Janell Marie Photography

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Janell Marie Photography

Providing Mom’s with tangible memories with their families- whatever season of life they’re in.

11/01/2026

November is a season of giving thanks, and I couldn’t think of a better way to kick off the month than by saying THANK YOU!

Thank you for being here, following along, supporting my little business, and trusting me to document so many of your family’s memories. Whether you’ve been in front of my camera or have simply been cheering me on from the sidelines, I’m so grateful you’re here❤️

This month, I’m doing things a little differently! Every Sunday throughout November, I’ll be sharing a special one-day-only offer as part of A November to Remember, and we’re kicking things off with a GIFT AWAY!

And the best part? There will be SIX winners!

ONE lucky winner will receive:

A complimentary storytelling session, including:
* 25 minutes together
* 5 edited digital images
* A one-minute highlight film

FIVE additional winners will each receive:

A $100 session credit toward a qualifying 2027 session with Janell Marie Photography!

HOW TO ENTER:

1. Join the email list- Follow the link in the comments and complete the email list entry form! Already subscribed? You can still enter! Just follow the same link and fill out the form to be included.
2. Comment on this post- for an additional entry, leave a comment sharing one little moment from your family’s everyday life that you’d love to have photographed.
3. Tag a friend in the comments who might love this gift away!

(Each qualifying comment earns one additional entry)

THE LITTLE DETAILS:

Entries close November 4, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

Six winners will be randomly selected and contacted via email on November 5, 2026.

The grand prize session must take place by May 31, 2027.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you for being part of this little community. I can’t wait to share all the special things coming your way this November🧡

(No purchase necessary. This promotion is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by, or associated with Instagram or Facebook. By participating, entrants release Instagram and Facebook from responsibility for this promotion.)

10/29/2026

When we started planning this session, it sounded like home was where so much of their life together happens, and I thought it would be the perfect place to document for them. What I didn’t know at the time was just how much meaning those walls already held.

As it turns out, this was the very same house that mom had been brought home to as a newborn. Years later, when it came on the market, she and her husband had the opportunity to buy it. And now, they’re raising their own little girl in the same home where she grew up, taking her to play at the same playground across the street where she once played as a little girl herself.

And this is exactly why I love storytelling sessions so much. We could have chosen any beautiful fall location, but there’s something about documenting a family in a place that already holds so much of their story. Someday, when their daughter looks back through these photographs, she’ll see more than what her family looked like in this season of life. She’ll see the home where both she and her mama grew up, the places they played, and the little pieces of their everyday life that connect one generation to the next.

There’s a reason so much thought and planning goes into these sessions. It’s never just about finding a pretty location. It’s about getting to know your family, learning what matters to you, and creating photographs that will mean even more as the years go by.

And a little full-circle moment that makes this session even sweeter? Years ago, I happened to second shoot a wedding, and it turned out to be theirs. It wasn’t until we started planning their maternity and newborn sessions that we connected the dots! Getting to document their wedding day, and now watching their story unfold as they’ve become parents, has been such a special reminder of why I love what I do.

10/23/2026

NYC, part two🗽🍎

Our second session in the city was spent frolicking around Central Park with the sweetest family, and I think these photos are such a perfect reminder of what can happen when we just let kids be kids.

Let them run around, lay in the grass, explore whatever catches their attention, and when they want to come running back for a cuddle, soak that up too. And if your little guy decides he needs a sushi break in the middle of the session? Well, we’re doing that too.

I know that as parents, it can sometimes feel like things are a little chaotic when our kids are running in different directions or aren’t necessarily doing what we had envisioned. But I promise, some of my favorite moments come from simply leaning into their energy rather than trying to control every little thing.

When we give kids the space to be themselves, their personalities really start to shine through. And I think so much of that starts with us as parents, too. When we’re able to relax, play along, and embrace whatever unfolds, it creates an environment where our kids feel comfortable doing the same.

Of course, I’ll still offer guidance along the way, but I never want a session to feel like we’re constantly asking your kids to sit still, smile, or do something that doesn’t feel natural to them.

Because at the end of the day, I don’t just want you to have beautiful photographs of your family. I want you to look back at them and recognize your kids exactly as they were in this season of life, with all their energy, curiosity and silly little quirks.

Utah Family Photographer | BreAnne
Midwest Portrait Photographer | Caitlin
Cait + Bre

10/21/2026

December and January mamas, this one’s for you!

If you’re expecting a little one in the next few months, now is the time to start thinking about documenting those early days together, if you haven’t already. Especially before we get caught up in all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!

There’s something about those early newborn days that feels like such a blur. One minute you’re bringing this tiny little person home, and before you know it, they’re starting to fill out those newborn clothes, their little stretches look different, and they’re not quite as tiny curled up on your chest anymore.

And I think that’s what makes documenting those first days so special. It’s not just about having beautiful photos of your baby (although, of course, we want those too!). It’s about remembering what those first few weeks of motherhood looked and felt like. The way they fit so perfectly in your arms, the way their older siblings peeked into the bassinet to check on them, or the way you spent what felt like hours just staring at this little person you finally got to meet.

Whether we’re documenting those first days in the comfort of your home or together in the studio, I want you to have photographs that bring you right back to this season of life, long after those newborn days have passed.

I’m booking newborn sessions for December 2026 and January 2027 due dates! If you’re expecting a little one around that time, I’d love to get you on my calendar before the holidays are in full swing.

10/16/2026

Just a reminder to those due in 2027 ;)

10/12/2026

This is what storytelling sessions are all about. 🤎

When we started planning this session, there were a few things that were especially important to mom. Documenting their sweet, aging pup, who just so happens to be one of their daughter’s very favorite things. The walks she loves taking with “Ba,” her love for bubbles, afternoons spent at the park, playing on the playground, and swinging on the swings. All the little things that make up their days together right now.

And so, that’s exactly what we did.

Because storytelling sessions aren’t about showing up somewhere pretty and smiling for the camera, they are about digging a little deeper into what makes your family yours. What are the little things your kids love doing right now? The routines, the traditions, the things you do together that might seem ordinary today but will mean everything someday?

Those are the things I want to know. And those are the things we build your session around.

The beautiful thing is that no two families, and no two seasons of life, look quite the same. And that’s exactly why I love documenting them.

And can we just talk about fall for a second?! The colors, the golden light, all of it. We’re in that little window of the year that feels like an absolute dream behind the camera, and I couldn’t resist sharing some of this goodness.

And getting to document all of this for longtime friends? That just makes it a little extra special.

10/05/2026

You asked for a little New York City goodness, so let’s start here. 🗽

A few weeks ago, I packed my camera and headed to NYC for a few days dedicated to learning, creating, and being surrounded by other photographers who love this work just as much as I do.

We spent a couple of days learning from Utah Family Photographer | BreAnne + Midwest Portrait Photographer | Caitlin, for the Cait + Bre retreat and got a little dose of color theory from Mrs. Exel’s Art Studio mixed in, and then took everything we were talking about out into the city to actually play, experiment, and create.

And this sweet family was our first adventure. 💛

We met them in the city with scooters and a longboard in tow, stopped by a pretzel stand, and eventually made our way into Central Park. We played with different light, intentional color, movement, connection and, of course, the very real challenge of the crowds and chaos of New York City 😂

But as much as I came home inspired by what we photographed, experiences like this are about so much more than adding new images to my portfolio.

I got to spend those days not only learning from three incredibly talented women, but alongside photographers from different states, different backgrounds, and different places in their businesses. We all see things a little differently. We photograph differently. We run our businesses differently. And there is something so valuable about getting in the same room, sharing those experiences, asking questions, trying something new, and learning from, and with, each other.

I don’t think I’ll ever reach a point in this business where I don’t want to keep learning.

There is always another way to see light. Another way to use color. Another perspective to consider. Another way to tell a story.

And after all these years, getting to keep learning, playing, experimenting, and letting those experiences shape the way I photograph your families back home is still one of my favorite parts of this job.

I have so much more from this trip that I can’t wait to share, but for now enjoy part one: scooters, pretzels, Central Park, a whole lot of NYC chaos, and one really sweet family. 🤎

08/21/2026

I want to talk to the expecting mamas for a second, especially the ones who are in their third trimester and have “figure out newborn photos” somewhere on a list that’s growing longer by the day.

Here’s the thing… This is actually one of the easiest items on that list to check off because I do most of the heavy lifting for you. You reach out, tell me your due date, and I hold your spot on my calendar with a retainer, and then we don’t have to figure out the actual session date until after baby arrives. You don’t have to have anything figured out beyond reaching out, simple as that.

So, if you’re due this October- December, my calendar is open right now and I would love to take this one off your plate.

08/19/2026

Can I take you behind the scenes of how I actually prep for a storytelling session? Because long before I ever pick up my camera, I’m learning about your family.

It starts with a questionnaire.

I want to know who you are, what this season of life looks like, what your kids are into right now, the little mundane things you never want to forget, how your family connects, and what you’re hoping to feel when you look back at these photographs years from now.

Then I take everything you’ve shared and start piecing together a loose flow for your session. Not a shot list or a list of poses to check off. More like... these are the things I want to make space for. Maybe something you tell me about your toddler becomes an activity we weave into the session. Maybe an ordinary part of your family’s routine becomes something I know I want to document. I have an idea of where we’ll begin and where we might naturally go, while leaving plenty of room for your family to simply be together.

And sometimes, those little pieces reveal themselves once I’m actually there. At a recent session, their oldest son started telling me all about birds and showing me one of his bird books. We moved on, but I tucked that little detail away. Later, while everyone was cuddled up together, I asked him to grab the book again. Not because I walked in thinking I need a photo of him with this book, but because I realized it mattered to him. Ten years from now, that book may be collecting dust on a shelf, but his mom will look at those photographs and think, Oh my gosh, he LOVED that book. That’s the point—paying attention to those seemingly insignificant pieces of your life and making space for them to be remembered.

I’ll also connect you with Vanessa, my stylist. She knows my work and what photographs beautifully through my lens, while also considering your personal style, what you feel good in, what you already own, and the overall feel of your session. She’s another set of eyes helping bring everything together while still making sure it feels like you.

So by the time I show up for your session, I’ve already spent time learning about your family. I’m thinking about what you told me, the little

08/17/2026

Something nobody really talks about in this industry is how personal the work actually is. Not just for the client, but for the photographer, too.

I think about several newborn sessions I photographed earlier this year, often actually. The moms who let themselves be vulnerable. The ones who shed tears while holding their babies. Who, for just a little while, slowed down enough to really feel all of it.

The exhaustion. The love. The weight of how much life had just changed.

There’s something incredibly intimate about being invited into that space.

I’m not just photographing what your baby looked like when they were two weeks old. I’m watching the way you instinctively pull them closer. The way their entire body fits against your chest. The way you look at them when you forget for a second that I’m there.

And sometimes, I’m watching a mom see herself differently, too.

I’ve had moms cry over photographs because they didn’t realize how beautiful this season looked from the outside. Because while they were living it, they mostly felt tired, emotional, overwhelmed, or unlike themselves.

Those moments stay with me.

This job changes me a little every season, and I think that’s something I want people to know before they book with me.

This isn’t just a transaction for me.

You’re inviting me into a tiny piece of your life that you’ll never get back exactly as it is right now. And these sessions live with me long after your gallery is delivered.

Address

500 Madison Ave
Toledo, OH
43604

Website

https://www.janellmariephotography.com/, http://www.janellmariephotography.com/events

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