“There is only one sun. We can’t all claim to only have one way to use the light, but we can REDEFINE how we choose to express it. “

Why are you passionate about photography in general and a tell us a bit about how you got started?

I have loved photography my entire life and started by photographing my Cabbage Patch kids and stuffed animals in front of our family christmas tree, as most serious photographers do. Later I moved on to photographing pets, landscapes, and the occasional sibling. But seriously, these early experiences fed my artistic curiosity and passion. I’m so grateful to my mother for allowing me to find my own ways to entertain myself because this encouraged my natural creativity.

Tell us about the idea behind Sunday Morning sessions?

Even though I’m very driven professionally, I’ve always wanted to be a mother first and I planned my college and career around it. My kids are in their teens now and I’m so grateful that I focused on raising them and enjoyed every freaking second of my kids’ childhoods. Now that they are older, the pictures I have of those years are so incredibly special to me. After getting more serious about photography a few years ago, I realized that I wanted to capture these memories for other families. I wanted to take their memories, all the gritty and emotional parts of it, and create artistic pieces that they could feel. I want my clients to remember what it felt like to love fearlessly and unconditionally. When we think back on our childhoods, what is more loving and authentic then lazy Sunday mornings with our family? A time and place where you could be yourself and know you would be loved? Or if you didn’t have that, then the desire to provide that for your own children? This is what I aim to capture in Sunday Morning Sessions.

What were the challenges for you in the beginning, how does it connect to your journey and wanting to capture Sunday Mornings.

In the beginning I knew I wanted to photograph people and emotions, but I was uninspired by traditional portraits and editing styles. This may sound strange but I didn’t want to photograph smiles all the time, to me it wasn’t genuine. Parenthood and family is made up of all the emotions, and there is a fair amount of grit involved in loving and supporting each other. As I discovered more creative editing I was able to express the darker beauty in the emotion of family. I continued to focus on this idea of loving unconditionally, something that is unique to families and those we consider family, and used my moody style to reflect genuine emotion in an artistic way.

What are the tips you would share with anyone trying to create a category like this for their work? (aim for at least 5, but any are welcome)

1. Focus on your why. What emotion or feeling takes up your thoughts? What are you always looking for or trying to answer? For me it’s the need to receive and give unconditional love. I find this subject fascinating and impossible to describe with words. What is it for you?
2. Find the editing style that reflects the emotion you want to portray. Clean, bright, and happy or edgy and eclectic or dark and moody, there is no wrong way to do it. There is only the way that works for you.
3. Give yourself time to grow. Work on your style and try to constantly improve.
4. Take a break when you need it. Creativity can be exhausting and there is no shame in pausing your own work to relax and soak up inspiration from other sources.
5. Once you have a clear focus on the category or style you want to create, determine your market and let them know about it. Don’t worry about growing too fast, keep it small at first and focus on quality.

What’s in your camera bag?

I keep it simple as I am not a fan of gadgets and tech. I have what I need to get the job done, which is a Canon 6D and a Canon 35 1.4L that I use all the time.

ABOUT THE ARTIST : 

I love capturing all the messy, happy, moody, and gritty emotions. My favorite thing to photograph is human faces. I have a day job that I love, and a photography business as well. My free time is spent with my love and our three kids. My hobbies are volunteering/activism, the outdoors, reading, and good television. 

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