Sam is on the cusp of being an adult. She is full of passion for dancing and has a wonderful smile! I am always so amazed by what the human form can do. I fall in love with dancers every time I get to watch them through my lens. I am so grateful for the opportunity to capture people doing the things that they love. 

Cheers to your amazing self, Sam!

Are you a parent who loves taking portraits of your child?! But the images aren't what you envisioned...

Did you buy a fancy new DSLR (not a point and shoot) and can't figure out how to do anything outside the 'Auto Mode'? Do you know the basics but can't seem to get to the next level? Then this is the class for you! 

This is a specific series. It's about claiming the feminine. About seeing that as wonderful, beautiful, and delicate, as well as strong, fiery, and fierce. Because I know lots of fierce girls who love to play dress up and who also climb trees, dig in the dirt, play sports, and stand up for themselves. I want them to know they can be all those things at the same time. That they can be feminine and fierce.

Nora's story is heart breaking and powerful. She suffered a huge loss as a teen and spiraled into darkness that wouldn't lift. It lead her to rock bottom. More than once. She hid her feelings and pretended she was fine for many years. She learned the hard way how hiding and stuffing sadness down doesn't work for her and what she needed to do to change the course of her life. She learned to live. It was a long hard road. 

Once in awhile I like to post something personal. Because I like to share that I have a life that I love and it's what motivates the work I create. And also, because sometimes I just can't resist. I adore these images and the pure joy of friendship and love of baby animals that they captured. I just had to share them. 

Kathy is just like you and me. Someone you might see in the line at the grocery store or meet in your networking group. She is married and has two kids and a runs a successful business. That's the stuff we all know about each other. The things that we share with people. What we let people see of us. Then there are the things that we don't share. Kathy decided that she wanted to get brave and share her story about dealing with depression and anxiety. She has dealt with both of those things her whole life. 

One of the things that can strike at anytime is disease or illness. It can sneak up when you think everything is just fine. I am guilty of being afraid of this for my daughter for sure. So what happens when your child gets diagnosed with an illness that currently isn't curable? How do you deal with that pain, and then learn to cope with it every single day? That is Maura's story.

If you have a child with a vivid imagination or who loves to play dress up these portrait sessions will be right up their ally! Call to get more details 207-318-0467 or head on over to the contact page (click this) to get in touch. 

When I first heard Elizabeth's story my mouth hung open. Then I immediately teared up and cried as she kept talking. I remembered all the times I didn't stand up for myself. The times I can look back on when I knew I wanted to say something, but just didn't for all the reasons that we don't. And the ways that not speaking up didn't serve me or totally changed me. 

Part of my goal for The Gardenia Project is to not only help women feel empowered by sharing their stories, but to shine a light on the realities of our lives that we are often too afraid or embarrassed to talk about publicly. I want to change the dialog. I think that by sharing our stories (however dark they may seem to us) they will loose their power over us. Things that are hidden remain big and scary. Things that are shared remind us of the ways we can connect to each other, that we are not alone.

I have so many families that get in touch with me year after year for sessions. They tell me how much having these images on their walls beings them joy every day. It is the memories with our family that are the fabric of our lives. 

Dance is the hidden language of the soul- Martha Graham. I work hard to really connect with the people I take portraits of and yet I immediately can see the soul of a dancer.  What truly drives a dancer is all on the outside, when they dance. It's why so many people around the world want to be dancers or go to watch dancers.

Maybe as you look at these images you will see snakes as just a little more beautiful than you thought of them before. I would love that. 

Then the realization that this is it. This moment. This chocolate batter. This cake. This child.

This is the best. The best that life has to offer. I have it. It is mine. It is here. And now. So I savor this. I smell the rich dark chocolate, hear the harmonies of the background song, listen to my daughter chattering on. Drink it in. And smile to myself. I totally win.

 These tween years are tough for girls. I remember them well. You aren't a little kid, but you aren't a teenager yet either. You still want to play with toys that you have always loved, but your loves are evolving into older girl stuff too. It can be tricky to navigate the emotions that come along with all these changes. I offer these Little Women sessions to try and help girls feels positive and powerful during this time. 

"When I saw the first image I was so blown away at how beautiful I was, how excited I was to play big because of that image, and how I saw my power and therefore FELT my power." - Bambi

I had a vision for layers of texture and fabrics that would be rich and warm for this winter studio set. I wanted a reminder of all the wonderful elements of feeling surrounded by the sun in all it's shades of golds and yellows. It is so much fun to take portraits of girls inside the overlays of colors we created. I finish up each session with a cup of hot cocoa as well! A memorable experience for creating art you will both love for a lifetime. 

I am always amazed by people who are so positive even after having really awful experiences. It would be so easy to take something that was so bad, for so long, and really let it turn you into a negative person. Always expecting the worst from life and people. Anna has clearly decided that will never be the case for her. 

I had a whole bunch of stuff I was going to write about 2016. And maybe I will still get to that. But technology hasn't been my friend today and this took way longer than expected. So here is the 1 and a half minute video that took me all day to make! I hope you enjoy it! I realized while creating it that I did a wide variety of work this year. It kept me on my toes and has inspired me to push some more of my boundaries with my goals for this year! Please let me know what you think or what you would like to see me do in the comments below. (: 

During this session as I was taking portraits of the four generations I realized that even though I wasn't very close to my family I would love to have a portrait like this. To see my great grandmother, grandmother, mother and daughter all in the same portrait would be a gift. To see how we looked alike. To remember the details that have faded in my mind. 

I am grateful that I can do this for others. The chance give these women portraits that they will cherish and hand down to their sons and daughters is truly one of the reasons I chose to be a photographer.