My Photography “Why”

Baby Tayler, playing with the high school rental camera.

My love for photography started in high school. An art class that I was enrolled in spent a couple of weeks focused on the ins and outs of photography. It caught my interest, like many crafty hobbies before it. But unlike those many many hobbies, this one stuck around. Shortly after that class, I was graciously gifted a Canon Rebel T5 from my parents. They were always supportive in my fleeting interests, so I doubt they ever imagined that this one would stick, but still they gave it a shot. From that day on I have consistently hauled a camera bag with me nearly everywhere I go. I am sure at times they regretted that gift, more than once, they've had to stop and wait while Tayler took yet another photo of a seemingly random object. But I couldn't help it, it called to me. It became my “thing”. I'm sure people were unsurprised when my personal social media accounts became sunset and flowers, because what else would she be doing with that camera. All. The. Time. But just being able to capture a beautiful moment in time and reflect on it afterwards was a joy I haven't really felt before then. It satisfied my crafty artsy heart, while also seeming like it was something I could give to people, to make them happy too! It was a win win in my book!

One of the first images I was super proud of!

Jump forward nine years to the present. Photography is now more than just a hobby in my life. It is a constant goal that I strive toward everyday. While it started as pretty pictures of animals and plants, my main focus quickly became people. It was more of a natural gravitation, rather than an actual conscious decision. But with working with people there is a lot more research to be done, meaning my life is pretty consistently filled with “youtube academy” or a photographer's podcasts. And during one of my podcast deep dives, a comment was made on questioning your “why”. As a photographer why do you do what you do? Honestly, it dawned on me pretty abruptly that that was a question I had not directly asked myself before.

At first I really couldn't think of a good answer, my initial thoughts were along the lines of “I just enjoy it, I guess”. But of course that didn't sit well with me. You don't do something for this long just because it is something that you kind of enjoy. It felt silly that something I get so much joy from didn’t have a cut and dry answer the moment I wanted one. I set out to figure out my “why”. I needed a better description for my love and passion for this major part of my life, even if it was only for me to know. So I self reflected, read a little and listened to some more podcasts.

Why did I do what I do? Why am I bound and determined to have photography so prominent in my life?

When thinking of my feelings after capturing parents navigating their new lives with a day-old child, or freezing the moment a mother meets their child after months of pregnancy, my emotions are more along the lines of “I LOVE this.”

So what do I love about the images that I take?

While scrolling through some of my favorite photography sessions, it dawned on me that while I enjoyed them all, it wasn't the perfect ones that made me stop and look a few seconds longer than the rest. It wasn't the perfect makeup on mom, or the best dressed family, or the perfect location at the perfect time. The ones that gave me that “ I can't believe I get to take these pictures” feeling, were the “flawed” images. They were a mom’s smile lines peeking out when she laughed with her child. Or it's the kid with the bandaid toe and scraped up knee, displaying all the recent adventures and fun they've had. It's the newly stretch marked pregnant belly of a first time mom, showing the beginning signs that there is a tiny human growing in her belly. It's the waiting gloved hands of a tired but awake midwife ready to gently guide a child to their mothers chest, long after the rest of the world had gone to bed.

I realized that I never looked at my favorite images and thought “Wow, this picture is perfect”. I looked at them with admiration for their “imperfections”.

My photographers “why do you do what you do” became,

“To Embrace & Capture the Perfectly Imperfect”.

So in a roundabout way this article can give you a better idea of what to expect during a shoot with me. I am striving to capture an authentic version of you and your family. I don't want the bumps and bruises to be hidden. They might not be front and center but I want them to be present, to tell the story that is your current life. It may have been messy or hard or chaotic, but in the end it was real, imperfect and beautiful. I want you to look back on them in 20 years and remember it all.

Let's capture the perfectly imperfect together.

Conservative Birth Photography