Practicing What I Preach

Last summer as I was in the midst of photographing the many families and children who have entrusted me with their memories over the course of time I got busy and started thinking about booking a photographer. For us, my family. My girls are not getting smaller, they are at a totally fun stage (5 & 7 years old) and while I have a MILLION images of the kids, I really don't have any of us as a family other than the hastily snapped "self timer" images that I have taken over the years (often time with my husband with a disgruntled look because quite frankly, on the beaches of Destin, watching me run back and forth while trying to balance my camera precariously upon the sand, run and snap the image in enough time to make it with a smile upon my face and with my children looking appropriate, well, not so good! LOL).

So, back in August last year(how's that for thinking in advance) I booked a family session for us with the fabulous Brianna Graham. Tomorrow is the big day and I am so nervous/excited/worried. How about if we aren't photogenic (just because I photograph doesn't mean I "photograph")? How about if the height difference between my DH and I is too great and we look lopsided (he's 6'2" and I'm 5'2")? How about if all those fabulous outfits aren't so fabulous (I am wearing something exquisite, something casual and bringing a whole bunch of other stuff)? How about if....

Oh now I HAVE to stop. I am sure my clients feel so much the same way and in many ways my going through a similar experience will help me be more empathetic towards my clients and their presession worries. Although I should add that I booked that far in advance in hopes that I'd lose a few...pounds that is. (I try to make this whole experience as stress free as possible but this is truly eye opening in terms of feeling my clients presession pain.) Guess what? My kids'll still love the images and cherish these images, so will we and that's the point. Not that *I* look great, nope, I want these images for me to remember us by. And I know that God knows what can happen tomorrow or the next and we aren't getting younger or better looking!! And even if I weigh a bit more than I'd like and I have a few more wrinkles than yesterday, well it's about capturing the moment here & now, not about being model thin nor Angelina Jolie poreless in the images.

So please check out Brianna Graham's work if you are so inclined her work is amazing and I truly am very excited.

And yeah, for our next beach vacation I already have my photographer picked out...so hopefully my DH looks much less disgruntled in future family beach pictures!!