Jaime Val Photography

Day three of our trip to California, and my children are three shades tanner than when we left Wisconsin. We’ve spent our day in and out of swimming pools, eating lots of yummy food, and visiting with family… they’ve been so happy and exhausted, and it really just makes my heart happy. It’s not an “easy” trip without my husband; it’s a worth it trip for me and my kids, though. Next week, I get to see a bunch of my favorite west coast families… the fact that I still have clients here who book me on visits is just the highest compliment and the true joy of this job. Still seeing these babies grow up, even when I’m 1,200 miles away!

Summertime means so many beautiful things, but it also means I’m a single mama until 6 PM everyday, which makes business tricky. Social media crawls to the bottom of the priority list, so if you could like this gorgeous photo series and help my engagement, I would appreciate it so much! 😁

A flood of sunshine on my grid this evening to make me feel better about having two rain reschedules tonight… and guess what? It did not rain. Wisconsin’s June has been a whirlwind of temperamental rain and sun, so I am only able to take one more new booking for a golden hour in July at this time! I am squeezing my reschedules into an already busy month, and biggest thank you to my clients who have been so gracious and flexible!

So much love for this beautiful family. My cousin makes the most beautiful babies, and the fact that this little girl turns one soon has me unwell. 🥹

Two piece set is available in my client closet for all full sessions!

The criteria for our session were as follows:

- Spring blooms
- Stevie Nicks
- Moody + feminine + epic

How did we do?! 😍

Ps. I hope the algorithm sends me every single Fox Valley couple who thinks they’re awkward in front of a camera. Challenge accepted, always.

If you want someone who only communicates via email within 48 business hours AND signs that email with “best” or “sincerely”… I am probably not the professional photographer for you. But if you want someone who might over-share a little or squeak out a few personal anecdotes during our time together, HEY! I’m Jaime, your Appleton motherhood photographer for every stage and season of your crazy little life.

There’s only one thing better than a set of baby toes to kiss… two 🤍🤍

This beautiful family welcomed two sweet boys, and I have the privilege of documenting their first year. Jace, their pup, tried to steal the show, but his competition is steep! Cheers to boy mamas and DOUBLE cheers to twin mamas!

This week has been a whirlwind in my life- between a birthday party, sessions, and my husband getting really bad food poisoning, I feel like I’m finally crawling out o the surface again. Thank you everyone who checked in on us and offered help and love! We have built such a community here, and I am truly grateful. Love you all & now back to our regularly scheduled programming!

Summer is getting FULL, so I am officially heading toward a four-week gallery turn around. Book with this in mind, even though dates are getting sparse. Definitely my busiest summer yet. Looking forward to seeing some of my west coast families soon, too! Los Angeles is just about a week away!

Introducing… WILFRED 🥹

For years, all my Oliver has wanted for every birthday and Christmas has been a kitty. Every time we’d ask for any specific gift ideas, he would say, “a cat,” without skipping a beat. This union has been a year in the making, and watching his dream come true was one of the best moments of our lives so far. He is so kind, gentle and deserving of his own little critter. I would not get an animal for just any kiddo, but Oliver is truly the best cat dad and will be Wilfred’s best friend for life.

Swipe to see his gotcha moment 😍

He’s chosen to name him Wilfred, but of course, Will, W***y and Freddie have already been in rotation. Welcome to our family, little cream puff!

This year, I began drying the dandelions I get picked. I’m really savoring and trying to keep this season of littleness that my children still hold onto. I have no idea what I’ll do with them, but I’ll have them, and that’s what I important to me. I hosted dandelion minis in a dandelion field last month, and magic is an understatement.

Summer officially begins this week for our school district, which means I get to soak up slow mornings and unstructured time with my boys. I look forward to it so much since two are in school full time now… my little middle turns six tomorrow, and we have a BIG surprise for his gift. Stay tuned for photos 🥹

There are so many more than five, but I feel like these really showcase the purpose of why JVP exists. Doing this job is rewarding in ways I had never expected when I opened my LLC and began being a “professional photographer.” It’s hard to sell myself on that because this isn’t what I went to college for, and I had a full-blown career before this. But then, my children called. Motherhood changed every plan I thought I had, and it led me on a path of self discovery.

I have a lot of other photographers on here- are there any you would add?

I am officially back on the grid from a little family camping trip! We had a lot of fun over the long weekend, but I will say, camping with kids is NOT relaxing (until they go to sleep). My spouse and I are exhausted, but if kids have taught me anything, it’s that I will sleep when I’m dead. 🤣 I think I’m caught up on emails, and I’ll be back to social media throughout today and tomorrow as I get little pops of quiet in the day. I hope everyone had a beautiful weekend and got to connect with their little fams, too!

I still have some beautiful work to share from April minis, and I have been keeping these in my pocket for a beautiful day like today. I have to admit… mini sessions with first time clients always rattle my nerves. A short amount of time to razzle dazzle new people can be a lot of pressure, BUT these amazing kids made our shoot so much fun and truly made my job easy! I think these have to be the perfect ages for a mini session. No stranger danger, all fun and games!