Maternity session Inspiration

Happy Spring from Every Atom Photography! 🌸

Spring is in the air and Sarah and I are filled with excitement here at Every Atom Photography! While we bid farewell to the chilly winter days, we can't help but look back on all the wonderful memories we've captured with our amazing clients.

Winter brought us so many heartwarming opportunities, especially as we witnessed our past brides and grooms embark on their journey into parenthood. The joy of photographing newborns and expecting mothers has truly filled our hearts with positivity and inspiration.

From the amazing "I do" moments to the tentative selection of baby names and beyond, we've been fortunate to be a part of countless families' milestones. As we sit back on this last winter day, we can't help but marvel at the incredible journey we've shared with our clients. Time truly flies, and soon we'll be capturing senior and graduation photos for these little ones!

Life is a beautiful whirlwind of precious moments and we are grateful to be able to freeze these memories in time through our photography. Although we primarily serve the Cincinnati area, if you reside elsewhere and can't book a session with us, we hope our work can serve as inspiration for your future photo sessions with your local photographer.

Without further ado, we present a few of our favorite captures from our last two sessions. 📸✨ Let's embrace the new season and the endless possibilities it holds!

Get everyone together!

Capturing Love in Every Atom: Maternity Sessions

During a maternity session, it's natural to focus on capturing the radiant glow of the mom-to-be. But hey, let's not forget about the other little love bundles eagerly waiting to meet their new sibling! Just like you, they are bursting with joy and anticipation for their upcoming playmate. Including them in the photoshoot will add an extra layer of sweetness and excitement that you'll cherish forever.

Oh, and let's not overlook our furry friends! Pets can bring such warmth and comfort to a maternity session. Their presence reminds us that the arrival of a new baby is a momentous occasion for the whole family, including our beloved four-legged companions.

So, embrace the chaos, the giggles, and the paw prints in your maternity session. Trust us, you won't regret it. These photos will be treasured reminders of the love and anticipation that surrounded the journey to welcoming your newest family member.

Let's delve into the romantic side of things now. Despite the joyous anticipation of starting a family, it's important to cherish the love and passion between you and your special someone that sparked this beautiful journey. Ensure your photographer captures these heartfelt moments and gives dad his well-deserved time in the spotlight during the session. It's all about celebrating love, family, and those tender connections that make your story truly special.

Romantic maternity session in Dayton Ohio

Embracing Winter Vibes!

While some of our clients lean towards cozy studio sessions during winter, others can't resist the allure of the moody, magical outdoor look. Don't shy away from the chill! Bundle up, and let's create unforgettable moments together. You'll love the results, we promise! 📸❄️

Braving the cold for this moody maternity session in Waynesville, Ohio.

Celebrating Our Mom-to-Be

Let's shine the spotlight on our incredible mom-to-be! In the world of maternity sessions, she is truly the star of the show. Capturing her radiance is not only a priority but a joy. It was capturing the beauty of individuals that led me to pursue this career, making this part of the session a personal favorite. And when our mom-to-be arrives in style like Katie with her stunning long green dress, it simply adds that extra touch of magic to the whole experience.

Long Flowing Green Maternity Dress

Effortlessly stylish long green maternity dress for glowing moms-to-be, blending elegance with comfort and natural beauty.

I have found the perfect dress that I absolutely adore on Amazon!

Lifestyle Maternity: Embracing a Casual and Charming Look

Given the scenario of lifestyle maternity photography, the emphasis is on capturing a laid-back and natural aesthetic. The fashion style in this setting leans towards casual outfits that reflect what you would typically wear around the house. This approach adds a unique level of charm and authenticity to the images, embodying a sense of realism and comfort.

Capturing Sweet Beginnings

Infusing your photos with timeless charm is as simple as adding a sprinkle of nostalgia. Props like baby's first shoes, a cuddly teddy bear, a soft blanket, or even an ultrasound photo not only bring delightful pops of color and texture but also weave a heartwarming tale of the beautiful journey that is about to unfold. By incorporating these precious mementos, your images come alive with a touch of sweetness, capturing the essence of a new chapter waiting to be written.

Thank you for checking out our photos and ideas! We hope they bring a smile to your face and give you wonderful memories to cherish for years to come. If you're in our area, Sarah and I would be thrilled to chat with you about planning your next photo session. Just head over to our contact page whenever you're ready. Let us know what type of session catches your eye! God bless and happy spring!

I Was Born the Family Documentarian

Johnny & Pam in the family cabin.

Hello all and thanks again for reading! I started this blog as a photography advice blog. It still is that but it's grown into so much more. I am enjoying sharing more about myself and my art. It’s been a great way for people to get to know Sarah and I better as well as helping me put things into perspective. When you do photo session after session things start to blur together and at a point you can become lost to your creative development.

Two weeks ago I went to my grandparents Christmas party. I’'ll admit I don’t look forward to every Christmas event, but I am always excited for Christmas at my Grandmother's Cabin.

My grandparents live deep in the woods in a cabin built by my great grandfather. The cabin sits on top of a hill that I think should qualify as a mountain. The drive up is rife with cliffs and gullies and the road starts with a sign stating “ I’d turn back if I were you.” to warn drivers who’s vehicles can’t handle the trip to second guess their choice to venture up.

Grandma is an “outspoken” woman who loves nothing more than Canoeing, fishing, playing her guitar and sitting warm in her cabin by the fire. She was always an inspiration to me and had a huge impact on me as an artist.

My Grandmother Pam Livesay in her cabin.

Grandma Playing her guitar.

Grandpa is a Tennessee native who grew up in a log cabin built by his father with no electricity or plumbing. His childhood cabin is actually in the Appalachian museum today. He served his country as a machinist in the navy on a battleship during Vietnam

Grandpa pictured with his fathers shotgun.

My Grandfather Johnny Livesay pictured with his fathers shotgun.

It’s always a great time hearing about their adventures. Somehow they have traveled the country for almost 50 years together and can tell you the names of every river they have paddled and every town they have taken a pit stop in.

So anyway back to the point. I was sitting in my favorite spot after re-stocking the firewood. looking into the same wood burning stove I have stared at my entire life when I see a shot. A spark of inspiration. I knew my grandfather's knee replacement surgery was going to be taking place in four days and at his age he might be out of commission for months. Especially with a hard winter coming up in Ohio.

So when I was saying my goodbyes I informed them that I would be back in two days to do portraits in the cabin at 11 am. That is when the light coming in from the front window is just right. They knew they didn’t have a choice with me.

That morning I showed up with my equipment and spent an hour photographing my grandparents. These photos show the love they have for each other, and to me they reflect their personalities perfectly. I hope although you don’t know them now, these photos tell you something about them.

After years of being a wedding photographer in Ohio and being overcome with Family, baby, graduation photo sessions etc… It can be easy to forget to use your photography skills to document your own family. I am thrilled to share these photos with you and I know they will be treasured by my family for generations.

 Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

  If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson

My Journey as an Artist - Jordan Epperson

This blog post will help you get to know me. It focuses on my artistic journey and what inspires me as an artist.

Jordan Epperson Photo by Sixteen Fourteen Photography

Wedding and family photography gets a bad rap in the art community. It’s not chic enough. Its not unique. It’s shallow or “basic”. These stereotypes can be true. But let me be the first to tell you that they can be true of any form of art. Just turn on the radio and you will hear a plethora of shallow basic pop music. Or go to the city and visit an art gallery. There will be a few great pieces there but you will likely also see piece after piece of mediocre art that imitates the greats but has no heart behind it. There is a difference between hiring a photographer and commissioning an artist.

An elegant Bride: Jordan Epperson. Rolling Meadows Ranch, Lebanon, Ohio.

 When I was a boy I quickly learned that I was happiest when I was telling stories. My first medium was puppets. I would make up a funny scenario and then put my little brother and sister to work acting out whatever funny or scary ideas popped into my head. 

Next came writing. I had dyslexia and wasn’t able to read or write until I was 11. My mother would sit with me for hours and transcribe my endless stream of thoughts. She was a saint. 

My need to be able to tell these stories myself is what gave me the drive to overcome my disability. Writing was a tool that I had to have in my arsenal. I may have never mastered it to the level I aspire to but what I have gets the job done! 

When I was about 9 the biggest event in my life as an artist occurred. My dad came home with an enormous used VHS camera that my grandfather had given him. This was the 90’s so having one of these was still a big deal. That camera might as well have been duct taped to my hands.

At the same time that I was falling in love with film I was able to imitate the artists who were producing them. With that camera and a VCR I began shooting and editing. My friends and family became my cast and crew. 

My mother around that time, had taken up photography and had gotten good enough that she was even taking some paid sessions. She was a painter as well and the best hair stylist I have ever encountered. I am proud of her and I attribute my creative side to her.

Around 11 years old I started writing music and teaching myself to play guitar. This, like all other art, became an obsession and added to my films in a unique way. At 12 my parents got a divorce. This is when My art started to reflect more darkness. I wrote more horror stories than comedy and switched from colored pencils to charcoal. I listened to less of the Who and more of Nirvana.

At 14 Sarah and I got together. This was a bombshell and changed everything. She was a ray of sunshine in my life and continues to be over 20 years later. She was also, a creative. She was an abstract painter and sculptor. She was more into photography than video and showed me darkroom work she had done with a camera she built herself out of a box. What a girl.

This grabbed me. I was so used to telling stories in video at 24 frames a second. The challenge of telling a story in one frame was exciting. I started to notice photography more. Especially fashion magazines. I noticed how there were plenty of magazines with a smiling model on the cover showing a piece of clothing. It was flattering and made the dress or pants look good, but the magazine covers that really stood out to me were the ones where the focus wasn’t on the clothes. It was on the model. Their eyes and expressions were clear and made you feel something. If they looked mysterious that made me feel mysterious. Sometimes the shots would be totally out of focus and very artistic. This made me want to be artistic. I realized that by not focusing on the clothing and instead focusing on the emotional impact of the model, the photographer was selling a feeling. People wanted to feel like that and that's what sold the clothing. That was what made this work high fashion. You don’t really want the jeans. You want to feel cool, or sexy or confident. This was incredible to me. 

This is where my photography method evolved from. If I am doing bridal photography my goal is to capture the way the bride feels on that day. The magic you feel in your heart on your wedding day. The target is to create images that the bride and her family can look at in 30 years and feel what she felt on that day. To me that's the difference between a wedding photographer and an artist. This applies for any session. A family photograph should do more than just show a family standing in front of the camera. That documents who is in the family and what age they were, but it does little else. A family photograph of mom and dad playing and tickling their laughing children shows a special time that for most people only lives in our memories. 

Any artistic endeavors can become stale if you're repeating the same thing over and over. This is where fresh inspiration comes in. I am constantly reading and searching for inspiration. In today's world it is absolutely everywhere. But the best place to find it ( for me atleast ) is in books. Reading from inspiring people or going to the library and flipping through the books from fashion and street photographers of the past.

Reception Hora Dance in Cincinnati, Ohio. By: Jordan Epperson

I have plenty of names to drop from my biggest influences but I want to drop 2 names here for now. The first is Richard Avedon. He was an astounding portrait and fashion photographer who changed my artistic life with one image. The April 1965 cover of Harper's Bazaar Magazine. I can’t post it here because of copyright but I am linking it below and if you're at all interested in my artistic journey and have enjoyed this post so far you should give it a look.

My second name drop is M.K Sadler. Unlike Richard Avedon, M.K Sadler is currently working and still in the early stages of an incredible career. She shoots fashion and portrait photography and has managed to infuse her talents in that area into her wedding photography in such a unique way.  I found her a couple of years ago through her popular instagram account. She caught my attention immediately and I had to start following her. She is everything I love about photography and if you want to learn more about my tastes you can check her out below. 

Instagram - @mksadler

Instagram for wedding work - @mksadlerwed

Websites

This post has been very personal to me and I am thrilled that you have taken the time to read it. I get questions about my story and inspirations a lot. I am not the best at sharing in person so it has been extremely helpful and even therapeutic to write all of this out for the first time. 

My advice to you would be to look carefully through the portfolio of any photographer that you are considering working with. See what Images stand out to you. Take note of how they make you feel inside. Are they simply pretty or do they evoke something deeper in you? 

 Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

  If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson

The greatest complement

A few months ago we received an Instagram message from a woman named Michelle who was interested in our wedding photography. She had been leaving us likes and sweet comments on our photos for a while and we, in turn, we had been following her. We had enjoyed viewing her adorable pictures with her fiancé John and seeing their travels around the country. They seemed like adventurous and fun people and we were thrilled that they had reached out to us. 

   We moved forward with a phone consultation. Sarah and I sat in the yard by the chicken coop with a cup of tea and coffee on a beautiful morning (Our favorite way to do a consultation.) We were so excited to get to know a little bit more about her and John. We said our friendly hellos and before we could get any further she said

“ Before we start, I have to tell you the story of how we found you.” Sarah and I were intrigued and excited. She explained to us that while traveling the country she and her fiance had stopped at a brewery called Idletyme brewing in Vermont for a drink. While there, they had met a couple on their honeymoon who told them all about their amazing wedding and were over the moon about their photographers aka (us). They shared our information with Michelle and she fell in love with our work. 

  Let's stop for a minute to reflect on that. This meant so much to us for so many reasons. The obvious appreciation of our art and hard work. But moreover, the fact that the honeymooning couple hadn't seen one photo from their wedding sample yet, meant that the glowing review of Sarah and I had been sent hundreds of miles from Cincinnati, Ohio to Stowe, Vermont by little more than the couple's wedding day experience with us! This was the biggest complement of all. Making someone's wedding day as magical as possible is of course the biggest thing on our hearts. Writing this story brings that feeling of love for our couples and pride in our work rushing back. The couple at the bar by the way, are named Ashley and Justin and tomorrow, over a year after their wedding we will be in Yellow Springs, Ohio shooting their maternity photos as they prepare to welcome their new baby into the world! I will link their wedding sample below and you can expect a sample of this soon to be amazing maternity session to be up in the coming weeks!

Justin and Ashley (The couple at the bar in Stowe, Vermont.)

Michelle and John booked us on the spot after our call and we are so thrilled to be working with them. They will be having us travel to Philadelphia, PA for their wedding next year and just last weekend we traveled out to meet them in person and shoot their engagement session at Hunting Hill Mansion. Which was GORGEOUS by the way. What an awesome adventure that was for us! God has blessed us with an amazing life of love and adventure fueled by art and the love of others. We have the privilege of bringing positive energy to such a special time in people's lives and we don’t take that for granted. Not even for a second.

Michelle & John at Hunting Hill Mansion. Outside of Philadelphia, PA.

Michelle & John at Hunting Hill Mansion. Just outside of Philadelphia, PA.

 Sarah and I are open for bookings in the Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky area as well as traveling sessions. If you’re interested in possibly booking a session just hop over to the contact page and shoot us an email!

  If you enjoyed this read, please leave a like and consider subscribing for more photo session advice. Follow us on Instagram at the link below to keep up with our most recent photo session samples and reels.

Thanks for reading!

- Jordan Epperson