That Family kind of Magic | Northern Colorado Family Photographer

This spring we headed to Austin, TX with our family. I have been fairly fortunate in the way of weather in the past with travel sessions, but the very first days there called for rain and gloom and the photographer in me tried everything I could not to panic.

This was the day my perspective changed.

Let’s face it– when families envision that “perfect” family session, they aren’t picturing down pouring rain and mud and gray skies. I admit in the past I would reschedule my families if possible, but we traveled with kids in tow to another state and had rigid schedules between the two of us, so we decided we would make an adventure out of it.

It was the best decision I could have made. In fact, this is one of my favorite family sessions to date? Why? Well, because these photos are unapologetically and imperfectly about them and their connection. My work grew a bit that day. Maybe I even grew a bit that day.

If I can share with anyone that considers having families photographs made… ever, just a little tidbit of advice from one Mama to another. I am completely removing the “Photographer” aspect from this. Loose the “P” word from your vocab. You know the one. The “Perfect” word. I get it. You agonize over clothing choices and in some instances spend time (and money!) getting your hair and make up done. You have thought and maybe fantasized about this for months. You hope your children will cooperate–No more than cooperate– frolic with you. We think of all those tender moments we are going to get with our perfectly curated outfits in our beautiful setting. We get our family photos made too every year. Just like you. I am a Mama of almost seven. Trying to pull it all together while not losing my mind is an act of God.

But to put that photographer hat back on and share a heaping dose of reality, these moments don’t always just happen. I help direct and reassure and share what is going to bring out the best in your family and in turn, help you to create those gorgeous authentic emotions. It only takes a moment. But I don’t expect perfection from you. In fact, your imperfection is what inspires me. It is glorious. It is even magical in ways. It is what helps make you all who you are and lets your reason for being there in the first place shine on through. It isn’t about those clothes or the mountains or rivers or fields. It’s the love you have for your family. It is the need to document that you were all here.

So should the weather be imperfect.
Should you all be imperfect.
That’s perfectly okay. Because you are imperfectly enough.
And that is beautiful.

I am sad that we won’t be able to travel next year even if it is for the most amazing of reasons, but I do get a lot of families that come to me from out of state or even out of the country and this applies very much to that too. Should the weather be less than optimal or maybe not even what you dreamed about on your big day, it’s still going to be beyond wonderful. You are making memories in this place with your people. What is better than that? And they are documented and memorialized.

Old Friends and New Friends | Fort Collins Colorado Family Photographer

So first, some fun news!!! If you are looking to book for 2018, my calendar is almost ready to open and I have a big sale for you! There are more details below!

I literally have HUNDREDS of sessions I haven’t yet blogged. I keep telling myself that I am going to catch up… but let’s be real. That will likely never happen. I just ended my season for outdoor family sessions for 2017. Once we hit daylight savings time here and it gets cold and dark early, it’s about time to stop filling up those squares on my calendar. To be honest though, I prefer to really slow down once I hit my threshold. I am all in creatively. I am so inspired and fueled by the work I do, I want each of my families to have my all. Typically I know it’s time to stop booking for the year once I hit “x” amount of sessions or when I feel that mental exhaustion creep in. It helps me continue to make the quality of work I need to keep both me and my families happy. I also don’t have a busy season. I have a busy year. I shoot from March-October and then when the holiday season hits, I shift to mostly teaching. I was sad to close bookings this year however because I had SO MANY amazing inquiries. One of my favorite parts of my contact form is it has a little dedicated space for the families that reach out to tell me a little bit about them and I genuinely love learning a little bit of what makes them special. I am inspired before I even get to the booking phase in many cases. The exciting news is I begin booking for 2018 THIS month! I have a HUGE session sale every year for a limited time and a limited amount of families and my calendar ONLY opens for those that book during this until January. This year that will be November 24th, so keep an eye out! I also begin booking in person mentoring! I really am hoping to love on both new and old friends next year.

This family was new to me and I really just was smitten with them from the jump. They were here visiting from Oregon and AMAZING. One of my favorite repeat out of state families actually are good friends to them, so I was really going into their session looking forward to getting to love on them. They were down to earth and the hour just flew on by. There was light and genuine laughter and cuddling.