6 month old - Storytelling session

This was the most amazing session I have had to date and it couldn't have come at a better time for me personally.  I had been seriously contemplating taking a break from the business side of photography. Most people I had done sessions for really wanted posed photos where everyone looks at the camera and smiles - and I thought as a photographer that was what I had to do.  Now those photos can be great - don't get me wrong - I am not devaluing them in any way - but it was not where my heart was.  I would get really stressed out, people would ask me where should they put their hands and I really wouldn't know what to say.  I cannot help anyone fake a natural look.  Most kids do not like to sit and smile on command and when they would, I would hear time and time again that that was their fake smile, not their real one. Then I started finding more lifestyle photographers; I started practicing on my own kid; I took a few classes - and I knew that this was the type of photography for me - this was what made me happy.  Problem is, not many people have heard of lifestyle photography or understood it.  But this mom did - not only did she understand it, but she valued it.  Her and I had talked a lot about the value of capturing everyday moments - we came up with a plan on what moments meant most to her, what she wanted to remember about her 6 month old years from now when the memories had started to fade.  The resulting photos speak for themselves.  They are causal, beautiful and real.  I know I felt so comfortable throughout the whole session, for the first time I was not a nervous mess - everything just felt so right.  The whole family was happy and relaxed - including older sister who previously would run from my camera and give me stink faces.   Walking out the door of their house I just knew that a break was not what I needed, I did not need to learn how to pose people - I just needed this session to remind myself that there ARE others who value photography for the same reasons that I do.  It's a way to freeze the time that we all know goes by too quickly.  It helps us to remember what it felt like and reminds us of the little details that can fade over time.

I can't thank this family enough for not only trusting me to capture their memories for them, but for showing me that I CAN do this for other people and love every second of it.