the lower parking lot. There is a gorgeous boardwalk stretching from this lot to the incredible Snoqualmie Falls - but THAT incredible area is well protected against trampling photographers and fun-loving river play, and we were more interested in being IN the river than simply admiring the view, so we used the downstream boulder field where that churning snowmelt rushes through, post-Falls :)

Outfit #2, the gown! This swirling dress was purchased with the sole PURPOSE to be photographed in this shoot, even if it was destroyed in the process (Zoe is a very good shopper!) so we were free to twirl and swirl & climb and cavort ~

Oh my goodness!

I was in photographer heaven!!

unpredictable pixie?

daring princess?

or... Wife of MacBeth??

Which dramatic role would Zoe choose?

There are mischievous depths to those brown eyes!!

Next stop, next outfit :)

Monochromatic?

Ivy of SnoFalls Lavender Farm has a Zoe-sized yellow rose TREE adjacent to her home.

We were welcomed to photograph with the yellow as well as with the lavender, and we purchased yellow roses to bring to the river :)

Jenny & Ivy Cheung's small business is the you-pick SnoFalls Lavender Farm in Fall City :)

I have been so blessed to photograph here in the past as well (click here to see)!

Zoe's summery yellow frock was whimsically ideal!!

And now, "golden hour" is available for reservation :)

Literally: Brilliant!

The sun is sinking - darkness is creeping along the path -

This moment brings us to...

The Zombie Outbreak Response Team:

Zoe's commitment to her cause is emblazoned like pure truth across hood, door & rear of her jeep (black as the witching hour) ~

People. Zombies are out there.

Someone needs to step up and - just - Thank You, Lord, for Zoe. And for her mother. And for her grandmother.

But don't think that the enemy takes this -

lying down...

The ghouls get revenge through haunting Zoe's property each year... on October weekends... Please use caution... the links are... screamingly hair-raising:

Haunt of the Woods

Haunt of the Woods - Scare Edition

^ See Zoe unfortunately zombified at 8:05

NEXT!

DEFENSE is in her BLOOD on the field as well as in the woods: Next we paid honor to Zoe's love of playing GOALIE!
Keeper Zoe :)

And below is Zoe's mum's favorite of all our portraits:

Zoe laughing :) With skeleton goalie gloves. Seems entirely appropriate!

Then, our finalé portrait!

In the gentle eddies of the Snoqualmie River at Fall City

In the periwinkle Ball Gown

w/ a smattering of falling rose petals ~ (thank you, props-person, Zoe's Mum Brenda!)

I had a blast with Zoe, pure jolly good fun ~

I FEAR a wickedly good time at her haunted property this year ~

and I am so grateful to the Lord for the clients He has blessed me with ~

THANK YOU :)

Vinny - So Long, Sammamish

Mon, 27 Sep 2021 01:04:31 GMT

Grad & Gone!

Vinny graduated from Skyline High School in June ~

so he is now grad & gone & immersed in his real-life-brick-and-mortar-sunshine-and-classrooms

college experience at Claremont McKenna College in SoCal :)

But this was our time,

just before his high school graduation in June...

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We began the (very early) morning with expert barber, Alex Ishmatov. Alex is on Instagram, @alex.ishmatov :)

Then we toured Sammamish for our photos ~

Vineeth was preparing to say goodbye - he wanted photos in his hometown,

nostalgia before leaving the lush PNW for the sun & city in California ~

We started at Pine Lake Park :)

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Where we were joined by Sarath for Brother portraits :)

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Vinny's parents & I had brainstormed ahead of time, sharing ideas that we would particularly like to try.

Instagram and Pinterest are beautiful sources for photo inspiration... it is amazing to absorb the beautiful ideas worldwide. Sudha had seen a portrait posted by @khalidalameri on Instagram, black & white profiles of his family, and he posted how he loves that portrait. And Sudha and I loved it. So we were inspired to make one with Sudha and her boys, too :)

I also love the walking photos that are much more candid, and Kalyan really likes that idea as well, so we went for this idea, below, as we continued our Sammamish tour at the City Hall area, just across the street from Skyline High School:

I particularly wanted black and white athletic portraits of Vinny.

He will throw discus for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Track & Field.

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Thank you for trusting me, Vinny!

These are so fun!

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It was Vinny's idea to include his car... resulting in some of MY favorites of our session:

044 - Vineeth 2021 Thank you, Vinny & family, for allowing me into that little slice of your lives!

Vinny, I am so excited for your adventures at college WITH your big brother, and the Track & Field team, at Claremont McKenna!!

I soooo feel for your parents being empty-nesters!! 😭

It's all good 🥲

Little slideshow video :)

Slideshow Video - Vineeth Slideshow Video - Vineeth

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Alaina's Road Trip to Sunflower Fields!

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 00:48:22 GMT

Alaina! Senior at Skyline High School, Class of 2022! We came up with a vision... forests, rivers, and sunflower fields... so we took a little road trip :)

(Just a note: this portrait session was during a magical time: we were post-vaccinations and pre-D-variant...thus.. we rode together!)

Pre-session: Salon 074 in Sammamish for a quick blow-dry for sleek & smooth hair, with Stefany :)

1st leg of our Road Trip: Fall City:

Oh, would that I had a daughter with pink hair! ~ my dream since each of my 3 were born!

As I wait for that momentous hair day, I thoroughly enjoyed photographing you, Alaina!

One thing I love about portrait photography - we get to PLAY!

I just think "play" brings joy, contentedness, and peace.

Cardio exercise, agility, stretching and strength training all keep our bodies happy & healthy.

I think creative-physical play - like learning a new dance, or playing charades, or performing a photography session scenario, does the same for our minds.

We may start with something "normal" for us, and then "imaginate" to take off on any different trajectory, in a safe environment. And in "play", your finish line is in your control...

Alaina's mum, Jeannine, joined our car in Fall City.

Next Stop: Top o' the Pass

with one Alaina & two Jeannines :)

To Kittitas

Bliss is a babbling brook!

Yes, Alaina chose a forest scene with a river because - beautiful! and so PNW -

& we had a second reason - a forest green theme seemed perfect for...

our Girl Scout cookies scenario!

Alaina just doesn't brag,

she doesn't announce her accomplishments with blinking lights,

she doesn't shout about her winnings from the rooftops,

but

she is a WA State record holder!!

This young woman has SOLD

more Girl Scout Cookies than any other,

year after year after year... yummmm!!!

Ok, I ❤️❤️❤️ the semi-serious shots where my client's eyes are windows to her soul (farther above),

and the laughing mischievous shots transitioning to pure out-and-out crack-up moments :)

3rd Leg of our Road Trip:

To Kittitas

I like for my clients to choose some favorites from the Pinterest board I curate for my own inspiration, to help get ideas rolling for their own session. One of Alaina's favorites was my niece, Taylor, in the sunflower field that her Daddy planted & raised specifically for Taylor's senior portraits :) Acres upon acres upon acres of gorgeous healthy sunflowers :) Taylor's senior portrait session is here.

🌻 Thankfully, Brent & Kirsten have continued to grow sunflowers! 🌻

The 3rd stop of our Road Trip was at Taylor's family's home, in Kittitas.

The talented hair artist who created Taylor's curls,

Kristen Hoffmann

blessed us by meeting us at our venue, armed to curl :)

I feel so incredibly blessed that Taylor just happened to be HOME from college & from summer counselor work, on the very day that Alaina & Jeannine & I arrived to make sunflower portraits. Taylor was way excited to join us as official assistant and make more sunflower magic :)

Taylor, the Ellensburg Local, took us to the local photography background spots :)

Graffiti wall, ever changing art

a party dress :)

& fun with backlight & white fabric:

Next, our in-house local guide took us to those mid-town Ellensburg old crumbly alleys

new & old and official & unofficial murals

& the patina of age and sun, wind & weather:

Alaina loves musicals, and I kind felt like we were in one, we didn't go so far as to bust out singing, but... it wouldn't have been out of place :)

And onward, to the Sunset, to the Sunflower Fields... this was along the way:

& after bumping and lurching and trusting Taylor that my vehicle could make it through some tall grass and over a little bridge: The sunflowers were there waiting for us!

Ok, so there was this idea... of floating petals all around our girl... so Taylor & Jeannine (mum) gathered & tore, positioned on each side of the camera

... and threw!

At this point, the sun had set; we were on our way home... but there was this truck... So...

And that was our finalé :)

We gathered sunflowers for our homes, compliments of Taylor's family,

and we were stocked with drinks and Girl Scout cookies :)

as we meandered back west, over the Pass, to home!

It was a bountiful good time :)

I am so happy to have had this playful adventure with you, Alaina & Jeannine!

May the Lord bless you so richly with lives full of play :)

^ I love this song, Pocket Full of Poetry, by Mindy Gledhill :)

Jon! The Mountains to the Matador...

Sun, 29 Aug 2021 10:05:43 GMT

I SO ENJOY repeat clients! Like Jon's family!

Jonny had a lot to live up to, I mean, THIS was pressure, I mean, his big brother is my cover model - not just for a sample album showing off portraits I ❤️ but Jon's big brother is THE cover model for my STYLE GUIDE. And he's all over the inside of it too. That's like, having your older sibling score straight As and graduate valedictorian and the teacher knows who you are before they met you because they liked HIS work. How was Jonny going to hold up???

I loved how we made this Jon's own - I mean, his shoot was completely different from brother's, and Jon rocked it his own way :) yeah, i must have just made all that up about pressure ^ what? pressure? Jonny don't care! We went hiking!

^ This is Snow Lake :) ahhhhhhhhhhh.... peace & serenity....

although i think there may have been a barbaric YAWP!

or 2 or 3... echo echo echo

Jon LOVES the great outdoors! I am betting he is out there now ;) His whole family is woodsy - Jon's mom, Denise, hiked with us - Hi Denise!! - and I was hearing about stone water slides and all these tremendous places I have yet to BE! - VERY inspiring. Like an REI ad :)

Jon nearly split a portrait session with his good friend Zach. Zach's rock climbing - I mean - senior portrait session here. I'm very glad we did his own, though, it would have been fun either way but this way I got to know specifically what Jon likes best :) This was my first time hiking to Snow Lake, one of his all-time favorites, and I am grateful :) The entire hike was astounding.

A viewpoint where we stopped:

_96A7577

Jonny's hike was in the Fall. We achieved the serious goal of attaining a senior portrait for the yearbook ✅ But y'know, he wasn't going to actually graduate until June... so... in the Spring, we made some more :) This time, we were in a picturesque block of Redmond, with the walking path, near Molly Moon & including the crumbly old brick and black accents of Matador.

This HAT was Jon's Great Grandpa's - and we so enjoyed including it :)

Jon's hair was cut & styled just before his Spring shoot, by Jo at Gene Juarez Men in Bellevue. Jo has a talent for knowing just how to shape a man's hair to fall into place naturally. Way to go, Jo!
The black door in the old brick wall on the street side of Matador is one of my favorite places to shoot :) This is why :)

Jon, I'm glad you were good with using me for your photographer!

I'm looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for you!

I'll be praying for loads of His peace as you're movin' on movin' on this Fall!!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I've so enjoyed photographing Jon's family, I had to include link to [big bro's photos] ...

AND... Jon's DAD is in this photo below...

this was our church band a few years ago... will you guess which one he is? 😁😁😁

? ? ? ? ? ? ?

ERICA! 2 Seasons ~ Skyline High School Grad 2021!!

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 01:36:42 GMT

Autumn...

AND Spring!

Ah, I think this could be a new senior portrait package! 2 seasons!

Creativity flourishes under limitations, right? Erica's senior portrait "limits" started with COVID ~ like limits for all of us last year!

We had NO options for hair styling or makeup... two things Erica had been looking forward to in her senior portrait session...

luckily, Erica is capable & made boho beauty DIY style...

I love Erica's dark eyes... so expressive! windows!

One of Erica's first location ideas had been the little old historic Shell station on Front Street in Issaquah... great idea!!!

The building was used for a variety of purposes through the last 100 years, but is now owned by the

Downtown Issaquah Association and is being restored to 1940s-ish glory!

^ Between shots, my daughter, Joy, was rushing a feather-filled parka to Erica because...

this was 6am and it was not warm & sunny yet!!

Cheers & kudos to Erica who put on her best summer afternoon vibes for all her fun portraits this first time around!

Sometimes, random stairways are just really fun for photos...

i think this could be an album cover. Erica, what will you sing? what will you play?

Oh! and we met up with this fun silver backdrop... with a spotlight :)

Another gem in Issaquah is ... The Blue Door!

There is a seriously heart-warming and inspirational story behind The Blue Door ~

a story of how one young person with an idea sparked personal relationships between

people of 2 cities a world apart from each other :)

The Blue Door is a gift to represent friendship, from the people of Issaquah's sister city, Chefchaouen, Morocco.

Erica had been a cheerleader for Skyline High School for years, so portraits in cheer attire were a MUST!

Can you feel the love?!!

Thank you to Erica's family and all of you who trusted me for photographs during 2020!!

YOU (& masks and hand sanitizer) kept me in business :)

NOW for something fun that Erica's family decided to do...

a second senior portrait session, close to her graduation date in Spring of 2021!

This time, we had the full portrait session going on ~

still masked up much of the time, but I was able to enjoy a nice long session with Erica

at several locations around Bellevue, just simply having a good time :)

We started with Bernie! On hair, at Gene Juarez in Redmond

We took advantage of Erica's voluminous hair in her Autumn portrait session...

so she went for sleek & shiny for her Spring session ^ :)

Thank you, Kelli Strok on make up!!! You are not only gifted, but fun 🤩

Kelli was makeup artist at Gene Juarez Redmond for many years,

but during COVID, salons were required to shut down makeup, and the sector is not yet back up to speed.

Kelli, however, is!! With Washington's opening-up policies, she has agility!

has-makeup-will-travel! SHE CAME TO US!!

how cool! Thank you, Kelli!

Erica's Autumn portrait session had been in old-town Issaquah.

Her Spring portrait session? Downtown Bellevue. Sleek & smooth :)

To all the people who provide public art in towns and cities ~ thank you!

In old town Bellevue, just south of the bright & shiny downtown, is an alley.

It used to be a very plain alley. Not memorable, not a destination (hahaha!),

not cute or pretty in any way... but that changed recently...

Thank you!!!!! to Crick of DOZERArt

Your art is MADE for public interaction, how perfectly wonderful for me, and for Erica, and for YOU :)

And a huge thank you to the sponsor of this artistification:

Thank you!!!!! to Eduardo of “TEH” The Enhanced Home in Bellevue

for this public-welcoming #dozerfly at The Enhanced Home :D

Skyline robe and cap and all!! 2021 Grad :)

A hat toss :)

Erica!

I so enjoyed my days with you!

Huge graduation congratulations!!

You are modest & resilient & quirky & fun & daring ~

and those are just the things i like most about you!

❤️

Anthony - Woodinville High class of '21 !

Mon, 07 Jun 2021 06:03:52 GMT

Anthony! Thank you for choosing my little biz! Your photoshoot was so much fun for me :)

Mostly because of our jolly banter. YOU are a lot of fun :)

Anthony was my first senior portrait client who I did NOT already know to contact me via text... and I was really wary that this mystery person may actually be a Colombian scam-artist preying on naive American small business owners ~ I was just waiting for the misspellings... followed by the circuitous request for dollars or bitcoin! 😆 BUT HE WAS FOR REAL! yay! Anthony, I'm glad you're real! It was a great clue when he texted that he needed to ask his Mom about photography dates :) 👌🏼 Then I was feeling ok :) I was impressed with Anthony's maturity & assertiveness right out of the box.

Last Fall of course, we were well pre-vaccine; "vaccine" was just a goal / a dream with about 20 companies planning or recruiting clinical trial participants; but the vaccine dream was like a horse race with no finish line in sight. We were still in stay-home-stay-safe mode, physically in our own little sanitized boxes. So Anthony & I zoomed a Planning Meeting ~ and finally met IRL at his trim & style at Gene Juarez on Photography Day :)

Thank you, Michael (@mmenhennitt) at Redmond Gene Juarez, for Anthony's trim & style!!! Anthony's Dad, Phillip, met us outside Gene Juarez afterward, and we caravanned to Anthony's home:

Anthony's true home ^ that is- a beach :) Not necessarilllyyy for sunbathing :) Mostly for finding the critters :)

He's a goal-oriented young man, with an inquiring mind, and a passion for the sea... critters!

So Golden Gardens oceanfront park in Ballard was an ideal location to start shooting.

...then we took a little roam... south and over the canal... with new opportunities to pull over & explore new places...

Anthony is a natural born scientist. He gets it from his Mom, Melinda! In 8th grade, his curiosity was inspired by the movie "The Martian" ~ would plants be able to grow on Mars withOUT a weather-vulnerable pressurized greenhouse? Hmmm... He put a variety of food-plants into a vacuum chamber in his basement & added carbon dioxide, to simulate Martian atmospheric composition & pressure - AN 8th GRADER! - and then tested the plants' enzyme functions versus identical control plants at timepoints up to 3 days ~ and THEN crafted the results of his study into a presentation cutely titled

"No Pressure: The Effects of Martian-Like Atmospheric Pressure on Enzyme Catalyzed Reactions in Plants"

which took him to the top 300 then the top 30 then to a Technology Award at the national science competition Broadcom Masters.

Dude!

^ VERY nice portrait

~ confident, humble, hopeful ~ PERFECT for ANY occasion a headshot could possibly be wanted over your next several years ~ but let's add some "yeah"

awesome ^ !

but i do want a little more... superhero scientist out to save humanity -

that's it! ^

and THIS is why my photoshoot with Anthony was so fun for me :). We were giggling like school kids and having a ball the entire time and making super fun portraits :)

Our next couple portraits in this series may be described by Anthony as "the Discoverer" ~ like the intrepid explorer who plants a flag on the moon, or on a desert island ~ or I may describe the same portraits as "Gatsby-esque":

Yes! see what i mean?? Link:

The Great Gatsby Movie Poster

I'm especially intrigued by one of Anthony's previous science projects... watching video of an aquarium octopus (instead of being there in person) to understand its behaviors / movement patterns / probability that it would be in one part of the tank or another ~ it was suspected that the creature would block the water flow in its tank to get the humans to give it a little excitement :)

Anthony's octopus-observing totally inspires my imagination... on macro-scale quantum mechanics, as applied to an octopus under study. Dear Reader, please allow me to nerd:

Schrodinger Octopus

Heisenberg Octopus copy

And the sun went down...

And we were given a gift :)

o da weetle baby! all washed up awone! ^ Anthony had noticed a sign with a phone number to call in case of baby seals on the beach. He made the call and encouraged the gathering crowd to keep well away from baby :) he was in his element.

On our walk back to the cars, Anthony's dad, Phillip, shared an astounding video clip of orcas interacting with the family's kayaks during a recent family vacation. This was such fun for me to "immerse" myself into this family's life for a day!! Thank you, Anthony, Melinda & Phillip! I hope to touch base now and again to see what science-y things the next years hold for Anthony at

Stony Brook University

Congratulations!!!

Yasmeen ~ Post Alley

Sat, 05 Jun 2021 13:00:00 GMT

Oh so fun - Yasmeen's family was one of my VERY FIRST FAMILIES to give my little biz a try ~ and when I delivered her album (masked and all distanced of course!) there were photos of her from that very first shoot right there in the hallway! What joy in my heart! (feeling poetic!)

Find itty bitty Yasmeen at ye old blog post, click here to go back to 2013 :)

So to take her seniors last October was SO MUCH FUN for me!!

Yas is graduating from both high school & from the school where she actually takes her classes:

Bellevue College!

We made our Senior Portraits last October :)

Near the waterfront of downtown Seattle, at Pike Place Market. & Post Alley

I just love all the texture of the crumbly brick walls,

the odd nooks & unique doorways

& the unexpected colors

and the jovial people

in the Pike Place Market area.

Yasmeen is a PLANNER.

It's her nature :) Inborn.

And Yas is opinionated. She KNOWS what she likes & knows what she doesn't.

This benefitted me.

I liked the texts back-and-forth prior to our shoot.

I appreciated SEEing the outfits under consideration, in advance.

The colors, shapes and their combinations were able to roll & meld in my mind well before, allowing me to consider backgrounds prior to reaching our location.

Whew! That is a huge stress-reliever for me! Just FYI!

It's like athletics, right? Envision in advance for best results :)

Thank you to Miguel at Gene Juarez in Redmond, for Yasmeen's beautiful fresh cut & style :)

Thank you to Cody, for your easy-going encouragement & readiness to join in!!

Cody & Yasmeen are both taekwondo teachers!! ^

Maybe I'll get to photograph them together, each in a dobok (training uniform) & ddi (belt) :)

- I just learned that dobok literally means "clothing of the way"

~ any Mando fans out there? ~

Love this:

CONGRATULATIONS YASMEEN, 2021 EASTLAKE AND RUNNING START GRAD !!!

❤️

can't resist this last memory...

2013 Itty bitty Yasmeen w/ li'l sis!

Dhruv! ... and my thoughts on films... and in-between moments...

Fri, 04 Jun 2021 18:25:31 GMT

To the person who recommended me to Dhruv's family for his senior portraits ~ thank you :) I have so much fun meeting friends of friends of friends, and i think it's funniest when I don't know where or when our extended friendship chain began :D I'm totally curious, would love for you to LMK if you are the person who placed your recommendation with Shalini! :)

Dhruv! You are almost there!

Graduation June 11th :)

Let's walk back down a tiny memory lane from the Fall & Dhruv's senior portraits:

15 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

23 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

I LOVE Dhruv's choice of outfit here! It's the NW twist on All American with great textures, great cozy factor,

and of course, great shoes :)

21 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

18 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography 1 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

You know how... in a film...

the best stories are the ones that stretch to ALL the emotions ~ from the serious parts... to all-out laughter! ~

I think that's how it is with Portrait Sessions as well :)

The serious moods are so personal,

and the laughing shots are the best ~

but you need both to highlight each other ...

otherwise ... like, say, for example, an action flick that

never ever ever slows down or lets up for a moment -

just one emotion for over an hour can be quite -

boring.

A roller coaster is only fun if it has highs and lows,

and a portrait session for me is AWESOME when it includes both

open-soul-serious eyes

AND

laughter that you can practically HEAR :)

And everything in between!

19 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography 65 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography 41 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography 7 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography 66 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography 44 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography
52 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography
31 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography
12 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

I also adore the in-betweener moments!

Those always end up being favorites for me -

ok, i won't tease, ALL people-portrait moments are my favorite moments! -

But i like in-betweeners

like when my client takes a moment aside & is thinking...

below, i might've said something like

"let's imagine you are going to turn in my direction & suddenly see an OLD FRIEND (instead of ME with a CAMERA),

and you're surprised and pleased and you greet me like I'm a good buddy..."

so here's that in-betweener moment, that thinking look...

as he decides how to look when he suddenly sees an old friend...

47 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

... and then he would come up with one of the looks above ^

The smile, the laugh, the genuine self ~

and here's another favorite in-betweener moment I love,

It's when my client takes a moment to brush back their hair and I see it and-

"STOP!"

and they look up and

click click

63 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

^ yep, unconsciously

Hollywood

People of all ages / genders happenstance into those moments; we all do - but unlike Flynn Rider (Disney's Rapunzel, film clip below), in life & photoshoots the moment is completely unintentional, it happens when you've been taking photos for quite a while... or just hanging out with friends for quite a while... & you're completely unconscious of yourself... but the camera just happens to be there ~ along with someone who SEES IT :)

I recall a girls' San Juan Island weekend 3 years ago

(Cara, Beth, Camilla, Jean, Linda, you know the weekend)

We're the only 6 people hanging out on the rocky NW driftwood beach & the August sun is bright & my girlfriends are all wearing summer fabrics & the world seems so colorful

& I'm bending to pick up my camera & Beth says

"STOP! Stay right there!"

and she gets her phone and click click!

I love those pictures!

Those are images of what others see -

when you are just you. It's what your friends see. It's what people passing by see - when they see you.

That said,

Beware... intentionally going for an e-boy / Hollywood or dreaded Insta-girl-kissy-face look don't work... grammar intentional... don't selfie that.

Altogether a successful photoshoot.

Right down to our primary goal...

our senior yearbook portrait :)

2 - Dhruv - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

Thank you, Dhruv & family!

I pray for the Lord's love to bless you through and through.

I'm excited for Dhruv to begin a next-chapter of life,

and I feel nostalgic sad-happy for his parents who are finishing a chapter of their own,

although I'm sure the next part of the story will be fun as well!

Thanks!

Jeannine

Thank you to Abby at Gene Juarez Men for hair :)

Grace at Seventeen

Sun, 09 May 2021 05:11:54 GMT

This Spring, I had the immense pleasure of photographing the daughter of a long-ago friend of mine. My friend is Kim, and this is Grace.

Kim highly values photographs, as I do. I remember that 20+ years ago, she had an eye :) And Grace has taken two years of Photography electives in high school, so we were 3 of a kind. We had our Planning Session via Zoom. and had communicated via text & email about outfits & locations, so we didn't actually meet in person until the day of our shoot, and that felt surreal. Kim & I are the same but older. How did that happen?? But seriously, it is so comfortable to be with her, she loves me and I love her, and although it has been several years since our last in-person time together ( I had brought my daughters to meet Kim & Grace & their many horses! ) the relationship is like no time has passed.

I met my mother daughter pair at the place where nearly all of my shoots get to start, at a Gene Juarez Salon. JC set Grace's hair according to Instagram photos Grace had brought on her mobile, to get just the right look for this day. Her hair would flow and bounce for hours :)

We had decided our outfits in advance, so there was no stress over what-to-wear in the days just before our shoot. Grace had it all wrinkle-free & in the car. However, one item that is a little difficult to plan ahead, is a location where cherry trees would be blooming beautifully ON THE DAY that we shoot ~ so the three of us had been keeping eyes open, watching the blossoms wax and then wane here and then there. We knew we may not have cherry blossoms on THE day, but we were hopeful. Grace is the one who found our location ~ ideally situated at a small church :)

5- blurred

Thank you, Lord!

The trees were our first stop, barefoot, with swishy dress, and to me, it felt like heaven.

11 12

13 7

6 10 8

14 14 b&w

Grace's next location choice was a riverside park, on our way to her home. The water was low. The mountains were white. The river rocks were laid bare, and huge tree trunks from winter storms had been piled high. I love that two younger girls stopped me on my walk to the river ~ they'd noticed my camera and were excitedly telling me about a log fort they had made near the bridge, and were hopefully suggesting that I could take some amazing photographs there :) How fun is that!!! However, I was too swept away having the fun we did, and neglected to look for the fort! Another time :)

Grace. Thick knit white sweater & jeans. & rain boots :)
17

19 20

21 23

And look! My friend Kim agreed to jump in! Mother-Daughter shots!

27 29 b&w 24 26 25

Grace wanted to shoot at her home. They purchased this home about 18 months ago, and of their menagerie (they had operated a horse rescue) they brought 3 horses, several cats, 2 dogs, and pygmy goats :) The 5 acre property has a ranch arch over the entrance - with their last name on it!! Almost, one letter different, but still ;)

I was able to meet Sam:

He's been in this family nearly as long as Grace has!

32 b&w

33 b&w

and Grace's own pup, a young squiggly wiggly kinetic sweetheart named

Georgia May

35 b&w

36 b&w

Recently, the family has installed this pretty blue-grey-green flagstone patio ~ a great place to enjoy various views of their property.

It was a fun place to shoot Grace in her Docs.

Doc Martens :)

I love these chunky boots too :)

41 b&w

44
42
43

40 39

Grace's Mum, Kim, and I had been in a very tight knit Bible Study together, starting 25 years ago, and lasting several years. We were small, about 5-8 people meeting in the group as it fluctuated over the years. It covered our lives as singles post-college and then through dating and into our first years of our marriages, and then through our first children... I'm more than thankful for the grounding these women gave me back then. Our friendship bloomed out of our shared commitment to the Lord. I remember Kim's mission trips, I remember her deep-dive into love, her wedding, her Mom passing, her baby girl born... that was about the point where all us Bible Study Girls were swept up into our family lives and we might see each other once or twice a year or less now, but the love and appreciation is strong. That "iron sharpening iron" we shared in our Bible Study was our formation as young adults... Strong love. God's daughters. Sisters in Christ :) It was beautiful to pray with Kim & Grace at our shoot.

I love this little movie-memory of my day with my beloved friend and

Grace at Seventeen!

Greg's Seniors! Lake Sammamish - Bellevue - Carnation & Tolt

Sat, 01 May 2021 07:54:00 GMT

Oh that COVID hair was SO FUN!!!

Beach bum looks on every man!

Greg was agreeable to photographing his lengthy locks before cleaning him up!

Why not In the ski boat?

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312 208 317

We agreed it was unbearable to chop the front flop

so Val

at Gene Juarez Men at the Bravern

took off the hair in the back, shaping & texturing to Greg's likes:

Greg's Mum, Nici, played sherpa for us :)

& my daughter & baby pup were with us enjoying the city!

My 12-year-old Sasha didn't want to appear in this post, but 3-month-old Hana did not complain!

220 219

DUDE!

9 10 25

680
26

Then he transformed, back to Mr. Casual :)

38 B

Oh, I didn't. Yes, I did! I have photos of Greg from years and years ago ...

POP QUIZ

43 45

Greg has an eye for composition:

Shapes, lines, colors, textures ...

Sometimes a photo of his just makes sense compositionally like ahhhhhh ~

& other times he chooses a unique point of view ~

& sometimes it's like whaaaaaa ? ? ? ? am I looking at ? ? ?

y'know, intriguing, a puzzle for the brain :)

This is a stolen sampling of Greg's photos that I love, from his Instagram :D

Do you see what I mean???

On Instagram :)

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Greg's Mom & Pop are from Iowa.

His Grands and relatives are there.

Farms & fields are in his blood :)

He's a little bit Country ~

54 60

He's a little bit Rock 'n' Roll

62 70

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87 88

hmmmm...

i seem to remember another photoshoot...

with Greg...

and a field

and a fence...

Pop Quiz!

CONGRATULATIONS, GREG!!!

Eastlake High School Graduation!

On your way to

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

for Aerospace Engineering :)

I have had so much fun photographing your family over the years!!

Greg's sister, Olivia's Senior Potraits, and Family Portraits from when I very first started my little biz!

Greg, I will enjoy watching your college career, your years in Iowa, your ambitions and your photographs :)

I'll be arrow-praying for you every time I think of your family :)

Thank you so much for allowing me to make your Senior Portraits!!!

Elly ~ Eastlake Class of 2021 !

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 23:09:19 GMT

Zip zip! That was Elly! I honestly have never had a client who wanted to be finished with photos as quickly as Elly wanted to be finished with photos ~ I used to say that every client has fun, even the guys ~ but now I may have an exception! Maybe she had fun... oh I dunno, maybe not! But ... SHE DID IT :) She did it for her Mum :) She did it for her yearbook :) She just wanted to get it behind her as fast as possible ! I have photographed Elly once before, and she was fine... maybe because it was an ENTIRE FAMILY shoot, and she could be part of the crowd instead of being the end-all-be-all-center-of-attention! Anyway, she had LOVED her hair at that shoot, done by the experts at Larissa Sofia Salon, in Klahanie :) So we went there again for her senior portraits ! And her hair was styled just the way she likes it, yippeee!!

Elly's first choice for location is Beaver Lake Park, in Sammamish :) Sunlight filtered through the canopy for us, it was a gorgeous place for portraits!

Patented Elly smile, love it :)

Next, the cutest little flower farm... gorgeous :)

And Snoqualmie has a fantastic steak house, Woodman Lodge ... it was closed for COVID, but the exterior is still fun, and had gorgeous flowers...

I so love the colors in this one ^ :D

Next, for sunset drama, Elly really wanted Mount Si !

The mountain turns rosy red if we have clear skies at sunset.

We took in the view from the visitor center at Meadowbrook Farm :

Lovely!

A successful senior portrait shoot for Miss Elly!!

She likes her portraits, she loves them, so the way I tortured her was WORTH IT!!

I am glad I know you, Elly! I'm glad I have known you since you were LITTLE!

I appreciate how the Lord made you just the way you are ~

your quick sense of humor,

your ability to build tight long-lasting friendships,

your humility & attention focused on others instead of yourself,

your love of the outdoors,

your strong relationships with your family :)

Yeah!

Congratulations, Elly!!

2 months until graduation!!!

Zach's Rock Climbing (senior) Portraits :)

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 01:53:24 GMT

DO YOU SEE HIM?

... look at about the halfway point of the cliff, on the right side of the waterfall ~

~ In Zach's free time, you'll find him in the mountains ~

:D woot woot! This was near the completion of our time together ~ we built UP TO the waterfall ~ we started (relatively) smaller :)

First: completion of preparations: Zach scheduled a neat trim-up with Barber Val, at Gene Juarez Men, at The Bravern.

All he needed was packed in his car, so immediately after the Barber, Zach drove East to Snoqualmie Pass.

I followed, and when arriving at our first location, I was a bit confused - I never saw the trailhead.

The entrance felt hidden & secret ~

Zach led the way through tall off-road undergrowth. The moment we were standing at the entrance, I didn't know how I could have missed it ~

a huge wildlife tunnel led to our climbing range. Within thick summertime foliage, the yawning tunnel is discreetly hidden from the nearby mountain road.

Headlamps? Check.

At one point, as I followed Zach, his silhouette was so picturesque, and to my eye, shows so much that we don't see in color photos, I had to pause:

Our Wildlife Tunnel leads to "Fun Forest" , a quintessential PNW rockscape of climbing routes.

Fellow climber, Brenna, is here to belay & double-check all the safety equipment ^.

I also appreciate our sherpas, thank you Joy & Nancy!

Okay, Forgive Me Now! for mistakes in naming Zach's climbing routes - or better yet - message me the corrections you can see are needed, please!

I LOVE route names!!!! They are whimsical, fun, fantastical :)

Here Zach is starting a route called:

MYSTICAL GARDEN OF FREE-WHEELING ANIMALS

The bolt Zach has clipped into ^ is shared by several routes: "POST-WIRED", "KILL ME IF I START TO LIVE", and "FLIGHT TO MARS" after the 4th bolt ~ these names make my heart sing & laugh & give me big smiles :)

Given, it seems that there are likely multiple names for the same routes! Because... everyone who conquers a route would like to name it ;)

To me, THE iconic route in this part of the playground is inside the detached pillar that forms:

CHIMNEY EXPRESS

Luckily for this photographer, there is a semi-circular scramble around the back, rounded side of the cliff ~ that brought me to a closer view as Zach climbed:

YES! Our Warm-Up is finished ;) Next up, Franklin Falls!

I LOVE Franklin Falls, I've enjoyed photographing here several times and its beauty is outrageous. I have yet to do a Winter shoot here with the "ice fall" and snow all around... hmmm...

A delightful trail through old growth forest leads to a narrow staircase, where we stopped to take some potential yearbook shots :)

The wet slick rocks are FAR too dangerous for climbing. Zach will rappel.

Securely roped above, and with Brenna belaying below, Zach carefully began his descent.

Waterfall top to bottom:

At this point, Zach is in the middle at about the mid-point of the Falls :)

Exhileration, through the misty view ~ a couple more moments as Zach finishes his descent:

HOORAY!!

Successful Senior Portrait Shoot! Whew! Oh my!

This was exhilarating for everybody involved. Thank you to Zach & his family for offering this opportunity to me :)

CONGRATULATIONS, ZACH!

Eastlake High School

Lake Washington Institute of Technology.

Class of 2021

Phoebe! Sun, Lake & Bamboo !

Sat, 20 Mar 2021 02:08:24 GMT

Phoebe is my kind of girl :) That is to say, we love the same types of photographs :)

She lives in a semi-minimalist, tall & slender house (how picturesque!) on the lake. Her home doesn't have a lot of "stuff" and each chosen furnishing or piece of decór is ~ unique ~ fun ~ different ~ interesting! I think, it is, quite an interesting allegory for Phoebe!!!

I really think so! Phoebe prefers less. She prefers unique. She prefers simple. She is herself.

So we started Phoebe's portrait session at sunrise, on her lake :)

We were invited to photograph in a private garden nearby, a spur-of-the-moment invitation, when the owner chanced to see us making portraits. Oh, did we have fun in the garden :)

This inviting garden was irresistibly MADE for bare feet, and aqua-painted toenails! There was even a stone dragon guarding the bamboo!

The first time anyone is in a Photography Session, we are all a little self-conscious, I wonder if it's more so when posing in bamboo?

We DID have an audience, after all. Parents Gavin & Kim were present, although not watching too obviously, and my Joy was there assisting & we also had another gracious neighbor with us, Mr. Sherwood!

Within a few frames, and after looking at some of our results on the back of our camera, Phoebe & I were professionals :)

Moving into our original plan at our host Mr. Sherwood's sandy beach, we were delighted with the tall golden-flowering reeds at the shore. I just love the name Sherwood ~ Here we are, at the lake in Sherwood Forest! - oh, yes, and we had bubble guns. Thank you to Phoebe's Mum, Kim, and to my daughter, Joy, for manning our rapid-fire bubble guns !!

Behind-the-scenes: The blue bubble gun at top left in the first photo is Kim, and the blue bubble gun making an appearance at the right side of the second photo is Joy :) Decisions, decisions! - how many bubbles are enough? how many are too many? where to aim the bubble guns? at Phoebe's head? her face? her heart? in front of her? behind her? The wind is taking our bubbles away, oh no! I was laughing pretty hard as we all experimented:

< ^ bubble guns behind-the-scenes

I'm so glad we did this; the portraits with floating bubbles in Sherwood Forest are so fun :) I think I like to view them all at once:

We had begun at our shoot at sunrise (6am-ish) ~ partly for the pretty light, and partly to avoid the rain in the forecast ~

At about this time, the rain came tumbling down...

...with perfect timing! We were ready to move on to the INDOOR half of our Photography Session plan. I would experience Phoebe's kitchen ~ Magic happens there :) Photos soon ~ but prior to that:

LOOK at how cool this is!!! PHOEBE GIRL OWNS A BIZ!!

Click to check out Phoebe's baked delicacies :)You make me smile, Phoebe, I love your sense of humor!!!

& she shares her recipes :)

https://phoebestressbakes.weebly.com

on Instagram as @phoebestressbakes

Thank you, Phoebe, Kim & Gavin, for choosing to make Phoebe's senior portraits with me! I'm so glad I know you!

Daniel, Senior Portraits in Seattle's International District

Fri, 19 Feb 2021 23:39:28 GMT

This was fun for me, as we went places I'd never been before :) Exploring Seattle is one of Daniel's favorite pastimes, and of the options for exploration, the Chinatown - International District is THE favorite! The food, the sights, the International Model Toys shop, the grocery store, the murals & graffiti; everything about it. I was interested ~ I'd always enjoyed my bus ride through the area, past huge dragons twisting around light poles ~ so it was perfect for me to have my own tour guide in Daniel :)

We started at my favorite spot for mens' haircuts / styles: Gene Juarez Men at The Bravern in Bellevue.

D'Angelo, in his canvas barber's apron with leather & metal accents, with all the tools, in conversation about Daniel's favorite books as he trims & shaves:

Heading West, Daniel's first location choice was this lovely crumbly brick alley that I had stumbled upon once before, and never could find my way back to it ~ In the evening, it has hanging glass globes light the night, and if you take a little staircase up the side of a building, you might find yourself overlooking the Seattle waterfront. It has long black iron fire escapes, and interesting carve-outs for loading & unloading to business back doors:

1 - Daniel - Jeannine_Pound_Photography 3 - Daniel - Jeannine_Pound_Photography 2 - Daniel - Jeannine_Pound_Photography
Next, we met at the bold mint & red pavilion in Hing Hay Park. The sun started peeking out, and we returned friendly smiles of the ping-pong players and their audiences ~ so fun! The large park is made up of a series of smaller more intimate areas on various levels, with stairsteps and small tables & chairs and sculptures (& ping pong tables!) & trees providing separation of conversational areas, and making the winding walk interesting ~ Hing Hay was designed by the same architects who designed Freeway Park, which similarly seems to bring people together.

In this area, central Chinatown - International District, the shop windows were still covered with plywood. And PAINT!

9 - Daniel - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

I'd love to include names of mural / graffiti artists if any of you know the info!

Seattle's Chinatown - International District (The CID) had A LOT of ups and downs in 2020 ~ there is a fantastic 7-minute documentary from Northwest Asian Weekly relating this roller coaster, I hope you see it! A strong upside was a grassroots call for artists, who came and transformed a shuttered CID with vibrant color, fun forms, and beautiful testimonies & honor to fallen Americans!

Daniel's favorite model shop partook... with an uncomfortably close... (Zaku??!!?)

4 - Daniel - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

Daniel & I both gravitated toward the whimsical for his Senior Portraits :D I'd love the names of these artists !

6 - Daniel - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

This one will appear in his Tesla STEM High School 2020-21 yearbook :)

A crisp day in Autumn, and venturing out, we were all masked up, we were pleased with the amount of care others gave us as well, wearing their masks on sidewalks. Daniel always had his on when he was not actually on camera, and let me take a shot of the bandido look:

7 - Daniel - Jeannine_Pound_Photography We also experimented with a variety of expressions, and laughed quite a bit when looking at the back of my camera, because when Daniel gets his serious expression on, and he can look... SCARY! Intimidating!! hahaha!

But then, as he brings a tiny smile to the corners of his mouth... with intensity in his dark eyes...

a little petite woman passing on the sidewalk at that moment suggested:

"YOU LOOK LIKE JAMES BOND!"

Daniel busted out laughing and his face was so red, it was my favorite moment of our shoot ;)

And we ended up with a good strong headshot for any occasion :)
8 - Daniel - Jeannine_Pound_Photography

Thank you, Daniel & family!!! This was so fun for me, and I look forward to visiting & supporting our Chinatown - International District again soon!!