Firsts

     As a mom of four rough and tumble kids, it's hard for me to remember the quiet serenity of one baby.  It's not hard to remember the reality of the first baby.  I felt like I had been turned inside out, my whole heart was on the outside and I was trying my hardest to keep it happy, fed, healthy, growing.  And frankly I can't remember my son's first birthday, probably because I was already pregnant (SURPRISE!) with his little brother.  

    So when Jodie contacted me for photos of her son around his first birthday, I was so excited for her!  No matter how crazy life feels and the details start to blur, she'll have a real and tangible memory of its beauty.  

   Even better, she wanted photos both in their home and in their (our) neighborhood.  Sweet photos of baby, of course.  But also memories of his crib, his home, his community.  What a gift.

Newborn Pictures at Home

The concept is so startling at first.  Do family pictures, or do baby pictures, or wait, both family and newborn pictures, IN MY HOUSE?!

And I get it, I really do.  As moms we think of our homes as our "office".  You know, our job that starts at dawn and doesn't let us go until well after bedtime.  Unless of course you're on the swing-swing shift, which means you're on duty every 2-3 hours, 24-7.  Ick, I think I need a Coke just writing that sentence.

You rarely think of your home as a place for pretty pictures.  It's the place where jam is on the counter, laundry is piled on the couch, and your list of to-do's is a mile long.  Why in the world would we do our family pictures there?

I'll tell you why, because it's actually way easier!  Like so much easier than picking that perfect location, getting everyone ready during the grumpiest hour of the day at the same time, driving 30 minutes and then rushing to beat the setting sun.

At home, whoever's ready first gets to go first.  Mom gets to finish doing her hair because each kid is having a blast showing their new friend their favorite toys.  Is the whole house clean?  Heck no!  Just that one beautiful room with gorgeous light.  Oftentimes it's the master bedroom.  It's the middle of the morning, when everyone's at their happiest point.  The kids actually smile their real smiles, and even Dad is just way more relaxed and chill because he knows he's only moments away from that actual fun thing he does on Saturdays.

And then you see the photos and you realize, you love seeing your favorite blanket in the photos, and that photo of your favorite person on the nightstand.  You really love how your boys are all cuddled around you on your bed and you realize, that's exactly what I want to remember.  Forever and ever.

Fall Schedule 2015

The time has come.  We can start to hope and dream that maybe sometime in the near future, we can open our front doors without sweating.

And with that hope, comes plans for the Fall.  And some people, some really organized and put together people, like to make those plans.  Right now.

For you amazing people, I present my Fall Schedule.  Take advantage.  or don't.  I still love you.

And away they go!

I have always learned well from others.  As a kid, I'd quickly figure out who the smartest student in the class was, and then just tried to do what they did.  I have my elementary school honor roll status because of a certain Lydia Choy.

As an adult and a parent, I have found those people that are a few steps ahead of me, kids a few years older, Mom has been around the block more than I have, and I tried to learn, to emulate.  I'm not one to reinvent the wheel.

Soon after moving into this neighborhood, I found this Mama.  Her biggers were rock solid.  Not just good kids, but really good kids.  They were passionate about their hobbies, their friends, their spirituality.

So I tried to watch, to figure out what tricks this Mama had up her sleeve that I could try them out in my own home.

But I think this photo shoot reveals her secret far and wide.  She just loves them.  She glories in who they are, she supports their passions, she believes in them long and hard, and then she opens the door so they can try it out on their own.

Her two biggers are flying the coop this month, traveling far far away.  The weekend we made these photographs, was the last weekend they would all be together  for 2+ years.

And you can tell, Mama has the utmost confidence that they are going to be just fine.  And they will.

And now that I know her secret, mine will too.

Bowties and Redheads

When I first met Matt (Dad), he was wearing a Viagra tie.  At church.  Which was mildly amusing but shock value doesn't go far with me.  Then I met his gorgeous red-headed wife and I thought, "I want her in front of my lens!"  Then we talked about their travels to Egypt, their life as young newlyweds in the middle of nowhere Vermont, and her passion for paddle boarding.  Really their passion for life.  For keeping it real.  As real as a 6 foot tall bald man riding a Vespa with a bowtie can be.  (for realz)

Almost three years later I found out, that while they were diligent in getting photos of their four gorgeous kids, Mom and Dad hadn't been in a family photo.  Ever.  Now they wanted the quintessential Family Photo, Sager style.  And I was the one for the job.  

No pressure.

Once I swallowed my nerves, we had an amazing time.  Those kids!  So smart, so chill, so unique and confident.  And Mom and Dad were brilliant at keeping the energy level up while remaining relaxed.  Such a good time!  And it shows in the final product.  

We captured the Sagers, just how they are right now.  For real.  

When you shine...

Do you remember that quote about not acting small?  About not hiding your light, for the comfort of others?  But that that light was put inside you as a reason to shine, which inspires others to let loose their own glow.  

This mom is one of thems.  One that just shines, she's not apologetic about the fact that she physically beautiful and soulfully graceful.  She glories in her three sons and her role as their mother.  When you get to have a conversation with her, she's genuinely interested in your thoughts and opinions.  Which makes you shine a little bit, feeling worthy of the attention for a minute.  

I love getting to photograph women like that, and their families.  They remind me to shine my light.  

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

-Marianne Williamson

Learning Me

So I just came back from an amazing workshop with the awesome team of Wendy + Tyler of Blue Lily Photography.  Blog post to come.  But one of my biggest takeaways is that I have the MOST fun doing my job when I'm with clients that I love.  That's also when I produce my BEST work.  And it stands to reason that I will attract clients that I get along really well with, when they really know me BEFORE they book me.

I realized that communicating me and my style and my personality, through my marketing is pretty imperative, both to my quality of work and my enjoyment of this craft.  So priority 1 of the moment; which part of me am I going to share?  How honest am I going to get?  How much authenticity do my clients deserve?  I'm going to go with, a whole lots.

And this session is an excellent example of that.  Because this Mama and I were set up by mutual friends, it was easier to get real in a short amount of time.  And that resulted in one of my favorite sessions of the season.  Sure, the light was fabulous and her styling was on point.  But really it was the fact that Mama was happy to show me her real smile, her real self, and her whole family followed suit.

Real can be real beautiful.

And this Mama has just started a blog I think I'll actually read for awhile.  Check out http://treehousehistory.blogspot.com/ if you're into real.  

Cotton fields? Check.

You gotta be open to new things, right?  So when a long time client says, "I want to do cotton fields this year."  And even though you've heard, gulp, snakes exist in said fields, you push down the anxiety and you say, YES.  Especially when she called the farmer herself and got permission.  Let's do this!

No snakes that day (that was the next weekend on the horse property.  seriously.).  Just the most amazing sky and bright, white cotton, and two gorgeous boys.  And can we talk about Mom's hair?!  I mean, seriously.

I am one of those rare Arizona natives (of my generation), I grew up on the west side of town, surrounded by cotton fields.  I remember field trips just about every year, learning all about how it grew, how it became our clothes, when the cotton gin was invented, and all the good stuff.  It was pretty surreal to be in the middle of it again.  This time as a mom, helping another mom, make some memories with her own sweet kids.  Life get so crazy sometimes, it's nice to appreciate the full circle it makes.

Real.

Lisa, the Momma of this great family, isn't anything but real and authentic.  She doesn't have time or energy for fake or posed or playing a facade, and trying to be something she's not.  Lisa is Lisa, and her family, well they are real.  And because of that, they're pretty dang great.

I have had the distinct pleasure of documenting her family for a few years now.  We make a little bit of photography magic every time.  She trusts me to find the love amidst the chaos, and that trust allows me to push harder in my technique every time.

This is an in-home newborn session.  This is lifestyle photography.  This is documenting the modern family.  Put any label you want on it.  It's still real.  And because of that, it allows all of us to be little more real.