"Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second." -Marc Riboud

As I look around our home, I see moments, memories of my family and times that we shared, precious seconds of our lives that tell a story and put me back in that exact time and place. For me, these photos framed and hung up on our walls, made into canvas prints for others to see, are not just pictures, they are priceless emotion stuck in a time when my three children, now all teens, were little and carefree and all I had to do was be a mom. 

When Khalil, Elina and Naomi were little I would play Kenny G while I tucked them in and rubbed their backs, sprinkling lavender oil on their toes, they still remember these moments to this day, and I cherish them. I may not remember an exact date, what the weather was like, but I remember that emotion when everything is right in the world. When you feel that way, nothing else matters, you know you are on the right path and you are grateful, manifesting more of these moments into your existence. This is the essence of a photo.

Everyone has a special photo that maybe they keep tucked away in a book, in a drawer, or proudly displayed in your home. This photo can make you feel like the world around you has stopped, and you are drawn into a feeling of perfection, you are feeling the energy of that exact moment and it has given you the gift of love.

Think about how you feel in that moment, when you forgot to breath, when there was a “what if” attachment that soon faded away and you allowed yourself to forget the past and future. When all you can do is allow yourself to just be present, if only for a moment.

I know the feeling of doing too much, and at the same time, not enough. When my plate is spilling over and I am constantly adding to my list. I get life and its ups and downs, working towards goals, and I am always challenging myself. At one point, I had three babies under the age of five, and I struggled to remain present. My tool for being in the moment with all that was going on was to grab my camera and forget the world.

Photography gave me hope that I was still present, still enjoying life and would one day look back at all of these photos and convince myself that I did something right. You would hardly ever catch me without a camera in my hand. Photography is a healing thing for me. There are moments and feelings that I always want to remember. The photos I took of my children are invaluable and hold a moment where I was present and focused on my children and we shared a moment together that can never be duplicated or forgotten, that’s just how love is, perfection.

There are moments in your life, where you should have a photographer present. You should be hiring a photographer and you should stop putting off your photo shoots, whether it is to lose weight, waiting for the weather to change, or because of finances, make your memories a priority. Moments, hours, days, and years will pass by, you will notice, and you can’t stop it. There are so many occasions to hire me for. Photo shoots are a lot of fun, and my clients take advantage hiring me as someone that knows how important time is. I value memories and know that your relationship with others is invaluable.

Get together with your girlfriends and do a photo shoot, bring me into your home and hire me for a lifestyle photo shoot where everyone can be themselves and the kids can be in their jammies! Hire me to shoot your wedding, your newborn photos, your birthday parties, your horses, your senior pictures, your memories. You can never get those special moments back, but you can remember how they made you feel every time you look at the photo. There is no reason to put off capturing those moments, and it is a priceless investment that will allow you to savor life intensely, one memory, one emotion, one photo at a time.