Sharing Thoughts & Appreciation...

...plus another sweet photography giveaway!

FOUR years ago yesterday, was the last day I spent working for another employer. I'll never forget the day I went to give my boss the notice I would be leaving. I was a ball of anxious nerves like I'd never been before, and still haven't been since. I was terrified to be venturing into unknown waters of working for myself, and had no idea if I'd even make it past the first year. But at the same time, I was so excited to be taking the risk and just knew in my gut that I needed to make this step and transition in my life.

If you're expecting me to sit here and tell you it's been an easy, magical ride, I can assure you that has not been the case. Working for yourself – as any other self-employed person would probably tell you – is some seriously hard (but seriously rewarding) shit. There are days when I've woken up filled with energy and excitement and I'm crossing things off my to do list in true boss-like fashion. And then there are days when I struggle to get anything done because there's so much to do that I don't even know where to begin. There are days that fuel my creative soul, and make me feeling so proud and simultaneously inspired to do even better. And then there are days when all I struggle really hard to not beat myself up over something I felt I could have done better. There are days spent photographing and having conversations all day, surrounded by other people and documenting or hearing unique stories. And there are days spent cooped up in my office by myself staring at a computer screen for 16 hours straight, often forgetting to eat and forgetting anything outside my office even exists. There are days where I can say "YES, I can make it!" to a request to hang out with friends (who in all honesty, I do not get to see enough of these days) or "YES!" to a last minute photography booking. And then there are days when I'm a hot mess because not only is it the busiest time of year shooting wise, but everyone needs something ASAP, and oh, it's also fucking quarterly sales tax time, again. Needless to say, as with anything in life, there are good and bad days when it comes to working for yourself. But I would happily take all the bad days working for myself over working for someone else doing something that I wasn't passionate about, and I really am without any question, so happy (and beyond thankful) to be doing what I do.

The last several years have been one of the greatest adventures I've ever been on, and I know absolutely NONE of this would be possible without the people who trusted in me for their photography needs. Whether you were a client who hired me or someone who has followed me or given my name to others looking for a photographer, every single ounce of support is truly appreciated. I also need to give a huge shout-out to my husband, who has been helping me reach this dream of mine since the very first day we met with an endless supply of lattes, dinners, and encouragement. For all of you, I am forever and ever grateful. 

This overwhelming feeling of appreciation, the fact that I'm about to head into my 5th busy season as a full-time photographer, and the fact it's my birthday in a few days, has me feeling oh-so-loved. And more than anything, I'd love to bring a little more joy into someone else's life right now, too.

That is why, I've decided to offer another sweet giveaway to one lucky couple or family! I've outlined the full details on my website here.... but don't delay, the entry deadline is this Saturday!

And on that note... from the most sincere place in all of my heart: THANK YOU! Thank you for your support and your trust in my services. Thank you for sharing my name and recommending me to others. And thank you for reading this entire, rambling post if you did (and don't worry, I won't hold it against you if you didn't)!

Have a wonderful day, friends! xoxo

WNY Birth Photographer at Buffalo Midwifery Services | The Arena Family

While I have now photographed many hospital births, this visual story I'm about to share is to date, still my only non-hospital birth, but it was probably one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had the chance to photograph. Last April (I can't believe it's taken me a year to make this post!) the Arenas called me when they were on their way to their birthing location, Buffalo Midwifery Services, and I met them there upon their arrival since they had just a touch longer drive than I did. Within minutes of our arrival, their third child – a beautiful baby girl – entered this world. After their daughter was born, mom was able to hold on to her baby and breastfeed for a bit with the umbilical chord still attached. As soon as they felt ready to go home, they packed up their things and their newest baby, and headed on their way!

After such an amazing experience with the Arenas at the Buffalo Midwifery Services, I would absolutely love to be a part of more natural births, whether at home, at the Midwifery Services location on Summer St, or at any of the Birthing Center locations in WNY or Rochester. So as a special offer for the next 3 non-hospital births to book photography services with me, I will be providing a discounted rate for birth photography services. If you are interested or know someone who may be interested in this incredible opportunity, drop me a line on my inquire page.

P.S. The women at Buffalo Midwifery Services are phenomenal with all they do to help moms bring their babies into this world. Eileen Stewart and her assistant, LuAnn, were inspiring to watch during the Arena's Birth Story, and I cannot wait to work with them again! If you're looking for more information on their services, check out their website here.

Buffalo and Rochester Documentary Family Photography | The Achatz Family Real Life Session

I just need to start off by saying how much this session holds a special place in my heart. Kari is not only an amazing wife and mother, but she's an inspirational woman all around, a phenomenal art teacher and photographer as well. We have known each other since college, and her daughter, Isabella, was one of the very first newborns I ever photographed. Since that day, I have had the pleasure of photographing Kari, Adam, and Isabella on several different occasions for their family portraits. But it's been a little while since I saw them last, and when I walked into their home with Isabella greeting me at the door with the biggest hug, I could have cried buckets of tears.

Where has the time gone, I thought? Since the day she was a newborn and even since the last time I saw them, it feels like it's only been a year at most. Yet someone now Isabella is this little person with a wild imagination of her own, a beautiful singing voice, and has a heart filled with so much compassion it pours out of her. These personality traits of a child are not always things I am able to see on a traditional family portrait shoot and that is why I love, love, love and firmly believe in Real Life documentary family sessions. Instead of being out at a park taking portraits for 60ish minutes, Real Life sessions give me the opportunity to spend time with families, photographing them in their home, doing what they love and do together all the time. For this session, it meant documenting Kari and Isabella baking cupcakes and playing dress up; Adam and Isabella putting together Legos; and time together with Isabella reading to her parents, all the while naturally interacting, enjoying the comfort of their own home. These are the memories I long to preserve in photographs.

But do you want to know something else I loved about this session? At one point not long after I arrived to their house last Friday, Kari said to me how excited she was to have photos around the house with HER actually in them, and how she always has these amazing photos of Isabella and Adam, or beautiful photos of everyone else with Isabella, but that she really doesn't have a lot of photos with her in them, especially photos of the everyday moments like this. It was sort of interesting that she said that, because she's not the first mom to tell me that. Two other moms have mentioned that to me in the last few months alone, and just a few days ago, another mom I know made a post on facebook sharing this link to an article about this very same topic. I could go on about this, but I'm just going to leave it at this (with a little shameless plug): taking photos of parents with their kids (mom especially) is a primary focus during all of my sessions, and there is no better way to capture the genuine real life moments than through a session like this.

So if you're still trying to think of the perfect Mother's Day gift, consider a gift certificate for a Real Life family session (I will have several available for purchase during the next 2 weeks)! Because having photographs of moments like this to look back on in 10, 20, 30+ years from now will mean the world not only to mom, but to everyone in the family.

The Bond Family's Real Life Family Session | WNY Documentary Family Photography

I'm all sorts of obsessed with documenting everyday moments of families in their homes, or as I call them, Real Life family sessions. And it brings me even greater joy when those sessions are with past wedding clients. These are the images that make my soul sing, and that make me squeal with joy and sometimes even tear up with all sorts of emotions of the tiniest yet most significant thing I know I'm documenting. These are the moments I want my clients to pass down for generations, and that I know will fill their hearts with so much joy for having images like this to show their children one day.

And with that said, I'm just going to dive right into the Real Life session I had with the Bond family last week. One thing to note... during this session, Maria and I discussed our obsession with all things white, black, and grey. So I make no apologies that this post is mostly black and white images because I know at least Maria would understand the pull black and white has on me, even in images!