Family Stories: One Big Thank You

A surprise pregnancy. A family member suddenly passing. Grandparents visiting from overseas to meet multiple grandchildren for the first time, thanks to the pandemic. The quiet promise of expecting a first child. A hurricane blowing the roof off the house and ruining old family photos. An adoption application that needs updated photos. A little girl that has grown into a young woman and is about to graduate high school. Babies becoming toddlers. A family of three becoming a family of four. Documenting another year as a family and all the growth that comes with it.

Each family that contacts me for photography has a different reason, a different story. Each is in a different phase of life; a season of joy, sorrow, anticipation. A mixture of all three.

Regardless of the “why” behind your photos, I feel deeply honored each time you entrust me with your family’s story. Whether it’s holding a joyful secret or processing some hard feelings, celebrating or mourning, I’m honored to be chosen to help you as your story unfolds.

When I was a little girl, all I wanted to be was an artist, to make beautiful things. Then in high school, after multiple failed attempts at drawing and painting classes, I shifted to photography, and documenting the beautiful things I saw around me.

But documenting families as a lifestyle photographer was not a thing when I was growing up. Helping families tell their stories ended at the altar, and I did not want to be a wedding photographer. I wanted to document people and tell stories that didn’t require the pomp and circumstance (and pressure) of “the most beautiful day of your life.” It took me a long time to find a way to do that; to tell authentic stories about daily life that were more than snapshots from a point and shoot. To show the connection that makes life together beautiful, even on hard days. To embrace the mess, the tears, frustration, and meltdowns the same way we embrace joy, laughter, and contentment.

Thank you for letting me help you tell your story, in whichever phase of life you’re in right now. Thank you for inviting me into your family and allowing yourself to be vulnerable with me, and giving me space to be vulnerable with you. I’m so glad we’re walking through this together. Thank you for being part of my family and letting me play a small part in yours, as your family photographer.