Tag Archives: portraits

Military Portraits | Luz and Carlos

military couple

Military Portrait | Carlos and Luz

I had the absolute honor of doing Luz and her husband Carlos’s couple’s military portraits this December, right before Christmas. It is such a heart warming story on so many levels that I just have to share!

A woman in town contacted me via Instagram looking for a photographer to do couples portraits for her sister and her husband, an army veteran. He served in the military for 25 years and they never had a formal military portrait taken of the 2 of them with him in his uniform. She got my name from a really AWESOME man that also lives in town and is an amazing photographer himself! Honestly, as I am writing this, I am realizing that I really don’t know if his name is Herb or Scott. LOL!!! If you read this you’re going to have to clear that up for me HERB-SCOTT! But he felt that portraiture is more my thing and recommended ME! How nice is that??

It’s for the birds!!!

He loves bird photography and is REALLY great at it. Check out some of his bird photography on his instagram here! I really love looking at other people’s work and really appreciate what Herb-Scott does because I also love to take pictures of birds! You can see some of my bird photography here. I’m also realizing that it has been a long time since I have taken any bird photos or even uploaded any! I will have to get on that right away! The sudden urge to photograph the beautiful and curious little creatures that are right there in our own yard. That reminds me, I also have some bird seed to put out! Tell me, is this a creative thing, an ADHD thing or a Gemini thing? Oh, lucky me that I have all of those things going on! LOL

Follow your heart…

I chatted with Rosa, her sister, on “the gram” for a bit about pricing and package options and what would work best for them to get their military portraits. They were coming to visit from Maryland and needed to book a weekend date. I don’t normally shoot on weekends because I try to reserve them for time with my sons. But I was really so touched by this on so many levels that I was able to make an exception. That’s one of the really GREAT THINGS about owning your own business and making your own schedule. When your heart moves you, you can follow it <3

When they arrived at my studio, they were a sight to see! Carlos looked so regal and handsome and Luz looked absolutely STUNNING! They told me a bit about their lives and how they had lived in Germany for awhile and how they never got portraits of the two of them before. Do you know how honored I feel to be able to do this for them?!

ROSA!!

And ROSA! Luz’s sister is an absolute SWEETHEART! I swear, I love this job so much. It gives me so many opportunities to meet amazing people who have so much love and kindness and gratitude and it just absolutely fills up my heart! I feel like Rosa is my friend now. And she was so thoughtful and happy for her sister to be doing this and getting military portraits done. She helped her with her hair and makeup and really was just all too much for my little heart to handle.

Carlos I appreciate and thank you for your service and I wish you and Luz a wonderful retirement and future together. I hope you love and cherish these military portraits forever and that they can be passed on to your family for generations to come. I can’t wait to get you your prints!

Headshot Photographer | Scotch Plains, NJ

I absolutely LOVE doing headshots!

Someone recently called looking for a Headshot Photographer in NJ and I realized that I haven’t shared any of the headshots I’ve been doing in, oh, I don’t know…the last 2 years?? Oh well, It’s just how I am. I’m learning to accept it. But I will keep trying to post blogs and understand SEO and sharing my work because I know it’s what I need to do! Looking back over the last year (possibly more) I’m reminded of how much I love taking headshots. How I know I’m helping people on their career path. And looking through these images, these PORTRAITS, I think it is apparent how I connect intuitively with my subjects. I mean, each of these images is similar yet so different! I definitely have this thing where I get into a flow during the shoot and I’m literally capturing the energy, the style and personality of the person I’m working with. I love that. I also love the different backdrops we used and I am REALLY loving the colorful headshots with bright backdrops!

So here are some of the amazing people I have met through headshots. Maybe they were starting a new career, maybe a new position, maybe even a new LIFE altogether! I really love how all of these came out! I’m sure there are more, but I’ll get to them another time! In the meantime, if you’re in NJ, think of me next time you’re looking for a Headshot Photographer!

joan marie

Scotch Plains, NJ 07076

908.312.1788 | info@joanmariephotography.com

379968614