Meet Jordan, a rambunctious, silly and confident five-year-old, who I had the luxury of spending time with at preschool earlier this month. Jordan was born with a limb difference and ever since her birth, her Mom, Jen, has written about the challenges and joys of raising a child who, despite her physical difference, was “born just right”.

Jen posts almost daily to the Born Just Right site and facebook page and just recently decided to take it to the next level. Jordan’s blog is Jen’s passion and when she contacted me last month about photos, she was riding some inspirational highs after having just attended the SXSW and BlogHer bet conferences. Jen mainly uses the Born Just Right site as a journal for documenting their family life with Jordan, but over the past year she’s felt a desire to provide more for her readers and followers. She wants to turn Born Just Right into an advocacy site and resource for parents and families of children with limb differences and special needs. She’s built up quite the following on both sites over the years and I’m so excited to see what she will do with it, having a new goal in mind. She’s even started writing a book!

Jen and her husband, Randy, are huge advocates for Jordan and are doing all that they can to make sure she is prepared for the road ahead. They’ve researched and obtained prosthetics; worked with an occupational therapist, networked with other support groups, organizations, and camps, among many other things. Jordan is an amazingly able child and can do just about anything a child born with two hands can do–whether its by using one of her “helper arms”, or by finding a creative work-around that only requires one hand. I spent fours hours photographing her at preschool and was blown away by her adaptability. She is so confident and strong-willed. Her determination is amazing. She lets nothing slow her down.

For over the past two years Jordan has attended the same preschool with the same kids and has become quite comfortable in her surroundings. Kindergarten is a whole new ball game and despite the confidence that Jordan has built up, Jen can’t help but feel a little worried about the new challenges and societal pressures that her daughter will experience in a new classroom environment. With that in mind, Jen had the idea to document one of Jordan’s last days of preschool. The idea is that if in the future Jordan should ever feel down or question her capabilities, she will be able to look back on these images and see what a confident, strong and able person she is.

I knew immediately upon Jen’s first email and our subsequent consultation that I had to take on this commission. We just clicked. This is the type of family photography that really inspires me and pushes me to be a better documentarian. There is no doubt that a beautiful, well composed and executed portrait is always appreciated, but it’s the everyday, authentic moments and interactions that I strive to capture. It’s just so much more awesome when there’s an even bigger purpose behind the photography. Thank you Jen for believing in my vision to provide authentic documentary imagery for families. I am so honored to be trusted with capturing your daughter’s preschool memories. If just one of these images helps Jordan on a bad day, then I consider my job done.

*FYI: This is Part I of a two-part post. Part II will hit the blog in about a week and will feature images of Jordan AND her family. I photographed the family unit the day after our preschool shoot and ended up with way too many photos for just one post!

**Also, for anyone who is curious, I did obtain photo releases from the parent(s) of each child who is pictured in this post. This is something Jen and I discussed would be necessary before shooting that day. Thankfully we received an overwhelmingly positive response to our request and I had no problem gaining access to the school. I’d just like to take a moment to thank the preschool director, lead teacher, classroom assistants, occupational therapist and parents who were so supportive and encouraging in our photographic efforts that day. Without your cooperation, these photos would not have been possible.