Zucchini Bread | Kushlan Family Story

Home. That's what spending time with this wonderful family felt like to me. 

It might be because Emily and I grew up in the same little town out in the middle of nowhere Utah, and have been close friends for years. Or maybe it's because I have my own fond memories of backyard gardens and making zucchini bread with my family. Or maybe because of the love and warmth that fills their home. Or maybe even because after this session I got my FIRST ever flat tire, and Emily and Josh came to my rescue and taught me how to change it (aka changed it for me. :D) 

Either way, that's the word that keeps coming to mind. Home. It really is a beautiful word, isn't it? 

When Emily first called me about this session, she said that she takes lots of pictures of her kids, and her husband with her kids, but she doesn't make it into many of the photos. Sound familiar? :) 

She wanted to be part of that story. To be in pictures WITH her family. 

Visual evidence that she was there too. Loving, playing, and devoting her whole life to them.

You might look at your life and see a messy house, weed filled garden, crazy kids, and "boring" life. But what I see is magic. I see those fleeting little moments that tell your story. Your unique, love filled, wonderful story. And hopefully I get to show you that despite the craziness, you are doing a pretty darn good job after all. 

back when they were tiny | Smith family story

Refreshingly real, and with hearts of gold. Always, always finding ways to improve themselves and help other people. I find myself taking mental notes of things I love about people, and Sean and Jessie's list could go on for ages. 

After trying for 7 years to have kids, they were blessed with these three miracle babies- right in a row. And even though they are completely exhausted, they treasure this time with their little boys and want to remember everything about it. Because (as we all know) with that exhaustion and every other struggle kids bring, they also bring a whooole lotta joy. 

After the session, I got this little note from Jessie: 

“Just wanted to say thanks again for today. I’m so excited to have these pictures and memories of my little family, to remind me what life was like ‘back when they were tiny’. I’m already emotional about it and I haven’t even seen them yet! Haha.”

After spending the morning at home, we headed to one of the family's favorite places. Savers! The boys think it is the coolest thing in the world to play with the toys while mom looks at clothes, and they even get to pick one toy each to take home. How fun will it be for them to look back on these pictures 10 years from now and remember one of their favorite family traditions?? 

Can you imagine this family sitting around the table 20 years from now and flipping through a book of these pictures? Think about all the memories that will come flooding back. 

And how awesome would it be if you had pictures like these from your Grandparent's or Great Grandparent's lives? Pictures that show you not only what they looked like, but what their lives were like. How they lived, and loved. 

If you've read this far, you might be thinking about how cool it would be to preserve your own family's story this way. Yeah? Get in touch! I'd love to answer any questions you have. If you want to see more, check out this story, and this one.   

5 on 5 | Mud Cakes

Month two of our 5 on 5 blog circle is here! In case you missed it last month, this is where a group of photographers tell a story with 5 images on the 5th of each month. You can see my last one here. 

When I was little, my siblings and I LOVED playing in the mud. We would tip our bikes upside down and use the spinning wheels to "shape" our mud cakes. I remember being so proud of those masterpieces. 

That's probably why when my girls started turning on the water spigot and playing with mud in our "flower bed" (which is more like a weed bed right now- I haven't mastered the art of keeping flowers alive :P ), I couldn't resist pulling out my camera. 

I finally bought a big bag of bulbs and plan on reclaiming the flower bed, so I'm glad I documented their *hopefully* last time of playing in all that mud. Knock on wood. :P 

And a bonus picture, because when I said "Chloe! Your face is so dirty!" she tried so hard to see it for herself. :D :D

Now head on over to see this lovely story by Melissa Clark, a birth and family documentary photographer in Iowa. 

PS- I had THE HARDEST time choosing which images to share for this post. If you want to take a peek at the rest of them, head over here. 

5 on 5 | Swimming

I'm super excited to start participating in a project called 5 on 5. It is a blog circle that features documentary photographers whose passion is telling the stories of our everyday lives. Each photographer will post 5 photos that tell one story on the 5th of each month. So after you're done reading my post, click on the link at the bottom of the page to check out the next photographer! 

My parents recently traded their 100+ year old country cottage for a townhouse in the city (or at least closer to the city). While we all miss the beautiful fields, wide open space, garden and animals, they don't miss the mice and constant repairs. :P 

The biggest perk of their new home (at least in my kid's opinions) is hands down the awesome new pool. It's always hard to say goodbye to a chapter of life, but we're sure having fun making new memories. Now if only Summer would last a little bit longer!

My favorite part of these photos: how much my two year old loves those upside down goggles, even though she can't go underwater yet. 

Oh hey! I even managed to get in the story with a handy dslr selfie. ;) 

Next on the list: Central Florida family photographer Nicole, of Nicole Austen Photography. Go check out her beautiful work! You won't be sorry.

Welcoming Baby Kit

After years of hoping, heartache and loss, Brad and Erin were finally blessed with their miracle baby- little Kit. 

Since this precious newborn stage passes in an overwhelming, sleep deprived haze, my goal was to capture all the little details they wanted to remember. Itty bitty hands and tiny flaky feet, bath time, a meticulously prepared nursery, the adorable outfits gifted by friends (that were already getting too small). All the little things that would help them re-live this amazing time in their lives- over and over again. 

Press play to view the little "fusion film" we put together with a few video clips. My new favorite way to really capture life. :) 

If you are having a baby soon and want that precious time in your life honestly and beautifully documented, let me know! I'd love to preserve those priceless memories for you with a relaxed, in home session. 

All the Little Moments | Whitney and Ashton's Big Day

The day you've been dreaming of since you were little, and will remember for the rest of your life. The day you marry your best friend, the person who makes you blissfully happy. The day that seems to go by in one big happy, emotional, and overwhelmingly wonderful blur.

That big day (just like the rest of your life) is made up of lots and lots of little moments. Funny ones, exciting ones, emotional ones. Fleeting little moments that come and go in an instant, but that you want to remember for the rest of your life. Those are the moments I'm passionate about capturing for you. 

Whitney and Ashton's big day was sunny, beautiful, and overflowing with love. I can honestly say I've never met more kind, genuine people. I felt so honored to be able to capture all of the little moments that made their big day so wonderful.

Thank you, Whitney and Ashton! I wish you all the happiness in the world.  

Are you looking for natural, beautiful photos to capture all the little moments of your wedding day that you want to remember forever? Get in touch! I can't wait to get to know you and hear your story. 

So Much More

I'll be the first to admit that portraits (the everyone looking at the camera kind) are irreplaceable. Really. I'm not here to say you should ditch them. In fact, I make time for them at every photo shoot I do.  Here is what I AM here to say.

There is more. So much more.

The dimpled little hand holding yours, the knees covered in bandaids, and that dirty little blankie that goes everywhere with your toddler. The way your heart swells with pride when your daughter helps her little sister. The way you hold hands with your love and smile amidst the chaos. Your family's favorite outings. A cozy, lived in kitchen filled with good food and the people you love. When you look at your family at the end of an exhausting day, and realize it is all worth it because your heart is filled with more love than you ever knew was possible.

I want to capture those moments so you don't have to forget them. 

The Cross family recently moved from their home in Salt Lake City. Before they left, Hannah really wanted me to document their family's nightly walk up a beautiful, nearby trail. It was their time to reconnect and enjoy each other after a long, hectic day. She said that this was one of the things she would miss very most about their time living here, and she wanted to remember it. 

Since Hannah is an amazing photographer herself (check out her work here), she had already taken lots of pictures of this pretty place. But this time she wanted to be IN the pictures. She wanted to enjoy the experience and soak up her family one last time before they moved- instead of worrying about getting "that perfect shot" the whole time. 

She wanted her kids to remember that mommy was there too.

My husband was able to come with me on this photo shoot, and made an awesome little film too. After you've caught the film bug, it's hard to be content with only photos!
 

What are the little moments that you want to remember about your life right now? What are your family's favorite things to do together? What memories do you want to preserve for your kids- and have to look back on yourself after they are grown? 

Get in touch, and let's chat about the best way to preserve your stories.

So what IS Documentary Photography? {+ My OWN family pictures}

Telling stories, preserving memories, capturing life just as it is. That is the goal of documentary photography (also called storytelling photography, or family photojournalism). 

This session, by the crazy talented Hannah Cross of Point Four Photography, was my family's very first documentary session. 

For me, family photos has always meant lots of stress. Planning outfits for months, bribing kids, and crossing my fingers that my husband will be a good sport. Sound familiar? 

Not this session. Not even kidding- I let my four year old choose her outfit, AND how she wanted her hair done. Crazy, right? 

We wanted to document something that was meaningful to our family, so we went on a little outing to our favorite place- Wheeler Farm. We dressed basically how we always dress- except for I might have actually worn real clothes and done my hair instead of wearing yoga pants and a ponytail. ;)  But I swore to myself I would not stress about this session. And I didn't! 

Hannah came to our house and started taking pictures of us getting out the door (the hardest part), then just hung out and followed us while we had a normal night at the farm- feeding the ducks and having a picnic. We took about 5 minutes to do a posed shot- but the rest was 100% non directed. 

You guys, these photos completely blew me away. These are some of THE most meaningful photos I have of my family because they so perfectly tell our story. Our personalities, the connection we share, the way we look everyday-- who we are right now.

Time fades memories. But now these precious memories are preserved in these photos. I've already printed them in a beautiful album, which will be treasured by my family for years and years.

And THIS is why documentary photography has my heart.

Little Piece of Heaven

You know those times when the chaos and stress of life take a backseat for a minute, and you just feel peaceful? When the sun is shining, everybody is happy and you remember that despite the challenges (we aallll have 'em after all) you are pretty darn lucky to have the life you do. That's the kind of evening I was able to document for the Maxfield family.

When she contacted me about her session, Kristina told me about her family's happy place- their back yard. Their little piece of heaven. We decided to document the family playing together in their yard, and roasting marshmallows- just like they would on any summer evening.

What is your family's happy place? Get in touch and let me know, so we can preserve your precious memories.