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I am clearly excited for your call! However, I am taller now.

I am clearly excited for your call! However, I am taller now.

JEN dEAN PHOTOGRAPHY
207. 370.8131
jen@jendeanphoto.com
Portland, Maine
Studio Location:
72 Bridge St., Westbrook, Maine

MY STUDIO LOCATION - 72 Bridge St., Westbrook, ME 04092

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I mean seriously. This kid. I’m totally in love with her. Also two year olds are a great way to be reminded of the wonder in the world. Thanks @samantharispoli for letting me spend time with yours! 👏♥️ *
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#toddler #toddlerfashion #toddlerlife #blonde #girl #littlegirl #autumnportrait #autumnvibes🍁 #portraitphotography #portrait #childrensportraits #maineportraitphotographer #mainefoliage #maine #207 #fallenleaves #kidsportraits #fallportraits #mainephotography

Hi. I’m Jen.
Here’s a little bit “About Me”. My daughter calls this my “Indiana Jones” hat.
Portland, ME is where I hang it.
Unlike Indy, I LOVE snakes. 🐍
I never turn down sushi or a slice of cake. 🍰
I used to go dancing - by myself. 💃🏼 Now I am too tired to stay up that late. 💤
Instead, I dance at home with my kiddo.
An awesome trade. ♥️ I am a portrait photographer. 📷
A visibility specialist.
A beautiful genius. 💫
I lead women back to seeing themselves.
Loving themselves.
Not after they lose 20 pounds.
Not after they hit an elusive milestone.
Not after they think they’ve earned it.
Right now.
I help women see their own
Beautiful genius.
Right now. 💥
You’re a beautiful genius.
If you wrote an “About Me”
Would you say that?
You could.
(You should.) My gift is helping you see your genius.
Claim it.
Own it.
Not sure how to do that?
Ask!
I’m happy to help. 👏
Say hi in the comments
Or shoot me a DM! *
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#visibility #seeyourself #portraitphotographer #blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhite #nicehat #indianajones #laughing #laughter #maineportraitphotographer #maineportraitphotography #loveyourself #ingenious #genius #ingeniousalchemy #lovewhoyouarerightnow

I spent much of the summer preparing for the launch of IA in the fall. The first course is almost half-way through, and I'm currently enrolling women to participate in January. It's a balance, being present while looking forward towards goals and desires yet to be fulfilled. Especially since this time of year always makes me a bit melancholy. The shifting of light, the falling leaves, the way the mornings and evenings cool enough to make you reach for an extra blanket.

It’s not that I dislike fall - but every October, without fail, sadness creeps in a bit and I need to remind myself of the reasons why I like the season. Trips to the orchard, a big pot of soup that simmers all Sunday, weather that means my pre-teen kiddo gets snuggly again on the couch as we take advantage of the early sunset to rewatch "Stranger Things" for the upteenth time and lean into the spooky-scary season.

Patterns are a good thing. When you can anticipate something, you can prepare for it. You can both love something, and dread it. And since I know this is the time of year that makes me melancholy, I can remind myself that it’s in my power what to do with it. Not to deny it, or pretend it doesn’t exist, but to welcome it in, and to find ways to celebrate its arrival, because in our discomfort there are lessons to be learned.

This gorgeous wise woman that I am so lucky to call a dear friend had me take Personal Branding photos. 👏 She is a wildlife ecologist and deeply cares about our world 🌎 I always learn something new when we are together. ♥️ Go to @firstlighthabitats and follow her to read the wonderful Phenology Notes and learn more about how to turn your own backyard into a welcoming wildlife habitat. 🦌 🐝 🌿💕 *
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#thepersonalecologist #ecologist #wildlifeecologist #ecology #personalbranding #personalbrand #visibility #maine #maineportraitphotographer #maineportraitphotography #portraitphotographer #autumn #autumnportrait #maple #aster #brunette #biologist #biologistlife #jendeanphoto #firstlighthabitats

The perfect mixture of ridiculousness when these two get together 💫♥️🍎🍂

Autumn 🍎 picking with these two beauties. #swooning These will be blowing up your feed. (;
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#applepicking🍎 #applepicking #orchard #appletree #appletrees #bestfriends #cloaks #blonde #childhood #kids #girls #storybook #fantasy

Here’s what I’ve learned about being hidden.
I spent most of my life trying to fit in. I grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness. An extremely strict cult religion which has a very rigid black and white set of rules to follow. I found myself hiding in plain sight.
That’s a strange way to grow up. My natural state of being wasn’t accepted in this religion. I was loud and opinionated. I talked constantly, and was fiercely inquistive. That was absolutely unacceptable. Accept blindly. Ask no questions. Conform. 📦
Be a good girl, Jen. They said.
Before anyone they told me I wasn’t good: I thought I was.
In order to be a good girl I squashed all kinds of parts of my personality. All sorts of aspects of my emotions, ideas, and curiosities. All of these were parts of myself that over and again I turned off, shut up, cut out. Denied. Rebuked. Rejected.
That’s not a sustainable way to live. I became resentful and depressed, and lived in that mindset for many, many years. My formative years were informed by constraints and restrictions I didn’t understand. How could this be holy? How could this be sacred? I was a passionate curious joyful person, and I wasn’t allowed to express that. To anyone else, nor to myself. There is a long list of things that living like this cost me. 💔
So I slowly begin to open the lid to the box that I had created for myself to live in. I also began to ask for help. I created a support system. Friends who could see me for who I was and celebrate the sides of myself that I had tried to ignore.
I’m constantly surprised by the life I have now. By how easy it is. By how completely full it is. Yes, there is grief and pain and resentment at times, but now there is wonder. And passion. And joy. I learned how to love all of it. I learned where the sacred really lives: In the full embrace of your whole self. No part better or worse than the other - all parts valuable. All parts seen.
What parts of yourself have you hidden away because you felt you had to in order to be accepted? Who has told you - or is still telling you - that you need to hide, deny, and reject yourself to acceptance? Are you ready to live fully? Are you ready to be fully seen?
I’m here wi