Introducing Jenn Thompson...

By Jenn Thompson

I  love being able to capture a moment for someone that makes them smile every time they look at it.

I can’t start off by saying that I knew I wanted to be a photographer since I was a little girl, because I didn’t. I mean I always enjoyed taking pictures but never thought I would one day become a photographer. I can remember riding in the back seat and looking out the window and noticing how beautiful certain things were. I would see a tree in the distance and wonder what it would be like to lay under that tree or I would see fields of corn, which seem to be everywhere when I lived in the Midwest for part of my childhood, and I would wonder what it would be like to run in them. Just certain things caught my eye and my imagination would run wild. I look back now and wish I had a picture of that tree from my childhood. Certain things will always remain in your memory but a picture of that memory is even better. Because it tells a story, you get a feel for that time in your life, just by looking at it and it takes you back.

I moved to Las Vegas when I was 9. So for the most part I guess I grew up here. I met my husband in 2003 and we married in 2007. In July 2008 I gave birth to my beautiful daughter Emme Jeanine. She is what changed me. Growing up my parents never took pictures and I don’t recall ever having any photos hanging on the walls or displayed in frames throughout the house. When I brought Emme home I couldn’t believe I had created life. And I couldn’t believe how fast she would change from a newborn to a baby, then a child and before I knew it young women.

I wanted to capture every moment I could of her life. I wanted to remember how tiny her hands and feet were at one time, and how she looked on her first day of preschool and every moment in between and after. I loved her and I began to really love photography. So I bought my first nice camera, a Nikon D60 and enrolled in a beginning photography class at the community college. I learned how to set my camera in manual mode and what that meant. I also learned how to find light and how to capture a moment.

I did struggle for quite some time with the camera settings. It just didn’t make sense to me for the longest time. But the more I went out and shot the more I got it. I think at this point you could say photography found me. All I did was surround myself with photography websites and blogs. I also wrote to a few favorite photographers and asked them for advice. I joined an online photography forum, clickinmoms and I attended multiple workshops. I started out shooting as much as I could. I would take pictures for friends and family and of course my daughter Emme was my main subject. I just fell in love with it. I loved being able to capture a moment for someone that would make them smile every time they looked at it.

I then learned all the aspects of starting my own business. Once I started getting clients I saved up and bought a Nikon D300s and a 24-70mm lens. I use this lens for every session and love it. My sweet spot is at f/f 2.8. Love the look of a blurry back ground and the subject the only thing in focus.

My next lens on my wish list would be the 85mm f/1.8. I have found that I enjoy taking pictures of children most. I love their innocence. They are such happy people to be around. I especially love newborns. There is no greater reward than being able to share such a beautiful moment in a couple’s life.

My advice for anyone starting out would be to surround yourself with photography. You don’t have to have a fancy camera to start out, you just have to have passion. Shoot as much as you can. It can be whatever. The more you shoot the better you will get.

The images we capture tell the stories of our lives. Life is short. I want my children to someday share what I captured of their childhood years with their babies. I too want to look back someday when I am old and see myself as a young mother with the children I once raised. We can’t get back or relive moments. I want to be able to give my grandbabies my story. A picture really is worth a thousand words.

JennThompsonPhotography.com