My creative process goes something like this:

I fall in LOVE with every photo as I take it. I'm like a lovesick puppy while I shoot. I can't wait to plug in and look through the images, and when I do, I remember those moments fondly. You know, those 'not so distant' memories of beautiful moments I so recently experienced. Then, I quickly begin to tear the photos apart. I make note of all of the things I would change and all of the things I did wrong. I think this is the way of most artists. Anyway, these photos were different. I knew they were beautiful as I took them and I've yet to find anything wrong with them. This isn't because I've entered some photography utopia where every photo I take is perfect and significant. As I looked through them I found a deeper beauty in them and a certain significance. 

These photos were taken on a lazy Saturday while my oldest daughter was on an Auntie date and my husband was working (the husband arrived home just before I'd put down my camera). Some of the photos are out of focus because I was often rejoicing with my little Evelyn as she played and discovered the wonder of the Matryoshka doll, paying little attention to where I was pointing and what I was focusing on. 

Evelyn rarely gets to play with these because her big sister covets them, and let's be honest.. toddlers break things and we didn't want these broken.  But it was just us home and she was SO interested in them, I couldn't help but give in. 
She had seen them opened before and she was determined to figure out just how this was done. All of her hard work paid off and she was tickled when she finally succeeded at getting the largest doll open. 

In the next several minutes there was a lot of opening, closing, opening, and closing. Each time being just as surprising and exciting as the last. 

WARNING: Here comes the deeper significance. (touchy feely stuff)

We're coming up on the year mark since losing my dad. If you're reading this, you may know that my dad was also a photographer and a huge part of my own journey as a photographer. This  year has been tough and to be completely honest, sometimes it feels like it's getting harder which I personally think is stupid and unfair. But the smarty pants, logical part of me says that it's all part of the process.  Being someone who doesn't do well with sad things, it's sort of rocked my world in the worst of ways having to deal with "losing" my daddy at the age of 27.  I put the word 'losing' in quotations because my personal beliefs ensure me that my dad is not lost and is still very much with me and forever connected to me.  But that's of little comfort sometimes.

There are a couple things that have brought me great comfort and immense joy over this rocky road that is 
 year #1 of my new normal. 
These things are:
-the little blue eyed blondie in these photos
-my incredibly witty and smart Elsie Mae
-my wonderful husband who when I wished to wipe the month of March from the calendar, suggested that we fill March with fun experiences that would make my dad smile. He even had a name for it "Phil-Up March" (My dad's name is Philip)
& photography.
In some way I still feel like that's something my dad and I share on a daily basis even if he's not here physically. 

I've thought a lot about how Evelyn won't remember my dad. Which makes me very sad but it'll only challenge me to keep him alive in my children's lives as well as my own.  We are because he was. Just as he was, because of his parents.. and their parents and so on. Just like the Matryoshka dolls, we are all essentially carved from the same piece of wood. 
So, when I look through these photos I see the beauty of love, family, wonder and all things great. I see my dad. I see his dad. Those are things I can't find anything wrong with. These photos that I've taken will forever be perfect in my eyes. 

As I mentioned, the hubby came home at the tale end of our play time with the nesting dolls. Just in time for some sweet photos that I'm sure Evelyn will one day cherish.  The daddy of a little girl holds a special place in her heart. 
Just as she does in his. 

Thanks for reading.

I absolutely love being a portrait photographer. I get a crazy kind of giddy when I get the chance to capture connections 
between people and even more when I succeed in telling a story of someones pure essence in only a small series of photographs. I believe I accomplished that with this shoot.

As parents we snap photos of our kids constantly!
(Oh wait, is that just me?)
And why do we do it? Because each of us believes that we have the cutest, smartest, most unique kiddos in the world. And we all do. They are them, simple as that. Each of them unique and lucky us, we get to know them! Photographs help document stages in our lives so that later on we can look back with fondness and share it with others

When this little guys mom contacted me she said my favorite words, "I'm open to any ideas you have." As we talked more I learned that he loved wearing costumes. From this point ideas were flooding my head. My own daughter has spent most of her life so far in costumes. She LOVES to dress up and lives in the wonderful land of {awe's} that is her imagination/dreamland. Though the busy mom in me tries too much to push her along to match the pace of the outside world, I truly love her imagination. I think it's absolutely beautiful and try hard to take more time to experience the wonder with her.  I hadn't met many boys, who upon meeting them  took you by the arm and held on tight as they shared their adventure with you. Needless to say, I was SO excited to meet this kid!

Now, let me show you some photos! Enjoy!

The morning of this shoot I got to our location early and found that there was the remains of burnt car right across the street. I LOVED the idea of using it for this next outfit. I would have loved to put him up on top of the car, but instead we kept a safe distance. :)

I got the chance to spend a little time and see why HIS mom thinks HE'S the cutest thing ever. I must say, I agree! Until the next adorable thing my own kids do, of course! hehe

I think that this shoot is the PERFECT way to kick off this blog. Get ready for some serious "AWWWWW" moments!

In July I ran a contest for a free photoshoot and WOW, lucky me ended up with an awesome Momma who said she was up for anything! Not often am I completely free to run with an idea, as I did with this little cutie! 

It started with my desire to do a Snow White inspired shoot. I imagined my images to have a storybook feel, rather than a disney priness feel and I think that's exactly what we accomplished! I couldn't have asked for a better model and little Co-director. <3

Thank you Momma and little J for helping me make this happen! I had SO SO
much fun with you both!

Hopefully I'll get the chance to do other Storybook sessions like this one in the future!! How fun would Alice in Wonderland be!!

Hmmm.... :)







JOLIE MAE PHOTOGRAPHY
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