Selected work.

Every session in this gallery began the same way. A client sent an inquiry. We responded personally, usually within a business day, and scheduled a short consult to talk through the format she wanted, the timing, and the visual direction. From there we held the date, sent her a wardrobe guide tailored to her body and the look she had described, and walked her through what the morning of the session would feel like in advance.

The day itself runs about four to five hours start to finish. Hair and makeup is roughly the first ninety minutes, styled by the artist on the team that day. Photography is two to three hours across multiple wardrobe changes and lighting setups. The studio doors are locked once the session begins. The only people present are the photographer, the hair and makeup artist, and the client. Direction is constant: where to put your hands, how to angle your shoulders, when to breathe out before the shutter clicks. Most clients are nervous through the first ten minutes and forget the camera entirely by the third setup.

The work in this gallery has been through Jen's hand-edit, the same retouch every Marilyn Lou client receives. We balance light, remove dust and accidental distractions, soften skin where it serves the portrait, and let the rest stand. The deliverable a client takes home is a leather-bound album, a framed wall piece, a digital file bundle, or some combination of those. The physical product is the point. The phone-sized version is a fraction of what these images are in print.