About
Your Photographer

Hey!

I'm Jess, a leading Horse, Dog and Graduating Senior Photographer based in Wisconsin.

I'm passionate about bringing you beautiful keepsakes of your memories with your beloved animals.

Meet The Fam

Ralph, the Border Collie

My hubs and I are happily owned, managed and manipulated by our sweet Border Collie, Ralph. He's wicked smart and the most affectionate little guy. We absolutely love him.

Jericho, the Dutch Harness Horse

Jeri is my over-sized dog. He's a sport edition and enjoys jumping and playing in the sand box. He does not appreciate circles (and more circles) but will begrudgingly do as I ask so long as I'm aware that he has a *much* better idea of how we should be spending our time.

My best friend & husband, C.

My partner in crime, my hero, my rock. Thank you for your unwavering support and encouragement of alllll my master plans, ideas and hobbies :P

Horse Show Photographer in Wisconsin Forest Road Photography.jpg

Jessica went above and beyond to capture some amazing pictures that we will cherish forever! She is extremely easy to work with, personable, and so much fun during the photo shoot."

-Amy D.

(Other than the obvious--my family and my horse of course!)

1.Chocolate (yes, I'm cliche)

2. Being in nature

3. Flower gardening

4. Writing

5. Introverting :-)

I'm fluent in Spanish and I've taught the language to others in some capacity for over ten years.

I earned my Master's degree at a university in Spain and lived there for a time.

As mentioned elsewhere, I'm an introvert and it's a superpower!

I think long-term or delayed gratification is addicting once you know what it feels like. Horse training, language learning, business building, play the long game, friends.

It's important to try new things and be bad at them. Let yourself. Every master was once a beginner.

I'm also a writer. I can't help it. I write down everything from stories, to journaling, to lists, to goals. There are a thousand notebooks and notepads scattered around my house and I use them ALL. I swear!

Fall is romantic. Winter is to be endured. Spring is for flowers. And summer is fine so long as there's shade :-)

By God's grace I am what I am (1 Cor. 15:10) and apart from Him, I can do nothing. (John 15:5). All glory to God!

I have done some form of photography for the better part of 15+ years. I had a wonderful mentor in high school who taught me and let me run around with her very expensive, fancy gear to take my friends' senior photos (thanks, Susan!). I bought a Canon Rebel camera as a sophomore in college (that $500 was a HUGE investment for me!) just before I went on Study Abroad in Spain. I fell in love with landscapes and cityscapes and to date, my travel photos are still some of my favorites.

My friend was getting married while we were in college and on a whim, I asked her wedding photographer if he would like an assistant for the year. I was planning to learn as much as I could and just be around the industry--holding an umbrella, carting gear around--but he let me second shoot and actually develop my craft instead of just get him coffee. Thanks for your generosity, patience and knowledge, Tim! I did find out through that venture that wedding photography was NOT for me. I cannot shoot for 14 hours of the day as well as extrovert that entire time. I'm an introvert who enjoys smaller groups of people in small quantities :-) Know thyself!

Over the years, I kept improving at photography as a hobby, taking classes, doing some senior session, family sessions, engagements. But the horses always called me back. I never intended to shift into it as a business, but dang it if I didn't get addicted to it! With Equine photography gaining in popularity it was really the perfect opportunity to join two of my great loves: Photography and Horses. And I soon discovered I really enjoyed running a business, too--the process of "becoming". For anyone out there who might be struggling with their own photography, I encourage you to keep at it. It's like a language of its own, and learning it takes years, but the long-term gratification is so worth it!

My business name: Forest Road Photography, actually comes from the show name of one of our first horses. My sister and I showed Morgans growing up and our mare was "Forest Road Jackie". As a little girl, I always pictured myself trotting down a beautiful forest road in autumn, with the leaves falling down, just like those girls in the Saddle Club, living the iconic horse-girl life. Now whenever I say my business name, I'm reminded of that same girl, the excitement, the dreams and the optimism of how beautiful life can be.

There are several elements to my work ethic, expertise and experience that make my business unique. Drop me a line if some of them resonate with you!! It's always great to meet others that feel like "your tribe."

After the typical high school, college, travel and 20-something experiences in life that are so often characterized by go-go-go, I really now hate being busy. That doesn't mean I enjoy doing nothing--oh no--I just enjoy having the time to slow down and go deep into whatever it is I'm working on, without a million outside obligations and expectations from others. I used to try to fit-in to the wear-busy-as-a-badge lifestyle, but you know what? It's stressful. It leaves little room in the day for awe, wonder, inspiration or creativity. Everyone just runs around in survival-mode. If you're a horse person too, no doubt you feel the change of stepping out of one world and into an entirely different one as soon as you walk into the barn. If you're there to hang out with your horse, muck out stalls, clean tack or whatever, isn't it a complete relief to just be able to focus on the task at hand and not task-switch or get interrupted every five minutes (like at work)? I really think our culture is becoming aware of how ill all the rushing around and noise pollution is making us on cellular level, and it's about time. But how does this world-view relate to my photography work?

-I only work with a select number of clients in a season.

I know high-volume photographers that will say yes to absolutely everyone, book multiple shoots a day and edit in front of their computers until their eyes bleed. Um, no thanks. By taking on less clients, I do much better work, I get to know people and their horses, and I'm at my most creative. That's a win for everyone! I get to plan your session, be readily available for communication, get creative and thorough with the work I produce, and design Home Art for you to enjoy.

-My work is meticulous and thorough.

Nothing is a rush-job. I'm here to provide a service that feels great for both myself and my clients and produces amazing work for people who appreciate art. I meet with clients virtually for their gallery reveal, and I take the time to go the extra mile by setting their images to music in a slideshow. We get to relive the shoot together, but it's also heartwarming that nearly all of my clients cry when they see their images. Photography is powerful. It's meaningful. And I know that trusting someone you might have only just met with your self-image and expectations can be hard. We're all hard on ourselves and dislike something about the way we look. But it's really beautiful when clients see the whole picture--their journey in life so far up until this moment. That is what my photography captures. Earning that kind of trust from people is very humbling and uplifting.

-My collections have something for everyone.

I believe in providing great value in terms of products that each client walks away with. That's why each of my collection options contain both a digital and a physical product element. It's the best of both worlds and helps you prevent the dreaded loss of digital-only images somewhere on your hard drive, never to see the light of day again. The a-la-carte Home Art investment options after your session further provide you an opportunity to enjoy your images where you get to see them every single day: hanging in your home.

-I'm an introvert.

But I'm great at people-ing. Being an introvert means you get your energy and recharge from being by yourself (hello glorious editing hours!). Extroverts, on the other hand, get their energy from being around droves of people. Neither is better or worse than the other, but for me, being an introvert means I'm thoughtful & patient. It means I probably ask you a lot of questions about yourself rather than talk about myself. It's means I don't dish out BS or tolerate smooth-talking salesy people who do. It means I've probably thought ahead and looked around corners to ensure everything about your photography session is smooth sailing by helping you with resources like my Session Prep Guide, and answering your questions before you even think to ask them!

Whether you realize it or not, you've probably come to the same conclusions about busyness and hurry-up and the efficiency-only culture that we live in. At the very least, you just know something is "off". That's why the barn feels so great. That's why standing, listening to the horses munch on their hay is the most calming thing in the world. They're not in a rush. They connect us to a life that has long since disappeared: where we take things slow, purposefully and with meaning. Photography forces you to slow down, too. You look at your wall or pull out your album and think: dang how has so much time passed? It gives you pause and time to reflect on how far you've come. Or helps you to feel the gratitude in passing of years. One thing is for sure, though, you're really glad you took the time to slow down, get the pictures taken, and document the most meaningful things in your life.