Brentwood Press - Index

Brentwood Press - DiscoveryBayPress_07.18.08 - Index

JULY 18, 2008 BUSINESS THEPRESS.NET | 21A
Lens lady exposes the essence
by Jennifer Birkland
Correspondent
Antioch’s Jackie Larson has a knack for making
time stand still.
The 23-year-old professional photographer captures
life’s most precious moments, from weddings
and events to inspired portraits of families, children
and newborns, as she sees them through her own creative
eye.
“It’s very humbling that people trust me to capture
those moments in their lives,” Larson said. “It’s
a huge responsibility and I take it very seriously. It is
stressful, but seeing people smile and cry when they
see their photos is amazing.”
While pursuing a teaching degree, Larson decided
to turn her lifelong passion of photography into a
career and took a leap of faith, opening Jacqueline
Elizabeth Photography in 2005.
She has since traded her fi rst 35mm Canon, a
family hand-me-down, for a digital Canon 30D that
she points at anything and everything she sees.
“I never thought I would turn my passion into a
career,” she said. “I love capturing special moments
that aren’t planned or posed – just life as it happens.”
Before going out on her own, Larson worked at
a Sears Portrait Studio, but said she felt stifl ed creatively
and opted out after a year and a half. Now her
background locations are real, adding life and natural
beauty to an already pleasing photo.
“There’s only so much you can do when your camera’s
stuck to a tripod and you’re in a 10x10 room,”
Larson said. “A lot of times the families I work with
From weddings and events to creative portraits of families, children and newborns, Jackie Larson’s
photographs capture the true essence of her subjects.
know where they want their photos taken, but for
those who don’t, I take them to really beautiful and
cool locations that I’ve used before.”
Larson’s ability to capture a subject’s true nature,
she said, comes from simply taking a step back.
“Sometimes the posed shots are necessary, espe-
cially if it’s a wedding, but my favorite shots are the
candid, unplanned shots of my subjects being themselves,”
she said. “I like to let families or couples interact
with each other, how they normally would, and
see Essence page 22A
Photo courtesy of Jackie Larson