Jude&Jojos

09/03/2026

We can call their stories inspiring without pretending they aren’t also incredibly hard.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. There’s a tendency, especially when we talk about children with disabilities, to reach for the beautiful parts first, such as the milestones, the resilience, the incredible families who somehow keep showing up through all of it.

And those things are real! I believe they deserve to be celebrated. But then I read what Ben’s mom sent me. She told me she cries when she has to hold her son down for bloodwork. She fights doctors for the equipment and care he deserves. Like every mom walking a similar path, she worries, has anxiety, gets overwhelmed. Sometimes she screams into a pillow.

And she wishes people would stop assuming she must be some extraordinary kind of strong simply because she is raising a child with disabilities.

Maybe in our attempt to make disability something the world celebrates, we’ve sometimes made it harder for families to say, this is hard. Without immediately needing to follow it with something beautiful. Without worrying that acknowledging the actual struggle somehow means they love their child any less. It doesn’t.

There can be beauty here and still be grief. Progress and exhaustion. Inspiration and really, really hard days... and honestly not even day(S) but both within one day. And through all of it, Ben’s mom has also had to fight against a world far too comfortable deciding what her son is capable of. He’s four. There is so much of him that the world hasn’t even met yet.

Maybe advocacy isn’t choosing the version of a family’s story that makes the rest of us most comfortable. Maybe it’s making room for all of it that everyone can find themselves in.

His name had to be Benedict.

Tonight, we welcome Ben to The Crew.

His full story and the words his mom trusted us with are now live at Jude&Jojos.

https://www.judejojosphotography.com/jjpcrew/benedict

And for the first time tonight, Ben’s Crew story was also introduced through our new email experience. If you’d like to meet future Crew members there first, you can join us here:

https://judejojos.myflodesk.com/subscribe

09/02/2026

HIS NAME HAD TO BE BENEDICT.
The Crew / TNGHT 8PM

08/28/2026

IT’S FINALLY HAPPENING! We’re working on a private member-site for our JJP Crew, and one of the things we’re MOST excited about is a whole section dedicated to resources + perks.

Grants nobody tells you about. Funding opportunities. Programs. Adaptive + sensory resources. Organizations that actually help. Brands you love. Basically the stuff you wish someone had handed you a list of a long time ago.

Drop your best resources (or your business) + recs below or tag them!

And businesses + brands: if you serve the disability community and would like to be listed or want to offer our Crew an exclusive discount code or perk, our DMs are open. 👀

Let’s build something GOOD.
Serving GA (home), CA, SC, + TX

xoxo, jjp

08/26/2026

Please help us in making sure our JJP Crew member, Elliott, is safe at night! 💙

Elliott is only 2 years old, and his parents are afraid to go to sleep 💔

Born with spina bifida, hydrocephalus and other complex medical conditions, Elliott has already endured seven surgeries by the time he was 18 months old.

Now, his seizures are becoming increasingly serious.

They’re lasting 10 minutes or longer, sending his family back and forth to the ER and specialists as doctors work to figure out why they’re getting worse.

And nighttime is especially terrifying.

His parents can’t physically stay awake watching him every minute of every night.

But they’re scared of what could happen if Elliott has a prolonged seizure while they’re asleep.

That’s why they’re hoping to get a SAMi nighttime monitoring system.

It can monitor movement while Elliott sleeps, alert his parents to sustained abnormal movement and record events that could potentially give his doctors valuable information.

It’s not a medical device and cannot guarantee seizure detection. But an alert could help his parents recognize a potentially dangerous event sooner.

And this isn’t just about peace of mind.

Elliott’s parents need to sleep, work, homeschool, manage medications and appointments, and care for their other medically complex son.

They simply cannot be awake 24 hours a day.

For Elliott, that help could make a very real difference.

His parents have spent two years fighting for their little boy.

Now, they need their community to stand beside them 💙

08/25/2026

This weekend, Bradley Carlisle graduated from the Northern Lights Santa Academy, officially stepping into history as the nation’s first professional Santa with Down syndrome.

At his ceremony, he was celebrated for his portraits appearing on the Times Square Jumbotron with National Down Syndrome Society for Down Syndrome Awareness Month, which begins October 1st, Bradley’s birthday. 💙💛

But even cooler? He was also inducted into the International Santa Claus Hall of Fame, an honor far more difficult and significant to achieve than most outside the Santa world realize!

And when Bradley was recognized, every Santa in the room stood for him.

That baby boy in the first photos had an entire life ahead of him that no one could have predicted. And maybe that’s the part we hope reaches the parent who needs this today.

Our kids deserve to grow up in a world where we don’t decide what their future can look like before they ever get the chance to show us...

Bradley got that chance.

And because of that, this weekend, a room full of friends and strangers stood up and celebrated what he did with it.

To Santa Rick, Phillip L. Wenz, + Northern Lights Santa Academy, thank you for giving Bradley the opportunity to earn his place in this profession.

To Kaitlyn Ross + 11Alive , thank you for championing Bradley and his story through the years.

To Down Syndrome Association of Atlanta, NDSS, and most importantly, his mom Debbie Drake Carlisle Shadrix... thank you for your sacrifices to always make room for chances.

We are so proud of you, B.

Want to meet Santa Bradley? Join the waitlist for first access to his limited Santa sessions that will be the start of endless possibilities - link in bio 😉🎅🏻

https://book.usesession.com/s/kYZQ-VkSaBW

08/22/2026

🎅🏻 THE WAITLIST IS OPEN!

JJP + the Down Syndrome Assn. of Atlanta are teaming up for a very special day of Santa Minis with Bradley Carlisle, the nation’s FIRST professional Santa with Down syndrome.

Just $25 reserves your 10-minute session and includes up to 5 professionally edited digital images. Even better? Every $25 session fee will be donated directly back to DSAA.

Spots are very limited, and families on our waitlist will receive first access to booking before it opens to the public.

🎄 In-studio | Downtown Woodstock, GA
🎅🏻 Santa Bradley Carlisle with the Northern Lights Santa Academy
📸 10 minutes + up to 5 edited images
🤍 $25 donated directly to DSAA

Join the waitlist through the link in our bio. ↑

https://book.usesession.com/s/kYZQ-VkSaBW

We cannot wait to make a little Christmas magic with our DS community. 🎅🏻💙💛

08/21/2026

Please share JJP. 🤍 Share us to your stories, your feed, your Facebook groups, TikTok... anywhere our next family might be waiting to find us.

This is how so many of these faces found their way here. One share. One tag. One person who thought, “I know a family who needs to see this.”

And somehow, little by little, they all became our Crew.

When the world gets too dim to remember how much good is still here, we look at them. And there it is... a reminder that there is still so much worth looking after.

Help us find the next one.

Hit repost, share, join our mission ⟳
Molly Clotfelter Katie Startt Kenzi Taylor Teya Joi April Harris Joshua L Maylee Hope Caronia Savannah Prosser ♡ (Lawson) Isela Ponce carrahartley Destiney Haynes Caley Lawrence Carly Durham Brittany Werner Mariela Estrada mrsstephanyramos Dart E Ramos Dani Higley Jordan Steele SLOAN.CISNEROS Christian Cisneros Kassidy Locke Ledford Dahlia Swanson Justine Fitzgerald Shawn Fitzgerald Kayla Wilson Martha Hoot and a Half Savannah Prosser ♡ (Lawson) Kimberly Scott Lacie Bowlware Tiffany Marie Galan Rivera Maggie Taylor Sunshine On A Ranney Day | Charity Ms. Wheelchair America Down Syndrome Assn. of Atlanta

08/20/2026

“The world has labeled Carter as having ‘special needs.’ But, looking at the world today, I wonder if we all might not be better off recognizing and emulating all he—and others like him—have to give—not just what they need.”

Those words belong to Carter’s mom. In fact, every word of his story does.

She wrote this feature herself, with a transparency about motherhood, disability, comparison, advocacy, joy, and the everyday in-between that caught me off guard.

Carter and his mom traveled all the way from Virginia to ATL just to stand in front of our lens and I don’t think either of us could have known just how much they would stay with me.

Because before I am the person behind JJP, I am a mom raising a child with disabilities too. And somewhere in her words… between the appointments, the milestones that take a little longer, cheering a little louder, the laundry that never makes it out of the dryer, and wondering if we’re getting any of this right… I felt deeply understood.

I expected to read Carter’s story.

I didn’t expect to see pieces of my own motherhood reflected back at me.

That is the gift of a mother telling her own story without polishing away the parts that make it real. And it’s why I’m so grateful she trusted us with hers.

Her words. His story. And our absolute honor to put a face to both.

His Name Is Carter.

Meet him in our bio.

www.judejojosphotography.com/jjpcrew/carter

08/16/2026

We want you to look at his back. This scar has been with Elliott since he was just seven hours old. Seven whole hours after entering the world, he was already undergoing major spinal surgery. By 18 months old, he had been through seven surgeries.

When we photographed Elliott many moons ago, we knew we wanted this portrait. Not because his scar defines him, but because it’s part of him, his mom, his family... and we believe this part deserves to be photographed, too.

We share a lot of smiles around here... a lot of milestones, personalities and really amazing moments. But sometimes what our Crew has been through isn’t something you can see when you first look at them.

Elliott was born with Spina Bifida, bilateral clubfoot and hydrocephalus. He has a VP shunt and uses the cutest wheelchair. And underneath his shirt is a reminder of just how early his story began. So tonight, we’re sharing this view.

Scars like Elliott’s belong in portraits, too. Bodies like Elliott’s deserve to be seen growing up, hanging on walls and taking up space in the world exactly as they are. We’re really proud to have Elliott in our portfolio.

Ready to join the Crew?

Whether you want to share your story with the world or want beautiful portraits that feel like home, there is a place for you here.

Book through the link in our bio or email [email protected]. We’d love to have you