Family Photography

Gebrekirstos Family

in

My favorite part of being a photographer is making friends and building lasting relationships. Meski is one of those relationships! I loved getting to work with her and her family!

New Studio Space, Year 2020, + the Pargeon Family | Granville, Ohio Photographer

New year, new goals.

New year, new resolutions.

Can I get an amen?!

I started the new year out planning for 2020. I love the saying, “Failing to plan is planning to fail!”. This is 100% true. So this year, I made sure I have plans, processes, and procedures in place for my businesses so I don’t loose my mind.

Also with this new year comes…drum roll please… A NEW STUDIO!!!!!

Friends, I am so excited to share this space with you. Since I don’t have all the furniture and decor and everything set up, I haven’t filmed a tour. That is coming hopefully this month. Maybe next.

BUT I did want to share a family portrait session that I did in the new studio. I loved getting to meet Jennifer and her kids. We had so much fun at our session plus I am in love with the quality that I am able to produce in the new studio.

Here is a peek into their session:

Lots of content coming your way in 2020! If you need a portrait session, head over to the contact me page and let’s connect!

Stay fabulous,

Janessa Dawn

Maddoxx | Baby Mechanic Theme Photo Shoot | 1 Year Portraits

"We don't have failures; we have lessons". This is powerful. There are a lot of times I feel like a failure. These thoughts can bog me down so much that I lose sight of my true value. I love this quote. How can we start looking at our failures as lessons and move on to be even more success for having gone through that? It's hard and it sure takes a positive attitude to look at failures as lessons!

I wanted to share with you this baby mechanic themed photo shoot requested from one of my Mom's. I love when clients bring their own ideas to the table! It gives me a chance to add variety to my portfolio but also get away from my "normal" routine!
















Baby Hudson | Newborn Portraits

Baby Hudson is a bundle of baby. He has grown so much over the last 6 months and I wanted to blog the very beginning. He wasn't the happiness and all he wanted was to lay on his Daddy so we went with it and used his dad as a bean-bag! :) 

I love watching babies grow over there first year. They learn so much their first year and being able to watch them grow and become more alert is amazing!
















Top 5 Memorable Places to Propose in Licking County | Newark, Ohio Wedding Photographer

It's February. The month of love. Honestly, I love Valentine's Day and since I am a Wedding photographer, I wanted to post my top five memorable places to propose in Licking County.



Newark. I love this little town. Honestly, it's probably been one of my favorite places I have ever lived. Since all of the revitalizing they have done downtown Newark, it keeps getting better!

Valentine's Day is coming up soon and we all know there will be lucky ladies all over Central Ohio who's boyfriends will "Put a Ring on It". So in anticipation for Valentine's Day and wedding season, I have put together my top 5 most memorable places to propose in Licking County (yes, this is the romantic side of me is coming out!).



1. Dawes Aboretum in Newark, Ohio
If your girl the outdoorsy type? Go for a romantic stroll through Dawes Arboretum. A romantic proposal around one of the ponds or on the look-out deck would be perfect for her.

2. Canal Market District - Downtown Newark, Ohio
Is she more of a city girl? I love downtown Newark. After a dinner at Park Place Bistro, take a stroll around the square and pop the question at the Canal Market District. It;s unique and beautiful plus you can get a view of the court-house!

3. Ye Olde Mill - Utica, Ohio
What girl doesn't love ice cream! This place would be romantic along the stream and private!

4. Infirmary Mound Park - Granville, Ohio
If your a picnic kind of couple the Infirmary Mound Park in Granville is gorgeous during the spring time!

5. The Granville Inn - Granville, Ohio
Who doesn't love Granville? The Granville Inn has all the feels. Beautiful,  Quaint, unique, romantic. This place would be perfect!



I hope somewhere a girl's dashing Prince Charming finds this useful.

And...you know who to call once your engaged for engagement and wedding photography, right? ;)

Stay Fabulous my friend!

Janessa Dawn

Beginning My Real Estate Journey and Valentine's Day Mini Sessions! {Newark, Ohio} Columbus, Ohio.

    Happy Monday! This is my first blog post of 2017. I know...that's sad. This year I am starting another business venture. I decided to go into Real Estate along with my photography so for the past two weeks I have been in classes, Monday-Thursday from 8-5:30. I'v had so many definitions, terms, and laws crammed into my head and after sitting in a classroom for nine hours, there is only so much a person can do. So I end up surfing my social media accounts on multiple occasions while jotting down notes and highlighting important information. It honestly has been a good experience and its going to be a good adventure. 

   As for photography, I am hosting my annual Valentine's Day mini sessions on Saturday, February 4th. Yes, it's that time of year again. Honestly, I love all the hearts, love quotes, reds, pinks, and everything else pertaining to the love month. These mini sessions are only $45for a 30 minute session and 50% off of CDs. If you would like to book a slot, please email me at jdawnphotography@yahoo.com.


Until then, stay fabulous!
Janessa Dawn










Merry Christmas Note and Jenny Dixon {High School Senior} Newark, Ohio

  It is only 13 degrees outside and only 10 days until Christmas. Frank Sinatra is currently singing Hark! The Herald Angel Sing on my Spotify playlist and I wrapped my first several Christmas presents of the season and they are waiting under the tree. I wanted to blog Jenny's senior session from the end of summer. If your one longing for warm, summer breeze instead of the cold, winter chill, you may love this post. I caught that beautiful evening sunlight, the end of summer grass and flowers, and Jenny's sweet smile. 
   The fun part of living in a small town and owning a business is that you may run into clients around town and I ran into Jenny's Mom at Target one day. I enjoyed getting to work with Jenny and meeting some of her family.   
   On an ending note, through the hustle and bustle of the season, the candy canes and Christmas lights, the gift giving and gift receiving, I hope you don't forget that Jesus is the reason for the season and without Him, there would not be a holiday called "Christmas".

 I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year.
Janessa Dawn





























Alexis Terry {2016 High School Senior} Newark,OH

Hey Friends! I haven't been able to blog for a while because I have been so busy. Do I say that every time I write a new blog? I think I do but life is definitely crazy. Today I am blogging Alexis' senior pictures that we shot back in March for a simple in-studio portrait session. Alexis goes to my church so our Pastor brought her and Drema, another senior I will be blogging, down on a Tuesday evening and I shot them both. Alexis did such a great job and I enjoyed getting to work with her. She graduated and she is now taking college classes at Devry. I wish you the best, Alexis. Never stop dreaming. You are a special young lady and you can be anything you want to be. 

Stay Fabulous,
Janessa Dawn



















A Little Lesson From Living A Busy Life & Halko's 6 Month Session {Newark, OH}


     I am sure you all have experienced how busy life can get, especially summer. Actually, it seems my life is always busy. You may get tired or irritated because your always SO busy and racing the clock. But it was recently brought to my attention that the busyness of life can show exactly how much we have to be thankful for. You have a job which means you can buy the food you need to eat when some go hungry and you can afford to put a roof over your head when some live under bridges. You have weddings and parties to attend which means you have friends in this world. You have grandparents to visit, a Mom and Dad to hug and kiss, and siblings to fight with which means you have a family. You have deadlines to meet, errands to run, clients to met with which means you can afford a car when some people walk and strength to move when some are bedfast or dying. Every morning you are blessed that God wakes you up for another day to love the ones you love, to laugh and smile. So when you are tired from running and it seems the days aren't long enough, think of how blessed you are for what you have and that you can live in a free Country. Life is too short so instead enjoy every bit of, even the busyness. 

    Here is this pretty little girl's 6 month pictures taken in-studio. I think they turned out pretty adorable and she did a great job. I like to try to come up with different sets and the suitcases turned out pretty cute! 

Enjoy!

Janessa Dawn 











Simon Gitchell {One Year Session} Newark, Ohio

   This precious baby turned one year but when he came for his one year session he was as sober as sober can be. We had to reschedule his session in hopes we would be able to get some better shots. He was just not having the whole smiling thing. Thankfully, when he came back we got some cute shots. And how handsome does he look in that outfit?? I LOVE it when Moms put thought into their child's outfits for photo shoots and if you want to make your photographer happy then put some thought and energy into looking cute and put together for your session. Enjoy some of the shots from Simon's One Year session!

Stay fabulous,
Janessa Dawn










2015 Apple Orchard Sessions {Legend Hills Orchard} Utica, OH

   Happy Wednesday, Friends! I know I said I wasn't going to blog the rest of last years sessions but I think I changed my mind (I'm aloud, right?). :) On October 17th, I had Apple Orchard sessions out at Legend Hills Orchard in Utica, Ohio. I love working with Legend Hills and we got some great shots. I worked with 11 families that day; some new families and some families I have shot in the past. I hope to work with each of them again in the future. Here is a combined post of the families from my apple orchard sessions and I picked just a few of each family. Enjoy. 


Janessa Dawn

The Danison Kids below





The Myers Family. 




The sweet Peirano Family. 





The Meyer family.






Check out the Fordham boy!





The Kipe family.




Check out this Mother and her two kiddos. 





The Stadnicar Family!





The Gitchell family!






The Fisher family below.






The Miller family. Check out all them boys! :)







Fleming Maternity Session {January 2016} Newark, OH

   Hey Friends! I know it has been a long time since I have put up a blogged post. I had intentions of blogging more and catching up but life is crazy, right? So, since I am already into May and I haven't been able to finish up 2015 shoots I am just starting with 2016. I know that will mean photo sessions towards the end of last year won't get posted but maybe I will do a special post once a month to post some of the best. I don't want to promise to blog everyday or even four times a week. Right now I want to start blogging every Monday and Wednesday or twice a week, depending if I can keep the Monday and Wednesday with my schedule. 
    Here is the adorable Fleming family from January when they were expecting the arrival of baby Elliot. He has since then arrived and I have shot his newborn pictures which will go up in a blog post later. Here are some of the best shots from their session. I hope you enjoy.

Thank you, Mary-Ellen and Jerrod, for letting me capture your family once again. I look forward to watching Elliot grow up and maybe even shoot another baby in the future ;)

Until next time,
Janessa Dawn.























Stewart Maternity Session {Dawes Arboretum, Newark, OH}

   Here is Amber and Scott's maternity session that I shot in the fall. They did a fabulous job and were so kind. I will sometimes tell clients to bring along any props they might want to incorporate into their session and Amber brought a special book with them that went into the baby's nursery with the picture. I also like to shoot maternity sessions. I have yet to specialize myself into one or two types of photography and I'm not so sure I will unless it is down the road somewhere. 

    I hope you enjoy looking at Amber and Scott's maternity photos as much as I enjoyed shooting them!

Stay Fabulous,
Janessa Dawn 





























{Family Session} Dawes Arboretum, Newark, OH

I shot this family at Dawes Arboretum in September. I am slowly attempting to catch up on blogging so hopefully you will see more then two sessions a week! They did a fabulous job even with posing and arranging 15 people {foster children not shown for privacy reasons}.Check out some picture from their session below.

Stay Fabulous, guys!
Janessa Dawn





 




















































Abby Reed- Ohio High School Senior Photography {Dawes Arboretum, Newark, OH}



  I love to shoot high school seniors. The thing I love about it is I only have one person to pose and I have more freedom to try new poses. I don't want all my sessions to look alike and so I try to think of new ideas and posing to mix it up.  Last year I had the privilege to shoot Abby's senior pictures out at Dawes Aboretum. She did a fabulous job in front of the camera. One of my favorite spots that we shot from this session was the field of yellow flowers. Abby was not too sure about that but she went along with it and ended up liking them :) Check out some pictures from her session below!

Stay Fabulous, Abby!
Janessa Dawn 













































































































Murray Family {Family Session} Dawes Arboretum, Newark Ohio






This adorable family came to me over the summer for family pictures along with some one year shots of their little boy. Denise had some ideas of her own that she wanted me to try. I am all for clients bringing ideas and even props along with them and I try to incorporate them as best I can into their session. We had a great session and got some awesome shots.

Stay Fabulous,
Janessa Dawn