2017: Introducing Family Documentary Sessions
I've been reflecting on 2016 and keep thinking - this can't be real! I had a chance to meet so many amazing mamas and families. Thank you for trusting me to capture your memories!
As I look forward to the new year, I've been reflecting on what I really love about photography. The "why" behind it all. What truly makes my heart sing and want to dance around behind my computer screen when I see the images we've captured together. I went back to each session this year to pick out my FAVORITE images - not what I think the family would like best, but the images that truly made me proud and feel accomplished.
What I realized, is that these images tell a story. They're real, authentic and full of connection & emotion. It's not the posed, cheesy smiles, or stressed out parents worried about everyone looking in the camera.
It's the moment when your kiddo's personality shines through and you can see the tiny details that make that kid perfect just the way they are.
When siblings show just a hint of the immeasurable love they have for each other.
And when you're warned before the session: "My mom doesn't smile for pictures, just a heads up" and you end up capturing this treasured moment.
As a mother of a young family, I'm swept away by the magnitude of these endless days, broken nights, and abrupt years. The funhouse mirror effect of not only experiencing your own parenting with your children, but looking back to see your own childhood & parents through fresh eyes.
These days-without-end are at once so menial, so challenging... but they are also so sacred. We're so busy just making it through, that we turn around and suddenly the weeks, months, & years are gone. These moments deserve to be captured and remembered. With you, just as you are.
. . .
My husband and I are big fans of the TV show The Office. Really big fans. Like, often whole conversations can be conveyed between us with quotes from the show. Overall, here's the best part: It's a documentary show about a paper company in a medium sized town in Pennsylvania. But despite the fact that there's nothing flashy or big-budget or perfectly styled about the show - there's connection, friendship, love, and some of the best insights about life.
I keep coming back to the same quotes from the show's finale again and again and again.
Andy: "I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them."
Pam: "There's a lot of beauty in ordinary things."
Creed: "No matter how you get there or where you end up, human beings have this miraculous gift to make that place home."
Even without knowing anything about the show, you can feel the pull. We're IN the good old days. Right now. Even if you can't see or feel it. Even if your house isn't perfectly decorated, or you'd like to lose 20 pounds, or you don't feel like you're photogenic "enough".
This is your beautiful, messy, real, authentic life. I wholeheartedly believe that you deserve to be part of your family's visual history and you're worthy just as you are.
So in 2017? I want to capture YOU.
Your life, your story, your kids, your love.
I want to help you capture that rascally toddler phase. Those sparkly baby eyes as she learns something new. The mess of your kiddo's room as he pushes everything onto the floor to clamber on top of the toy chest and peer out the window. The quiet, unglamorous moments of leaning back in the rocking chair to soothe an upset babe. The details of a bath in the kitchen sink.
Let's capture your family's regular trip to the library or grocery store, cooking Saturday morning pancakes together, your evening bedtime routine, or the adventure of your family's first camping trip. What are the things you like to do best with your children? Let's capture those memories. I want those layers of mama/daddy life that no one really sees, but everyone FEELS to be captured for posterity.
Because over the months and years, those unseen moments are how we demonstrate our boundless, patient love. Those tiny details weave together to form the fabric of our family, of our lives.
Beginning in 2017, I'm going to challenge you to think outside the "dress up in coordinating outfits and go to a field for family photos" box.
I encourage you to see and capture the beauty in the now of your life. There is beauty and meaning within the details of your daily routines that is worthy to remember in the years to come. I'm going to challenge you to invite me in to capture the authentic beauty of yourself and your family, just as you are.