Every time I watch this film, I'll remember these 10 things and so much more.
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Growing up, my grandparents were the sort who would drop everything for my sister and me.
My grandfather would chat away with us during "coffee time", which included slices of apple pie and a Sun Drop for us girls.
My grandmother was always available for curling up on the couch together with a book or teaching us to knit for the 100th time.
We'd feed the cat, play Clue, and beg for another guided tour of the basement "treasures" - the highlight being a set of animal traps my grandfather used for hunting as a boy.
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I believe there is something truly magical about photos of your family, taken in your own home, doing the things you normally do.
I believe the details in the setting of your house will take you back to this time and revive sweet memories you've forgotten, every time you look at them.
I believe the little interactions within your family scream love.
During Eliza's Film Session, I also photographed her family. After a year of hospitalization, Eliza is finally home, and the beautiful connections they share definitely scream love.
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Whatever your favorite traditions are, I'd like to challenge you to take photos of your family actually living those traditions this Christmas.
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I’ve been photographing real families in their homes for almost two years now, and photographing my own for even longer. But last month was the first time I’ve been on the other side of the lens in this format, and I have to tell you, it was a little different than I’d expected.
Logically, I knew what this was all about, inside and out. But there is something different about being the family photographed, in a documentary-style photo session. It was a learning experience I couldn’t have gained any other way, and I want to share my top 3 take-aways with you.
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This fall has been a tough one for my family. My husband and I have had busy work schedules, and between the boys’ school and after-school commitments, sometimes it’s felt as if I couldn’t catch my breath. Can you relate?
In all the running from place to place, reviewing spelling words and Spanish vocab, and making sure lunches are packed every day, the weeks have flown by, with weekends whipping even faster.
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Melissa trusted me to see exactly what she sees every day - the chaos, the beauty, and the love in raising four little ones.
And just as importantly, she trusted her children to be themselves - kind, funny, creative, and connected - without directing them to do or be anything else.
The result?
A beautiful gallery of photographs - and a film - depicting a typical Saturday morning in this phase of their lives.
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There are so many similarities between a documentary family photo session and a maternity one, especially when a family already has a child (or two, as Kaytee and Jason do!), but that's exactly what makes them so special.
A baby isn't born in a bubble. He's born into a family - and that family shapes who he is and who he becomes. When your family celebrates this stage of life in photos, it's truly a gift for everyone involved.
Whether it's your first or your third, giving your child the ability to look back in time and see how he was a part of your family's life from the very beginning is something he will always treasure.
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I fell in love with Family Films from the first time I saw one, and I knew I had to learn how to create them.
I know that the movement and sound captured in these videos will take our hearts back in time in a way that's totally different from photos, and just as valuable.
Long after our boys are grown, we'll have their little voices, their foot steps, their hobbies, and their giggles in this time capsule.
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When I think of the ways I love my family every day…
From making meals to reading stories,
From kissing away boo-boos to listening to hopes and dreams,
From dancing and singing to hugging and cuddling,
It breaks my heart to think, if I don’t make an effort to get in the frame, one day, the details of those memories will fade away – both for me and for my children.
Megan understands how important it is to have her family’s real life documented – and to be IN her family’s collective memory in photographs.
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Our family has made great use of our membership to the ABQ BioPark over the past year. We love the Gardens and the Aquarium, but the Zoo is at the top of our kids' list, for sure.
Between their favorite exhibit (the sea lions!), the ever-present peacocks, and the Carousel, I'm thankful our boys will have photos of the way they enjoyed their very favorite parts of the Albuquerque Zoo this summer.
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There's nothing quite like an "ice cream goatee," and at this stage of our family life, I know those days are soon coming to an end. I'm so thankful to have these photos of my kids' contented...ice cream-covered...faces, enjoying one of the best parts of summer. I know they'll be thankful, too.
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In Part 2 of my project to document OUR 2016 summer in Albuquerque with photos, I'm sharing our 4th of July.
I want my kids to remember the sense of community and pride we felt that morning during our neighborhood parade, and the wonder and excitement they felt, setting off fireworks in our backyard.
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This summer I'm documenting my family's life, with photos that speak to the iconic moments of OUR 2016 summer in Albuquerque.
When my boys look back at these prints, years down the road, I want them to feel these memories in their hearts and know that this was summer for us.
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Sometimes we hold off on an in-home documentary-style photo session because we're waiting for our lives to settle. But while we wait for this more perfect version of our lives, we miss out on the beautiful moments happening right now.
(And truth time - we'll never feel like we have it all together. There will always be pieces missing from the puzzle...that is, until you decide you love those weird edges and that funny cloud in the middle.)
As an Air Force family, Staci and Eric know their home here in Albuquerque is temporary. When their three years is up, they'll be onto the next duty station, the next town, and their next home.
But when they look back at these photos, they'll remember THIS page of their story.
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I so loved listening to Tish describe how she cherishes the simple moments in their every day - the looks on her children's faces when they wake or as they tell her a story, the way her husband stands at the gate and watches their daughter play with the goats, or the sight of her grandmother reading to her youngest children.
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The mornings, here, have their own bit of chaos between breakfast and getting out the door for school, but it's still our evenings that are the most hectic. The whole dinner, bath, bedtime routine is jam-packed with activity over a very short period of time, and everyone - no matter how great the day was - is exhausted.
But it's also such a beautiful time of day. It's a time for connecting around the dinner table. It's a time for listening with our eyes and hearts, as well as our ears. It's a time for stories and cuddles and kisses.
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Almost daily, a new fort took shape, with couch cushions and pillows for the walls, and afghans and blankets for the roof. Stuffed animals were used as anchors and flying buttresses.
By afternoon, though, the walls were crumbling, and the roof was caved in. (Why our dog thought it was the perfect spot for a nap – repeatedly - is beyond me.)
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I'm continuing to try new things with my 52 Week Project.
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