My Story

We all have a story; mine has lots of adventure, creativity and uniqueness.  I am a pretty open and honest person so don’t be alarmed if you feel you know too much about me after reading this!  One day I will write a book!

My name is Jill; I was named after Farah Fawcett in the original Charlie’s Angels!  I like to think I was destined to have a fabulous life because of that.  I grew up in the small town of Teulon MB, where I was determined to be an archeologist.  I loved rocks!  Still do to be honest!

I was a good student, played every sport but my passion was dance.  I have danced since I was 2 years old and through all the rough times in my life, dance is what got me through.  When I dance the world stops, there are no problems and all is well.

I have lived on my own since I was 15, always wanted to grow up fast and be independent and that I did.  I married my high school sweetheart as they call it but that’s not exactly our story.  My amazing husband Kevin was 19 and I was 15 when we started “going out” and we were trouble together!  He was wild, free, fun and took care of me.  Despite that I told my parents for months that we were “just friends” everyone knew better, Kevin and I were in separable and still are.  We have been through so much and 20 years later I love him more and more everyday.  He encourages my crazy ideas and has been the biggest supporter of my love for photography.

As soon as I graduated Kevin and I were off to the big city.  I planned to go to school to be a teacher, enrolled in Business Teacher Education, what I was thinking I have no idea, I hate accounting and math but I was going to teach that to High School students!  Haha!  Oh to be young and have no idea what to do!

One bump, literally a bump, came along shortly after we moved into our big city apartment.  It seems graduation may have been a bit too fun and I was now pregnant.  The person that I was, mature and much older in my head than I was, I didn’t hesitate and said yup, having a baby, will finish school, will get teaching job, will live happily ever after.

I made my lists and started on my journey, I live on lists, paper and scribble everywhere!  I made it to the end of the school year, had my beautiful baby girl, Whitney, in March 1998 and danced through all of it.

But let’s face it, I couldn’t keep up, something had to give and so it was school.  I said I would go back, but some things are not meant to be, perhaps it was because I was never supposed to be an accounting teacher!

I was a Mom first and foremost, this is precisely when my photography obsession started, we didn’t have a lot of money so hiring a photographer was just never even thought about, I would spend my days, dressing Whitney up in outfits, finding matching props around the house and blankets for the backdrops and pictures I would take.  I have hundreds and hundreds of photos of Whitney in her first three years and all film!  I created themes and little sets for my baby and now I know where my love and desire to stage scenes and stories for my client’s images comes from!

In 1999 a wonderful opportunity came our way, Kevin and I were offered to purchase 2 of the dance studios that I had danced and worked at since I was 13.  Of course we accepted and I owned 2 businesses at 20 years old.

Oh we had a good life for those first few years, living way way past our means because we had no idea what we were doing!  But I was living my dream and my theory on life has always been that everything happens for a reason and all things work themselves out.  We owned the dance studios for 17 years!  I can hardly believe it; I loved every day of it and probably wanted to quit everyday at the same time!  We sold the studios when our daughter moved to Toronto to go to College and Kevin and I knew it was the perfect time to persue our other passions and create the next phase of our lives.  This was my photography! After years of photographing dance and my baby girl,  I would take all kinds of pictures of Whitney and at dance of the students, faculty, shows, costumes, etc.  At our one studio for years we had this huge desk with a solid front and I created a collage of hundreds of photos from the dance studio, I would add to it and the families loved to all point out the new photos and old ones and talk about the memories.

My home has always been full of pictures everywhere, capturing every detail of my life, family and adventures.  I love to have a few vodkas and start pulling out the 4×6’s, albums, scrapbooks etc.  I could show people images and tell the story behind each one for days!  Ask my friends, not one person who has been in our house has not seen a photo!  I knew I had to take my hobby to a professional level. With the help of my amazing mentor and so many wonderful vendors in the industry, I launched Luxe Images By Jill almost 6 years ago now!

My husband got very ill in 2013 and it made me realize, don’t waste time, stop trying to make everyone else happy and do what you want and what makes you smile.

This is taking pictures, taking unique and creative pictures.  I am passionate about boudoir and wedding photography but willing to accept any challenge.

So in a nut shell, I am 40, a Mom of a 21 year old amazing young lady, married to an incredible man for 20 years, love shoes, all about fashion and style, not ok with unorganization or any mess, could survive only on cheese, hate pumping gas, drawn to anything simple yet I can create an amazing image story in my mind which I will then make happen for you to have forever!