Oh friends…

This may be, no, this is definitely one of my favorite sessions ever.  For so many reasons.  Lets talk about it.  I’ve wanted to do a session like this for so very long and that I got to shoot it alongside the oozing with talent, film shooting Samantha Kelley, I mean, it was magic in every way possible for me.  An in home, real real lifestyle session.  A leave the dishes in the sink, toys and clothes on the floor, everyday mess alone and lets show everyone how beautiful that mess really is.  Kylee had to really trust us that the messes needed to stay, her kids needed to wear whatever they wanted, and it had to be real, and that we would make that all something truly beautiful.  And I think we did.  This home was full of so much love and character and life it just couldn’t be anything but beautiful.  Embrace your mess Momma’s.  Your “every days” really are magic.  Doesn’t mean you can’t have frustrating, mundane, tear your hair out days (Ive had several this week), just remember on those days deep down inside you, that even those days are magic because they are days with your babies and they are fleeting.

Now to my fellow photographers.  I say this.  DO this.  Get together with another photographer sometime and shoot together.  I’m telling you, shooting with Sam was nothing but inspiring for me.  We had such an incredible aura going on.  It was all about encouraging each other, appreciating our differences and finding real joy in the beauty the other was capturing.  Not one single grain of competition existed.  Not one.  I think we both grew and improved and learned and best of all, made a really awesome new friend and colleague.  We may have ended up hanging out at a magical river with our babies all afternoon after this shoot.  I feel so blessed we all came together and made this happen.  I’ve never felt so creatively refreshed.

So here you have it.  And the best part?  You get to see it TWICE!  I love love love Sam’s take on this.  Find her post here.  I love how completely different we saw and captured things.  I just love it all.