Hi. Remember me? It’s been almost two years since my last post. Yikes! That doesn’t mean I haven’t been taking pictures in two years. The last two years were filled with first birthdays, christmas sessions, newborns and vow renewals. But those sessions were few and far between. As life has evolved for my family and I, I found that photography wasn’t fitting for us. With the kids in school full time, our time together as a family has become even more critical for myself. It is bitter sweet to say that I won’t be doing any official photography business anymore. Photography was a life saver for me. It came at a time when my kids were little and I needed, not only a creative outlet, but also a time out of the house. Photography welcomed me in to peoples homes, lives and family gatherings. It challenged me in wonderful ways. I am so thankful for each person who has hired me over the last seven years. (especially those who hired me at the very beginning). I’ve watched families grow up through my lens. I’m thankful for a job I was able to do while being a stay at home mom. I am thankful for the classes I took and for those who mentored me along the way. The beauty about photography is that even though I am closing the doors on the business, I can pick up my camera and continue to film and photograph. I love being in homes and seeing my work on refrigerators, tables and walls. It has been an honor to be a small part of your lives. Thank you.
When my friend Rachel sent me this Dove commercial I’m not sure she realized how much it would hit home for me. Take 3 minutes to watch the commercial and come back. I’ll wait. Promise.
This was me as a child.
I hated my hair. I couldn’t get through the grocery store without old ladies touching my head. I prayed and prayed as a little girl that God would make my hair go straight. I saw the other girls with their flat, smooth, long, flowy hair and thought that was beautiful. No matter what people told me growing up, I had it stuck in my head that long and straight was beautiful.
This is my daughter.
We can’t get through the grocery store without people mentioning her hair. Thankfully they don’t touch it. A few have and it’s as awkward as I remember it.
I used to straighten my hair everyday. Pregnancy decided to mess with my hair and left me with stick straight front pieces and super curly back pieces. I have to make the choice daily, straighten the rest or curl the front. Since my daughter started saying she wanted straight hair like mommy, I decided to curl it more.
Cue Rachel. She sent me the Dove commercial and asked me to photograph her chopping her hair. Her beautiful daughter was saying the same things my daughter was. She saw her mom who had chemically straightened her hair for twenty years. She wanted straight hair like her mommy. It was then Rachel realized she couldn’t tell her daughter how beautiful natural hair was, yet continue to straighten her own curls. So she began the process of letting the curls come back and to stop the straightening process.
I was more than honored to photograph the hair cut. Two of Rachel’s sisters were there to do the cutting. They let Rachel’s daughter do the first few cuts.
(I’m bummed I didn’t get a better before shot of Rachel, but here she is on the far right, her daughter in the middle.)
Gorgeous! Rachel is gorgeous and not just with the short hair. What a beautiful thing she is not only teaching, but showing her daughter.
If you’ve followed me for sometime now then you’ve seen these girls quite a bit. Soon after the mom found out she was pregnant with her third girl, she texted me a picture of the outfits she had already picked out for our next family session. You can tell she’s got great taste, which always help to make great photos. It’s always a joy to photograph this family!
