When I look back at my own childhood, I realize how few photos my family has together. Not the posed kind (not that we have many of those either), but the real, everyday moments — the laughter, the chaos, the tiny details that told our story. For the longest time, all the family pictures we had were in a plastic container under my parents’ bed. They weren’t organized and we didn’t have any of them framed in our house. We didn’t take an annual Christmas picture…you get it, family photographs did happen, but not in a way that would lead me to value and prioritize them. It’s ironic, then, that this is now my full-time job: catching the moments that families create when they are all together.
I didn’t start out thinking photography would become my career. It began simply, just me wanting to document my own growing family and preserve the fleeting stages of motherhood that change far too quickly. Over time, and it didn’t take long, I fell in love with the way photos could freeze a feeling, not just a face. It helps me remember who I was, who my kids were, what I cared about. It reminds me of their favorite outfits, those little pieces of clothing (now long gone) that were worn thin because my daughter wanted to wear them everyday. I remember the games we played, the meals we made, the books we read, and how I felt in the moment. Sometimes remembering it all makes me misty-eyed, it happened so fast, and being told to enjoy it while I could by well-meaning elderly ladies was something I couldn’t fully grasp when I was in the thick of it.
Because of this, I now find myself wanting families to have what my parents and siblings didn’t, what I learned to value through my own parenting journey: a way to look back and feel those little moments again. The cuddles, the silliness, the quiet body language that speaks volumes between a husband and wife when they look at their little ones all piled around them in the front yard after 15+ years of marriage.
Now, every session I photograph is rooted in that same purpose, creating meaningful, heartfelt images that remind families of the love and beauty in their everyday lives. Guys, you don’t have to have the perfect family dynamic to recognize that there are several blessings spinning on repeat in your home, but you do have to cultivate the habit of slowing down to notice them. Slowing down and being mindful is actually part of booking a family session, it’s acknowledging that what is happening now will not always be happening, it’s fleeting, it’s precious. The mess is precious, the challenging relationships are opportunities to grow, you won’t always be this person, they won’t always have to stand on their tippy toes to reach the counter, the journey is not clean-cut and straightforward. It winds up and down, through valleys, across rocky terrain. Don’t wait for everything to ‘be pretty’ to document your life. Whether it’s a newborn snuggled on your chest or your crazy kids and their cousins hanging under the Georgia sunshine, or your toddlers careening around in happy (or grumpy) blur, my goal is always the same: to capture connection in its truest form. That’s why I always remind parents before, during, and after their session that being present and letting expectations go is always the best way to get the best photos. They will look back and laugh when they can see that little expression their 5-year-old son used to make when he was trying to be funny; they will not be annoyed when, in fifteen years, the family photos surface for graduation and that young lady who is about to walk across the stage was once 2-year-old refused to sit still and most of the album is her running away and giggling at herself.
Real families doing real life, whether it’s at home or at the playground, a field of wildflowers, or the skating rink (yes, I’ve done a session at one of those, and yes, it was epic)...that’s what I’m here to document. Don’t let time get away from you, the truth is, time doesn’t really fly like you think it does, you just don’t have as much of it as you think you do. Read the extra book at bedtime, hold your spouse for 10 seconds longer, look up from your phone, go do life in a fully present state!
