danielle and zeke in tacoma <3 one of many sweet photoshoots throughout the years with these two

i so dearly love these images.

in them i find there to be so much honesty - the light, the body language, the simple moments...which i have found in my time as an artist, often contains the truest kind of beauty.

i find myself saying this about pretty much all my sessions with my clients.. but i think this is one of my favorite shoots!!

actually - every shoot i've had with individuals who feel they can open their minds/hearts to my approach to photography - has been beautiful.

and what is this big secret approach of mine that can make our time together magical, you ask?

this magical approach is:

me encouraging/guiding/urging you and yours to

be your

very

beautiful

selves

yes.

no real posing - besides me telling you what part of the room/space to be in (due to lighting desires). and yes, i encourage you to interact, and touch, and play.

i encourage you to connect with one another.

to deter your attention from me and my lens.

the lens - which makes us all behave differently than we'd normally (this is legit backed up by since) - can ask things of us. it can ask perfection. from the model and the photographer.

and this idea + image of perfection in our white heteronormative culture

adapts to the passing years and the seasons - in other words, it morphs itself to comply with the trends and the fads of the time.

for example, today on instagram, you can see these fads and ideas of the perfect wedding in the form of:

- mountain top couples/wedding moments

- the bride and groom hiding in the bride's veil

there is nothing inherently wrong about these photographs/poses.

they do not diminish in meaning for the individuals i'm sure just because they are photographed in popular poses.

but i do fear that this emulation of this idea of the the perfect wedding photograph is harming us more than we think.

i think that the superficiality of trying to achieve a certain image - in order to give off a certain image - can be damaging to us as well as the greater culture at large.

to think there is some kind of perfection to be achieved as humans living here on earth is a hilarious and very faulty thought.

we are, in every way, quite imperfect.

so why are we trying to appear as if we are? perfect, that is.

when, in fact, it's the very imperfections that make us beautiful.

it cannot be said enough.

and this is coming from me, an artist, who holds herself to a high af standards.

i myself get so damn caught up in trying to seem perfect - yes, perfect. not just good, not great, but PERFECT. and let me tell you - it is exhausting and frankly unattainable. and even if we do create "the perfect wedding/family photograph", it will never be enough for us. we will always seek more perfection/external approval.

this is why, when making my photographs, i try not to over-focus on this ideal, this superficial desire, of perfection.

i try instead, to focus on the very story which is unfolding before me.

and i encourage you to - rather than pose yourselves into a shape i like -

be as you are, creating whatever

shape it is you and yours would prefer to take.

you're a beautiful human and the way you move, your laugh, your smile, the wrinkles and crinkles around your eyes and nose, your freckles, your moles, your hairs, and toes... they all make up the beautiful and true image of who you are.

i'd rather draw your truest self out than attempt to conform you into something you're not.

i love this particular series of images because it's such a simple, un-instagram-worthy act - cleaning dishes. everyday life. everyday moments. quite moments. these are what make up our lives.

and they, to me, ultimately contain the most beauty.

because they contain the beauty of truth.

my job is simply to capture this - yes, in pretty light. yes, with a nice camera. and yes, in a way that is very thought out and calculated by me.

but my calculations and thought-out approach aims to honor first that which is your truth.

so i seek out signs of your character - in your movements, your connection with your loved ones, your personal belongings, the details of your attire/home.

and i practice anticipating moments - in order to capture them honestly.