I am portrait sessions.
Something I have heard regularly this year are the comments along the lines of “it is so weird to see you taking photos of people?”, “who would have thought you would end up taking portraits!”, “but you hate taking photos of people!” and so on. This is completely understandable as ever since I picked up a camera, I have haunted dirt roads, chased sunrises, and usually responded with the words, “Oh god no” when someone asked me if I would consider doing something like a wedding. I am still not remotely interested in weddings, but something started tugging at my heartstrings over the last 18 months and without much thought, I started following those strings. The world of portraiture is vast, and the genres are endless. Weddings, families at golden hour, glamour, head shots, business branding, sports, fashion, studio, on-location, birth, maternity, boudoir etc etc. I immediately ruled out quite a few things like weddings, glamour and fashion as those things simply did not speak to me and there are many photographers in our region and beyond who do a sensational job. Additionally, the reason I was increasingly attracted to portraits was because of the story-telling element and those weren’t the stories I wanted to tell. When I decided what to offer in terms of portrait sessions, I wanted to offer a general portrait session where almost anything goes; studio, on-location, families, branding etc etc. But I also wanted to create something more personal that celebrated people just the way they are. We live in a world where we are constantly told we are too much, or not enough, too loud, too quiet, too old, too young, too casual, too dressed up. To combat this, I wanted to create an offering that celebrated people just the way they are. No fancy outfits, no special occasion makeup, no props in fields at golden hour. Nothing but you. Because you are enough, just the way you are.
I know when I am terribly old and driving the kids up the wall, the moments that I will treasure most are those when I was just me. Gloriously me. That is what I wanted to capture. If I could wish for anything, it would be more moments with Tiney. I wish we had thought to organise a photo session that just captured us talking and laughing and being wonderfully us. That yearning, the realization of what is important to me is what has driven the creation of the “I am Sessions.”
Celebrating people, just the way they are. Thank you to Amanda from Swimming In The Field who was happy to be my guinea pig in sorting out the shoot flow of my “I am Sessions” and how I would like the sessions to play out. We both quite literally laughed and cried, and I got all the tingles. There is something fabulous in accepting and then celebrating you, just the way you are and then documenting it. Amanda is someone who does that magnificently and I am so grateful to her for being brave enough to give this a go. Thank you also to Mitzi Starkweather Photography and her Raw Portraits Course which reminded me to follow my heart with the creation of my “I am” sessions. My “I am Sessions” are so important to me because moments like these need to be captured so they can be treasured forever and not lost in the dusty recesses of our minds. My “I am Sessions” are designed for one person and are available in-studio only. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact if you would like to organise an “I am Session with me.
