A LETTER TO BUSY PARENTS…

(A letter to myself)…

I know all about the schedules of a busy family. I know how hard it can feel to try and carve out time and money for special things, I know far too much about self-confidence issues and I know being in front of the camera is not where we necessarily feel most comfortable.

I’m going to be honest with you and tell you that I have a family and a photography business, and most of our family photos look like the one my husband took of me at my birthday dinner last week (see right). Ah the irony!

Dear busy parent, I want you to know that I understand what you’re up against. I get it, because I’m working through this stuff too. Also, I want you to know that some of the barriers to having family photos taken aren’t the big barriers we think they are, and that the gift is much greater than just some nice pics.

I approach my family sessions in the way I would love someone to someday take photos of my own family. With that being said, here are my thoughts on having family photos, how I approach shoots and the unexpected gift of the entire experience:

1. Family photos are for the whole family. While us parents will treasure them now, boy will our kids be glad they didn’t have to filter through 25,000 bad iphone photos to find one mediocre one for their wedding day slideshow.

2. I’m not perfect. My house is not perfect. My kids are not perfect. We don’t need that sort of pressure in our lives, nor in our photos. You as you are, is how I want to capture you, and how I feel our kids would prefer to remember us - not the magazine version.

3. You don’t need to look at the camera. Instead - look at your kids. Connect with them, play, goof around, chat, cuddle, hold hands, be silly - all the nice things. If I want you to look into the camera, I’ll let you know. Otherwise, take your focus off “the perfect photo” and re-direct it onto loving your kids. I’ll take care of the rest.

4. You don’t need to “smile for the camera”. This is often a huge relief to many (especially dads!). The natural smiles will come if you simply connect (see #2). And by the way, serious faces are human and beautiful too.

5. I’m not afraid of toddlers. I have seen three kids through the toddler years. I know they are active and sometimes reallllly reluctant to sit still. Nothing to worry about - I’m a fast runner.

6. It takes less time than you think. Most of my photo shoots take just an hour. And it’s a pretty fun hour!

7. Photo shoots are just an opportunity to be fully present with your kids. That’s essentially the task I’m presenting you with. No distractions, no phones pinging, no thinking about having to be anywhere else, no other thing to do besides connecting with your kids. This is so often an unexpected gift to many families that I meet.

I can’t wait to have a better Bio photo, and I can’t wait to meet you!

Yours in courage and determination,

Laura