The Gresh Family
We’ve known and been working with author Dannah Gresh and her family for years now but this is the first time we’ve photographed the entire family together.
Baby Lucas – Newborn Session
Baby Lucas was a champ – slept well and soooo cute. Here are just a few favorites. Hope to see you again soon!
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Baby Reagan – 6 Months Old
Baby Reagan was a super cutie. Her mom had some great photo ideas too. The clothesline with the onesies and the lineup of stuffed animals are all hers, can’t take credit, though we may have to use them again!
Posted In: Baby
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Maternity Month
Must have been something in the water 9 months ago because we’ve been shooting tons of maternity sessions lately. Here are just a few of our favorites, enjoy!
Posted In: Maternity
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Jadah’s Senior Photos – State College Senior Portrait Photography
Meet Miss Jadah. She is another lovely Senior Rep for us this year and boy did she deliver! Her shoot is an excellent example of great planning and collaboration of ideas. Weeks before our planned shoot, Jadah was already emailing us a bunch of ideas. Hey, we’re always game for anything and trying something different. She really wanted to set herself apart and be a little different to really capture her personality. We normally try to attempt this anyway, but when she mentioned she wanted to do a candy shop theme for her studio shoot, we were listening. Granted we didn’t have the wall of candy props or a location to go to that completely matched her initial vision, but we managed to pull out something that did portray those classic candy themed photos: bright, colorful, and fun!
Jadah’s wardrobe planning really carried well through her shoot. I mean, she even had a gummy bear necklace for her candy themed photos! This is the kind of girl who would dress up to go to Walmart while the rest of us (or maybe just me) would be rocking out the old sweat pants and a pony tail. Clearly in her photos she has an extensive wardrobe and put it all together. We’re not saying that we recommend everyone goes out and buys new clothes for their photo shoot, wear what you want to wear and what best represents YOU! However, that being said, wardrobe planning is KEY and does make a big difference in your photos.
For the outside portion of Jadah’s shoot we took her to a new place on our “senior list” where we really love the contrast of nature vs. old cinder blocks and broken glass. Trying to explain this to someone over the phone or through email can be a bit tricky but after seeing these photos we think it may become very popular. Jadah however understood our vision from the start and was happy to try out the new place. She gave us energy and was very comfortable in front of the camera (not to mention she is ridiculously photogenic). She really knocked it out of the park and brought her shoot to a whole new level. It was edgy, it showed fashion, it was fun, and most importantly, it was her. : )
So if you’re thinking out of the box and want something different, we’re definitely on board. Don’t be afraid to shoot out an idea and don’t be limited by the sessions we have listed on our website. Jadah’s shoot was definitely not our typical senior session but we hope it gives you an idea of what can be possible with some great planning and a lot of time. Even if it’s something we don’t have and can’t physically provide, you never know what other ideas might spin off of it! Great job, Jadah and what a way to work it! - Andrea : )
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Fiona’s Senior Portraits – State College Senior Photography
Say hello to Fiona! This tall long haired beauty is our 2nd Senior Rep to be photographed this year. She may be new to us taking her picture, but her family is no stranger to our photo services. Both her older brother and sister have been to our studio for their senior pics. So we definitely had a good feeling about Fiona and she certainly proved us right!
We first started in the studio, which I think we managed to pull out a “Cover Girl” shot from her photo shoot (seen down below). She had the look and smile to pass for one anyway. : ) We were about to go out back behind our studio to our Caribbean colored wall, but alas, it started to rain and we had to reschedule the rest of her shoot for a different (more dry) day.
Once we got together again, we went back to our brightly colored wall and she brought a stellar look to compliment the scenery. Adding her high heels and a trendy bun, she must have stood 6 feet tall. She is one long legged lady! A couple of times during her shoot I either had to stand on the tip of my toes or on a small stool just to get a good angle on her. Despite the height difference between us, we made a good team and had a fun shoot.
We then traveled to General Potter Farm for the outdoor portion of her shoot, which was a good fit for Fiona’s style. As soon as she pulled the boots and scarves out of her bag, we thought of the farm. She too is an accessories girl! We got some great woodsy and rustic shots of Fiona. She really looked natural and beautiful in this setting. Her mom, Mary, was along during her shoots and proved to make a great photo assistant as she held a light or a diffusion panel. Hey, when you need another hand, mom always comes to the rescue, right! Mary was a good sport about it and pleasantly held the extra light at times so that her daughter would get an awesome shot. : )
Overall, we laughed, we posed, we got rained out, we trudged through the woods, we petted Nigel the goat (at the farm), and hopefully ended up with a great experience for Fiona as well as great photos. Great job, Fiona and thank for being our Senior Rep! - Andrea : )
**Check out Fiona’s video!
“Cover Girl!”
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Brenna’s Senior Photos – State College Senior Portrait Photography
Meet this sweet photo loving girlie named Brenna. Quite the beauty, don’t you think?! Brenna is the first lovely lady to be photographed as one of our Senior Reps this year. Being accustomed to the camera herself, she definitely had the right instincts and moves to put out some really great photos.
Brenna’s wardrobe (and friends) provided us with a variety of trendy looks for her session. Did I mention that her SO cute black sandal wedges are from France?! She recently was vacationing in Europe with her family, and we’re sure she enjoyed taking lots and lots of photos! : ) Anyway, she had great colorful pieces that really made her POP off the studio and outdoor backgrounds.
We decided to take Brenna to Curtain Village, a place where we have photographed before, but never a high school senior. We mostly use this spot for weddings, but this year we decided, with a helpful suggestion from another senior rep, to add it to our list of senior spots. It certainly is a great place for photos providing a nice mixture of nature and old buildings.
Brenna’s hard work and wardrobe planning definitely shows! She really conveys a soft beautiful smile in a lot of her photos. We had a lot of fun during her session. She was very easy to work with and comfortable in front of the camera. I think it’s safe to say that her personality really speaks in her photos. Great job Brenna, and what a great way to start us off for the season! - Andrea : )
**Check out Brenna’s youtube video!
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The Joy of Photographing Toddlers – State College Children’s Photography
Parent’s of a toddler ourselves we certainly know how difficult they can be – unexplainable tantrums, mood swings, pouting, kicking, screaming, crying, you name it! As parents we have certain ways to try to deal with or cope with these crazy behaviors. As photographers we have to do the same, the tricky part is, it’s with someone else’s kids. Whether it be singing a song, playing peek-a-boo, dancing around like a fool, or bribing with candy we do what we have to to get the shots.
Today we had two beautiful, sweet little girls in the studio for some portraits with mom, grandma, great-grandma and their god-mother. Without going into the gruesome details let’s just say things got off to a rough start. All those fun little things that toddlers do that we mentioned earlier – they happened. And really it wasn’t just the start either, it was mostly the whole shoot.
But patience and a singing, dancing Andrea prevailed and we got some really, REALLY cute photos. Looking back at these now it’s very hard to imagine just how difficult of a session it was. So, as hard as it can be to photograph toddlers, it is equally as rewarding to show images like this to shocked and stunned parents who thought their kids had ruined the session 
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Baby Gabby 7 months – State College baby photography
We’ve been photographing the Jones Family for a few years now and when baby Gabby came along about 6 months ago of course they brought her in for a newborn session. Well it’s hard to believe but that was over 6 months ago and she’s all grown up – sitting on her own and smiling like a peach (well, most of the time)!
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Baby Ava – State College Newborn Photography
Baby Ava’s parents came all the way from Carlisle (1.5 hours away) to have us photograph there newest addition. We photographed their wedding a few years ago and they really wanted us to share in this next exciting life event as well. We were really feeling the pressure to get some great shots to make there trip worthwhile – we think we came through, what do you think?
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© J&A Photography | 145 W. College Ave | Pleasant Gap, PA 16823 | 814.359.4259
Very nice work. Great expressions and nice variety. Wonderful job.