I recently cleaned out our guest room which had really old photo albums and random pictures stuck between college books and wrinkled magazines.  I found myself sitting alone and laughing at funny faces, crazy hairdos and friends that have come and gone.  I could tell you where the pictures were, the circumstances of where we were and why a picture was even taken of that moment.  I sat there just reflecting on photography, the pictures and why it's so important to me.  Without those pictures, I don't know if I'd honestly remember the moments.  I'm 34 and I still have hazy days with the busyness of a kiddo, my business, being a wife, a housekeeper...  just the craziness of life.  So, why are pictures such an important part of life? 
 

I have been thinking about this for a few days with the transition to my full-time photography business, and I think pictures just bring us back to a place and a time.  I think every picture, no matter how dramatic or simple, that invokes a reaction is incredible---  as long as you have SOME kind of reaction.  I love that being a photographer lets you create art, create words, create memories, create a small screenshot of time that has life.  I love the idea that pictures have a voice, and I love movement in photos which feel like real life exists in that one frame of time. 
 

I was told that my photography was a "gift" recently.  I said, "Thanks," and just thought it was a nice thing that people said after pictures were delivered.  It wasn't until a few days later while cleaning out a little guest room that I understood what she was saying.  Doing what I love is a "gift" for myself.  But, the idea that my pictures. My photos.  They were seen as a gift by someone else??  You know the saying, "Giving is Better Than Receiving?" Well, the reciprocal measure of giving someone the gift of sharing in their moments is so much more gratifying than anything I could receive in return.  But, I will say the reward I get in delivering special moments that captures a family, smiles and relationships in a single photo is the greatest gift alive. 
 

I hope my photography can help commemorate a small moment in your life; and the image will tell the story years later when you sit and look back at the years, the reason you had pictures taken as well as the moments that make life uniquely yours.