Happy Wednesday everybody! Personally, I have always loved knowing the person behind a business or company. Especially when it is a small business there tends to be a motivation or drive to what they do and why they do it. Being a mama of three little ones, it is always on my mind that they are constantly watching what I am doing. Moms out there can probably completely relate to the fact that almost every step you take is seen and observed. This is extremely true too once they get a little bit older. My three kids are eleven, six, and three and my eleven year old more than ever pays attention to how much effort and passion I put into anything I may do. She loves to tell people about things that I have accomplished in life and what my job title is. When I started the journey to finish up my college degree at California University I was a mom of one. As I finished up my degree I was officially a mom of two with one being a newborn. What makes the hard work that goes into something like that worth it? The people you are doing it for and the village that you have standing behind you and supporting you to keep moving forward! What does that have to do with my photography? Everything! Those same people and that same village that motivated me then still stand behind me today. This past year as you all know has been nothing but normal, but if it was anything; it was a year to learn the importance of various parts of life and to prioritize different aspects of life. When everything closed down I took down my calendar that is typically in a frame and put up a quote that read, "Grow through what you go through." If I would have known then what that quote would mean to me now, I would have been at least slightly wiser. The funniest part is I never put my calendar back up through all of these months and left the quote instead. This year has brought so much loss. Through the loss what has grown is my understanding of how important the things like captured memories are. Capturing the milestone moments of my kids' lives, memories we have made, and just every day moments has been something I have loved to do for years. I am sure just like many of you, during quarantine my kids and I were at home finding new and unique activities to hang out and bond with each other. Science experiments, empty park fields for picnics, flying kites, a movie theatre in the family room, crafts, board games, and the list goes on. We would capture most of those moments in photos because it was a unique time that allowed us to spend more time together and bond in ways we typically would be way too busy to. Maybe in the eyes of my kids I take my camera out far too often to photograph them. In fact, they tend to be my little guinea pigs if I have an idea brewing in my head because I love to just have that one extra photo of them to hold onto. Especially in times like this past year. Kids are only little for so long and to me I do not want to miss a moment of that! So what does that mean and why in the world am I rambling on for this blog you may ask? Because my kids in recent months have shown me why it is important to offer to others what I have the benefit of having at my fingertips. For quite a few years when people asked if I took photos for others I of course took them, but I never outwardly advertised or vocalized that I did photography. These months have shown me the importance of teaching my kids to go after your dreams and goals in life. I almost feel like a cliche by saying there is never a better moment than now, but what about that is a wrong statement? Now is the right time to be an example to my kids and show them that a dream is not too far fetched. Now is the right time to remind people to capture the important moments in life. Now is the right time to teach my kids no matter what age you are there is always more to learn and you can always grow to be better. Most importantly, now is the right time to show my tribe that their support has not been ignored all of these years. So my motivation behind my photography is driven by the inspiration of others in my life and the uniqueness of the people who I am given the opportunity to photograph. In a nutshell, each individual I photograph inspires me to come up with a new creative way to represent them and who they are. Just like my kids have always motivated me to capture them and who they are in a different way. The pictures in this blog are all of my kiddos. It is easy to see why they inspire me just by looking at how they are clearly much different individuals. Their interests and personalities are not at all the same, so they are each able to inspire me in different ways almost daily! The inspiration they bring to me comes back in the photography that I offer to you. The light in their eyes brings a life to every photo I am able to hold onto and cherish. I hope that that is what I am able to give to others through this venture!
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