Photography has always been a hobby for me. But, when my son was born in 2016, my hobby became a love. In 2019, my daughter was born and I decided to make my love into a dream job.
Where It All Began
It started with the typical, overly-sentimental mom moments: tearing up as I put away my children’s outgrown newborn clothes, rocking them to sleep in the middle of the night and thinking to myself “this might be the last time I ever rock my baby to sleep,” and breathing in the sweet baby breath that I knew one day would turn into stinky brush-your-teeth kid breath. I often found myself (and still find myself) wishing I could freeze time. And, while I couldn’t freeze time, I could take photos of the moments. So, I started taking photos of it all. Every. Single. Thing. I quickly learned that my favorite photos weren’t the ones that were staged and smiling, but the ones that showed my children — as they were — in that moment.
People began to comment on my photos. Most often I was told some variation of, “You make the everyday moments look so magical.” But, honestly, I didn’t make anything look magical…those moments really are magical. We are just so often are preoccupied with the daily tasks of life to notice them. Breakfast to be made, dishes to be washed, work to be done, more food prep, more cleaning, diaper changes, bath times, and bedtimes. I am entirely guilty of living life task-to-task with a goal of making it to bedtime. But, I realized that taking time to photograph my children helped me be present in the moments, see the magic of the everyday through their eyes, and create something beautiful from it.
Moving From Personal Work To Lifestyle Family Photography
The more I posted my personal photos, the more I got requests from friends to take their photos for their family. I found just as much enjoyment in photographing other families as I did my own. Lifestyle photography sessions were where my heart was at! It was so fun spending time with each family. During our time together we would play games, laugh, be silly. And in those moments, I was able to capture organic, real moments. A mom giving her kid a kiss on the forehead. Dad brushing away Mom’s hair out of her face. A pout from a child. Full-on belly laughs. Whatever happened, I was there to catch a photo of it. After each session, I would come home after on a photographer’s high. Immediately, I would sit at my computer upload the images and relive the “magic” I had captured. I would edit until late in the night. One late night editing session, it hit me, I knew this was my dream job. So I made my dream a reality. And, I couldn’t be happier.
For more samples of my work, check out my portfolio here. Contact me to book a session for your family today here. Read more about my mom-to-photographer journey here.