welcome to my journal

People always ask me, “What is your favorite age to photograph?”. I love every stage ….really I mean that. Being a mom,I understand how fast your child’s milestones happen. I like to be able to show their stories through my photographs. Little smirks, silly laughs, first steps, it’s all special to me to capture. It’s in those details that help tell the story. Creating the story begins with getting to know each family first.

So why focus on newborns and families? Well,I was the little girl who always had a doll on my hip ,pushing a doll stroller on every walk when I was little. I knew I wanted to someday be a mom. Before becoming a mom and starting our family, I earned my teaching degree and masters degree in Instruction and Curriculum. Yep, I love to plan and create. I was passionate about teaching and creating fun lesson plans for students. I wanted to be in the classroom working with children everyday. I got my first teaching job where I student taught and was beyond excited to begin my teaching career. * I still create lesson plans for each session-well more like an outline of what I want to create for each session. My teaching and planning will always be a part of what I do.

Fast forward two years and we welcomed our first daughter. Two years after that we welcomed our second daughter. Life changes so much when you have a young family. Sleepless nights, figuring out childcare, balancing work and family. In 2012, our family was complete with welcoming our son. I decided to take off from teaching and be a stay at home mom.

Life was different then…drop off at preschool, making school lunches, laundry for days, volunteering at the kids schools. I loved every minute of being home for my kids….it wasn’t always easy. (side note- having experienced both sides- none of it is easy ….working mom or stay at home mom). That Summer my husband gifted me my first camera for my birthday. I focused on capturing milestones of my kids , vacations and special events. I even opened an etsy shop selling my still photographs as framed art…lol. Yeah that went nowhere fast. I felt the pull towards taking this fun hobby and turning it into a full time career. I began photographing my friends kids when they were born. My mother-in-law, an avid photographer herself said to me one day, “I think you could and should start your own photography business.” That was it…the spark was lit and I went for it.

While the kids were at school, I began learning everything I could at that time about being a photographer. I started following every child, newborn and family photographer. Learning from their examples of their craft was inspiring. Newborn photography was beginning to pull me in closer. I loved that I was able to continue to work with families, be creative and design.

Three years in, I knew I needed to focus on photographing newborns and child milestones during their first year. I took as many courses as I could to learn about posing, safety, studio lighting, and camera settings. My small studio was growing and pushing the limits of our dining room where I created a small studio.

Now 9 years later after starting my business from our small dining room, I continue to find that same joy with every session. My new studio space (special thanks to my husband and dad for the wonderful space) is a place that I feel like I can continuously push myself to create more. Being able to meet families and watch as their family grows is so special. I feel so much gratitude for my clients trusting in me to tell their stories.