…and here’s the long version:

I have wanted to be a photographer for as long as I can remember, there are even rumors that the fisher-price camera (seen in the picture above) was my favorite toy.

For a brief time, I changed my career goals to wanting to be a wedding planner (which makes sense because I am a very type A kind of person). Being a wedding photographer fulfills both of those dreams. As much as I LOVE weddings, that wasn’t enough photography for me, which is why I currently offer portraits and pet photography as well. Another reason why I photograph so much is because….

I truly believe that you need to document each chapter of life, no matter how big or small it may seem in the moment.

…and I’m not just saying that because this is my source of income. Don’t believe me? Check out one of my favorite pictures from my 30th Birthday (the death of my youth) photoshoot.

I am just like the rest of you, life is hard, you go through heartbreaks, significant loss, new relationships, and lots of love. My friends used to make fun of me because any time we are together, especially in a big group, I like to make sure I get photos with (and of) everyone. At this point, my husband just accepts it, and when I can sense that he’s not really in the picture taking mood, I will casually slip in the, “you knew who I was before you married me” comment. 😂

At the risk of sounding incredibly morbid and bringing down the vibe, I have to tell you something I’ve never really talked about before. My family has lost many people (by many I mean, well into the double digits) in the last 15 (ish) years. With every death, my family would gather together with their pictures, laughing at each memory and picking those that they wanted to display for the funerals; this task would last an evening and it would really help ease the pain that we were going through, and bring us back into the memories of right when that shutter was clicked, whether we were there or not. Those pictures and that night are what helped me get through those heartbreaking times.

Pictures, to me, are irreplaceable, something you can’t put money on.

Just like you can’t get the time back once it’s gone, you also can’t get the picture once the memory passes. This is why I feel so strongly about photographing everything...and also why my house is plastered in our memories.

I took this picture, sometime around 2008 (I think?) on my cell phone during a visit with my Great Grandma. She passed in 2013, but when I miss her, I just pull up this picture and get an instant smile knowing that she was mocking me with the peace sign. Having this picture is so nice, but there’s very little that I wouldn’t give to have a professional photo of her and I.