Learning From My Clients

This year I had planned to take a break from my photography business and dedicate my work time to focus on The World in My Backyard .  The year did not quite go as planned.  I realized I needed to focus my time and attention on my family and two growing boys.  For many years, I have been struggling to find the balance between family, work and fueling my creative, adventure seeking spirit.  After 12 years of being a working parent, it became imperative to me that my family needed to be my first priority.  My boys will soon be young men, flying away from my nest before I know it.  It has been great to find peace with this realization and for the first time in my 18 year career I spent a summer limiting the amount of work I took on and planning to be intentional about when I am available for my client...always putting my family first.  That may sound like an obvious and simple thing to realize, but as a self-employed individual in a dual-income family work almost always took priority.  

This shift has also allowed me to reinvigorate my excitement to give the best work possible to my clients.  The next few sittings I share provided me with great insight to how important it is for families to prioritize investing in family pictures.

I have photographed this family a handful of times over the years.  Sometimes I worry that my pictures will get repetitive for my clients and I will not be able to give them something new that they will love as much as past sittings.  That was definitely my concern as I drove to meet this family at Seward Park.  Driving away from our time together the concern had vanished and was replaced with an overwhelming sense of how special it is that families take time to capture their kids and I am honored to capture the moments in time for them.  As much as my time is fleeting away with my boys and I am shifting my intentions to make sure I am as available as possible for them, I want parents to realize the importance of investing in family images.  It is one investment that I know will become priceless in the future because you can never "buy" those slices of time with your family again.

This wonderful family taught me that every time I get to photograph them is uniquely different from the past.  Of course, the kids have changed with each passing year but, more importantly, the embraces, laughter, smiles and love shared also look different each time.  As a parent who does not prioritize capturing my own family with me in front of a camera, I am realizing I must make sure I do this same thing with my family this year.  

I am excited about this shift with my work.  I am limiting my availability to make sure I stay focused on the people most important in my life, which in turn will sharpen my focus and enthusiasm to document the beauty of the kids and families who give me the honor of capturing the most beautiful people in their lives.

If you are reading this post and thinking to yourself, "I need to get pictures for my family." or "I wish we would have pictures like these." or "I wish I would have done family photos when the kids were younger...", know that it is never too late to start but do it now before your most precious creations are gone.

Thank you Brooke and Tom for giving me the opportunity to photograph your family again this year. The time I spent with you and your kids impacted me deeply outside of my "normal work day".  It was an afternoon I will remember for many years...the timing was perfect for me and I hope the smiles, beauty, love and laughter you see in these pictures will be cherished for many years to come.  

I am always confident I can get all the images anyone would ever need to capture their family's moment in time in less than an hour.  But soon after we started this next sitting, a call came in that cut it short (15 minutes was what we had together).  I am excited to share with their mom how great her kids did, but wishing there was time to get a few more of this dynamic duo together...next time.  I still hope these bring some smiles for years to come.

Working through these images was tons of fun for me.  This family has let me photograph them over the years and their relaxed vibe with fun, spirited kids is always a recipe for success.  We started with a few pictures inside when I arrived.  I had a first...photographing a guinea pig...I can see a coffee table book in my future.  A very cute subject, elevated by the most loving care giver ever.  The first set of her brother illustrates where we started...a little shy and unsure.  It didn't take long for him to warm up and have me rolling with laughter right along with him.  I always love watching young siblings try to hug each other...never picture perfect, but always filled with more love and emotion than the nice, soft hug.  Since we were in their backyard, capturing a few "at play" pics were essential.  These kids are stunning on the outside which mirrors their beautiful personalities.  LOVE this family and am thankful they continue to ask me to document their family!!

An eight year retrospective

For the past 8 years, I have been traveling to El Paso to photograph families.  I am asked all the time, "El Paso...why El Paso?"  My husband & I lived in El Paso for his first year of residency.  When we moved back to Seattle, I had one remaining wedding scheduled in El Paso (one of the last weddings I would do for my career).  When I flew to EP for the wedding, I traveled with my 8 wk old son and decided to maximize my travel and I scheduled 8 family sittings as well.  That was the beginning of it all.  I cannot believe it has been 8 years since we left.
For the first time, after the sitting that I am sharing here, I decided to look back at their images from the past and I decided to share them along with their new images.  It is really incredible to see the changes that happen and how easy it is to forget what kids used to look like as little people because the image is replaced with their current, older appearances.  As a mom, looking at these pictures was a reminder of how important and valuable images throughout my kids lives are important.  That may sound silly coming from a photographer, but even I dismiss the value in my own life.
This is a huge image dump...37 pictures.  But I wanted to share the progression of these beautiful kids' life. They have grown so much, but not much has changed...the love (for each other & their dogs), spunk, thoughtfulness and beauty that I saw 8 years ago is consistent.  Getting to see them grow, it is fun looking at the pictures and know that the beauty represented in the images reflects their internal beauty.  These kids are amazing people!
The last picture I share is to document the home they have known their entire life.  A home they will be moving from in the next year or two.  A home that has been in their family for generations and their parents have opened to me so graciously with each visit.
It is important to capture the progression of our childrens' lives and I thank this very special family for allowing me to be the photographer to do that for them and for providing me a place to continue returning to El Paso.