This one is especially for us moms. Get.In.The.Photo.


Typically, you are the one who keeps the family calendar, creates the magic, and then photographs it all. But where does that leave you? All too often as I scroll through my camera roll, I have adorable photos of my kids and my kids and my husband, and lots of selfies of me and my kids. Especially in my career as a photographer, I am very often most comfortable behind the camera. But that doesn’t allow for me to be in those photos with my kids.

A tender moment between parent and child captured in a series of outdoor autumn photographs.
A black and white photo series showing a family sitting together and laughing during an outdoor portrait session.

I guess it is the age of my kids right now, but I finally what people mean when they say it goes by fast. I’ll be the first to admit it did not when they were little, but now that everyone is in school full time, I do see time going quickly. As our family story is being written, I want to make sure that there are photos that help to remember the every day and the special moments.

A happy family shares joyful moments together while walking outdoors in black and white photography.

Sometimes this means letting go of perfection. As a type-A, people pleaser in recovery, I want to just acknowledge how hard this is. You are taking the time and resources to have professional photos and you want it to go perfectly. I will take every bit of my knowledge of light, posing and editing to give you flattering, beautiful and emotive images, but life is messy sometimes. Kids fall and get scrapes the day before family photos. Your partner forgets to get a haircut before photos. You are running late because somehow getting shoes on when we need to leave is torture.

A tender moment between mother and newborn baby against a floral wallpaper background.
A couple relaxes together on grassy ground in a romantic outdoor photoshoot.

And the elephant in the room, we as women can be our harshest critics.


Honestly if anyone said to me the things out loud that go through my brain about myself, they would be the worst person on earth. Yet these thoughts run through my mind and could keep me from getting in the photo with my kids very easily. I want to say this right here and I will die on this soap box. You Are Beautiful. You are Enough. You are just the mother and partner that your family needs. (Now can someone get that message from my brain to my own heart!) I say all of this to acknowledge that it is way easier said than done, but we have to work on this as moms. We have to get in the photo. We have to let our kids see us truly delighting in them like we do. I am in this mental battle with you and we can beat these negative thoughts about ourselves and celebrate the bodies that care for the people we love the most.

Family snuggling together on a cozy gray couch in a bright room with children's books on the wall.

So I hope you take this as an invitation to get in the photo. Of course I encourage you to book professional photos because I can take all of my knowledge to create timeless images of you and your favorite people, but if that’s not possible right now, please ask a friend to take a photo of your family or you and your kids so you can be in the photo, too.