Olympic Sculpture Park Family Portraits | Jess, Jeremy, and Connor

Justin and I wanted to share a bunch more photos from our portrait session with Jess, Jeremy, and Connor this January. This lovely family was the winner of my Giving is Awesome contest in December, referred by Jess’s sister, Mary, who is also an awesome Dallas wedding and portrait photographer.

Jess and I have become good friends since their shoot… she’s crazy, funny, geeky, and altogether someone I can absolutely relate to. Honestly, the grand prize couldn’t have gone to anyone better! These three were nominated for their touching and courageous story: Jess and Jeremy’s little boy, Connor, was born with a rare and serious chromosomal disorder that’s given him all sorts of difficulties. He has sensitive senses (say that 5 times fast!) and isn’t really keen on new things, which posed an interesting challenge for our shoot. I was pretty amused when I introduced myself to him and he signed “No. Don’t like. Go away” to his mom. Bonus points for being assertive, little guy!

We took photos at the Olympic Sculpture Park, which allows for some nice indoor shots in the event of rain and purports to be wheelchair accessible (though the ‘accessible’ path is unpaved and gravel REALLY isn’t wheel-friendly). At the time, Jeremy was in and out of a chair recovering from surgeries he’d had to repair injuries he sustained to his legs from an IED in Afghanistan. But the last time we saw Jer, he’d ditched his chair and crutches for a pimpin’ cane and now I guess he’s pretty much done with that, too! Good thing, ’cause we’re about to do a second mini-session to make up for getting rained out at the end of this one.

Check out the photos below, and be sure to visit Jess’s blog, Connor’s Song, to read her often-entertaining, sometimes-scary posts about their daily adventures.