I’m sitting here replying to several emails from clients and prospective clients and something dawned on me….they’re all women. Every single one of the messages in my inbox today, and most days, are from wives, soon-to-be-wives, and MOMS. Is it because men are incapable of setting up an appointment or that they don’t care at all? No, I don’t believe it is. 

But I do believe that women tend to be the keeper of the photos, the collector of memories. So today I wanted to talk a little bit about why we take photos. 

I’ve always loved taking pictures, even as a teenager. I was the annoying friend who always had the camera and gathered the group for a photo. I had bulletin boards in my room jammed with overlapping pictures of my friends and me. I tucked my point and shoot camera into my small purse when heading out for the night in college and I have lots of sloppy, blurry pictures to prove it. (I also have a ton of great memories saved for all of those friends who were annoyed with me. Guess who they’ll be contacting in about 20 years when they’re feeling nostalgic?) 😉 

I especially remember sitting with my grandma, sorting through boxes and boxes of photos, carefully writing the name of each person in the photo on the back before adding it to an album. My grandma had several cameras and never hesitated to let me use them, watching as I wasted lots of film, I’m sure. Now that my grandma is gone, those photos take on new meaning and the names scribbled on the back are extra important without her to tell us who is who. 

And now, today, I have hundreds…thousands of photos of my own family scattered about: in albums, frames, on memory cards, thumb drives, hard drives and floating in the cloud. I’m not sure if I’ll ever dig out from under them, but there’s a comfort in knowing that they’re there. The memories are preserved. I can’t get them back, but I can double click an icon, slide a print from it’s sleeve and relive the moment again. 

“I’m not sure if I’ll ever dig out from under them, but there’s a comfort in knowing that they’re there.“

I think as moms we see the urgency of collecting these family memories. After all, that first grader I walked into school today, was just handed to me in the hospital bed. 

Like yesterday. 

It’s happening so fast, right in front of our eyes. 

Motherhood has a way of making you want to speed things up (Please sleep through the night already!) and slow things down (Please don’t grow so fast!) all at once. We can’t do either; but we can freeze a moment here and there and keep it safe for the fast ride, to look back on in a quiet moment. 

So you’ll find a lot of things on this blog in the weeks & months to come….tips on taking better photos at home, recommendations of my favorite things, photos from recent weddings I’ve photographed, helpful hints for brides-to-be…and so much more. And since I know that women tend to be the family photographers and keeper of memories, I’ll be talking to you, ladies! 

Have  a question you’d love answered or an idea for a blog post? Send it my way! 

Until Next Time!

BONUS: Moms! I’ve put together a FREE guide just for you.

My best tips for taking better photos of your kids today. Click below to grab your copy!