MY BONNIE

Have you ever witnessed a small child grab tightly onto a special toy or doll and say, "MY BABY!" ? Yes? Then you must know, that's exactly how I feel whenever I get to hang out with Bonnie. Although Bonnie likes her space (IE: the feeling isn't totally mutual), I do my best to get to inch my way closer to this ball of wonderful Maggie and RB get to call their daughter. Now, before I get any creepier...

Maggie shared with me that she wanted to have some photos of B. in her mother's home, as this was the last year she was able to decorate. Although such circumstances are heartbreaking, it prompted my thinking about traditional Christmas portraits; how stuffy they can be, and how most these days are akin to the cringe-worthy "Christmas letter"... (You and your family are the most fabulous bunch of humans to ever exist. GOT IT!!!) 

To my family and I, the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is so important because it's when we spend a few extra-special weeks basking in the glow of togetherness. Traditions are created and held year after year. Growing up, I always, always decorated the Christmas tree with my mother, listening to Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton's Once Upon a Christmas. (I now own this on vinyl and play it each year while decorating the tree with my boys). As a grown up, it isn't Christmas until The Snowman is watched, and Logan starts cringing to my version of "Christmastime is Here".  

For some, baking cookies is an event! How much more special would a holiday session be if it were to have personal meaning?! Imagine gorgeous portraits of you and your siblings in your annual pajamas, laughing, joking, wrapped in the warmth of a full kitchen; delirious with good tidings. 

What about your annual trip to the Christmas tree farm, or the night you all sit together and watch Home Alone, build a gingerbread house, or make new ornaments? Those are the moments I cherish the most with my family, the ones I hold dear. I want to be the photographer that brings you those moments from the outside. 

I love these portraits of Bonnie in her grandmother's home. The decorations will be passed on, but the way they were displayed this year and the years before now take on much more meaning. Small, beautiful touches are no longer unnoticed, taken for granted. They began to spin into a brilliant new life: The After. 

           

I enjoyed so much the time I spent with Maggie, RB, and Bonnie. We sat and talked a bit before I began snapping Bonnie up, which made me realize just how much I enjoy the relationships I've nurtured throughout this photography journey. Since taking time off from my photography as a business, I've really considered what I love to shoot. That's the advice so many other photographers offer--shoot what you love! I realized it's not a genre. 

I'm not interested in shooting only weddings, only maternity, only newborn. I'm interested in shooting everything so long as I'm invested in it. I want lasting relationships with my clients. Clients who value my aesthetic, love their lives, and want to showcase that light. I cannot wait to bring those clients into my life and behind my camera for 2014! I also cannot wait to revisit my previous clients friends, to show how their love has grown!