Category: How Documentary Shooting Rocks
#037 – Documenting Goes *Beyond* Photography
I was completely burnt out from my photography business: fatigued from the built-up excitement when an inquiry chose to book with me, documentary family photographer, only for them to fall in line with the rest of my previous clients… not actually understanding “documentary.” One evening, I phoned a friend and paced my living room as […]
“We Can Too” Breastfeeding and Down Syndrome
This group of mothers wanted their story told and asked me for help. They want to show health professionals in Ireland that: It’s possible to breastfeed babies and children with Down Syndrome. A few statistics on breastfeeding in Ireland: “Current exclusive breastfeeding rates in Ireland on discharge from maternity hospital are 46.3%. (Sourced: Breastfeeding in a […]
Take Your Love for Documenting Life to a Richer Level that Fuels Your Soul (+ Business!)
Seriously, fellow documentarian, is there anything better than opening your memory card to a photo you made that sets your soul on BLAZING fire, you love it SO freakin’ much? You can’t get it into LR or PS to polish it off + share fast enough. Oh, and, getting it in print? You may as well […]
The Ward’s Celebrate 58 Years of Marriage
58 years. FIFTY. EIGHT. That’s a whole lot of years to spend loving someone. And yet, there they were. Smiling. I joined Pat and Ward (actually, John, but I love that Pat called him by his last name. When they met, they knew so many ‘Johns,’ it was hard to get the right one to […]
#019 – A Story on Photographs + Healing After Sudden Loss with Brittni Schroeder
It was after 11 p.m., when I should’ve been sleeping, but instead I laid there, mindlessly scrolling Instagram as I was jolted into full focus on a stranger’s feed. I was so captivated and moved by her shares, that I got back up and wrote out about 20 questions for Brittni BEFORE even inviting her to […]
That Clutter in Your Home? There’s a Story There
Friend, you can skip the cleaning before you pick up your camera. Confession: my house is almost always a mess. It’s not that I like it that way or that I don’t care about it. It comes down to three simple facts: I want my children to have access to lots of materials with which they […]
An Iconic Photo of “The Bubblegum Lady”
I have a story about bubblegum and a picture to go with the story that shows how amazing photos are, and how important our job is. This is my grandma – probably my favorite person in the universe. We lived in a small town of fewer than 3000 people. Everyone in town knew of her. […]
Making Memories Tangible + Durable for the Littlest of Hands
How often do you practice what you preach? Countless times I’ve shared my perspective on printing beloved images to make them feel more real. Does something really happen if it’s not shared on social media? Do memories even happen if they’re not printed and preserved? Admittedly, I’m the worst at taking my own advice. Really, […]
Why I Use Client Questionnaires for Documentary Photography
Ever show up to make documentary work of your clients, but they can’t seem to grasp the concept that you’re not there to direct? Or, they’re so stuck on the outcome of their pictures that the honesty of the story is lost? I’ve totally been there! In 2013, my client work was very trial & […]
Expression Through a New Home Owner Welcome Letter from the Seller
As exciting an adventure moving from Michigan to South Carolina was, it was a BIG DEAL to uproot the kids + say goodbye to the life we’ve built this far. It felt like a loss. Or a breakup. To help process how I was feeling on the goodbye side of things, I wrote a letter […]
Engagement Photography That Speaks To Your Heart
Have you ever looked at a photograph of your newly engaged friends thought, “man, I’ve never seen them look like that?!” Maybe it’s a friend wearing a suit when he’s clearly a shorts and t-shirt kind of guy. Maybe it was a girlfriend sitting daintily in a park, when you know she’d rather be hiking. Maybe […]
Photographing a Moving Story + Thoughts on Memories
When I was five, we moved an hour up the road to the house I lived in for the remainder of my childhood. I remember standing in the bathroom on our first night. The sun was setting and the sky was glowing pink and orange out of the kitchen window, but in the bathroom it […]