After I got married and started having kids, I wanted good photos of them, but I couldn’t afford to have them done professionally as often as I wanted.
So I did what every resourceful mother does: I took them myself. Except, for me, I went a little picture crazy, starting with investing in my first DSLR the night before my third child was born. I remember telling my hubby jokingly, “I’m going to spend a lot of money having someone else do all of these photos so I might as well start learning.” I don’t know if he thought it was funny at the time, but he sure takes me seriously now!
I honestly didn’t start out to be a photographer. Mostly I just wanted photos that captured my children’s childhood – those newborn fingers and toes, gap-toothed smiles in elementary school, photos of what we looked like as a family over the years.
As time passed, friends and family started to notice my photos and started asking me to take their family photos. It was becoming more than a hobby and turning into a passion.
Things really took off when we bought my studio. I had been collecting props for years because my husband and I love auctions way too much and I was always finding great stuff for photos. Our house was running out of space for my prop addiction, so it was awesome to have a separate space to store them and a place to accommodate different types of sessions. Up until that point, I had been doing mostly outdoor sessions, and my studio gave me the option to do indoor sessions, especially during cold northern Illinois winters.
While I didn’t set out to turn this into a business. I want other mothers to be able to afford great photos of their kids, so I work hard to keep my services reasonable for them but still worth my time as well.
The best part for me isn’t just capturing cute smiles or how your family looks perfectly put together – no, I aim to capture an emotion, a feeling – the love between couples, the love of a mother or father for their children, the love that binds a family together.
I also find that beyond providing photos of a family throughout the years, I can help my clients, especially women and mothers love themselves in their photos. As women we can be so critical of our bodies, our faces, our hair, but with my camera, I can help women find the confidence within and empower them to see the beauty of being them.