Monica Marie Photos

I’ve been contemplating how I want to dive in and write this blog post for several weeks now and just haven’t found the right words that I wanted to get across. Go figure. Me? Loss of words? Well yeah, it’s kind of scary when you put yourself out there and share with others that what has been heavy on your heart.

As you are all aware, I launched into business last summer and couldn’t have been happier with finally sharing my love and passion for photography with others. So why not even a year later am I questioning why I’m doing this and finding that it is not so fun anymore?

Well, I’ve been taking some time off from marketing sessions, because I wanted to really step back and remember and explore what it is about photography that I fell in love with in the first place.

What is it about my photography that made people happy when they saw it? What made me feel most alive when at a session or taking pictures in general? I’ve been pondering on those two questions for quite awhile now and the more I ponder, the more I realize that my passion lies in storytelling. I want to be a storyteller with my photos. I want to help you remember all those moments that are so fleeting. Like the way you held your baby in your arms and rocked him/her to sleep, or the way the kids would gang up on Dad for a pillow fight on Saturday morning, or how you loved to make special pancakes with funny faces for your kids on the weekends, or what it was like when your child still fit on your lap when you read them a book, or even better, what it was like to try to get dinner going with small children under your feet.

These are all examples of moments that are here today and gone tomorrow. Wouldn’t it be nice to be IN these pictures yourself instead of behind the camera? How many times would something be happening and you thought to yourself, “Oh I wish I had the camera right now.”

The people who know me best know that I take my camera out A LOT when my kids are playing in the backyard. One day this old swing set that Jorge designed and built himself with the help of Jorgie, who was just four years old at the time will be played on no more.  As it is, Jorgie could care less about that old clubhouse now. I want to remember all the details. The way my kids jump in the trampoline until their hearts content, or the way they run in the sprinklers or chase our dog Molly or the chickens. YES chickens! Or the way they love being in Mommy and Daddy’s bed to watch Sunday morning cartoons, because as Tristan would say, “It is so much more comfortable.”

These are all memories that I know I cannot take for granted, for one day they will be just memories. I want to remember their childhood, their story.

Story Sessions can be so many things. I don’t want you to think that you can only book a story session if you have kids, or a big beautiful home, or the perfect beautiful clothes to wear. That may be part of your story, but it may not. It is not about that. It’s about how the toys are all over the living room that you’ve asked them to pick up ten times, or maybe the way you sit in your favorite chair to have your morning coffee, or the way your toddler’s chubby little fingers pick up cheerios on the table of their high chair, or maybe it’s the teenager’s room that no one will dare to enter.

There are rituals that we live by. You might think that you don’t, but you do. We all have them. Maybe it’s our morning routine, our bedtime routine, how we spend time outdoors, etc.

Here are some examples of stories that could be so beautifully told:

*welcoming a new baby at the hospital

*Saturday morning breakfast, or bedtime rituals

*family picnic at the park, beach, or your own back yard

*teenager before they go off to college

*trials and hard times with a loved one who is ill

*visiting a loved one at a nursing home/rehab center

*adoption stories

*movie night at home with hubby

*baking cookies with Grandma

*fishing with Dad

*family game night

*Let’s go for ice cream!

Just to name a few. Getting the idea?

It is lifestyle photography but without the constant posing. From my own experience, I find that this type of photography truly allows people, especially kids, to shine with their true personalities. It allows them to be who they are, where they feel most comfortable. Imagine me being in the background, almost like a fly on the wall, and watching your story, whatever it may be, unfold. No more cheesy smiles from kids who don’t want their picture taken, awkward poses, or not knowing what to do with your hands,etc. Don’t get me wrong. I have nothing against portrait photography. I think there is a time and a place for all kinds of genres of photography. I’m just finding that this is what I want to do and what best fits into my passion and what makes me feel fulfilled about my job. At the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about? I want to be real and passionate about photography.

So many options, so many stories to tell. If you are interested in this kind of session, and would like more details about it, please feel free to contact me. Drop me a note here on the blog, I’ll make sure to get back to you.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day is right around the corner. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have some special memories to cherish with the people who mean so much to you?

Summer is almost here? Do you go boating? Does your family enjoy the pool? Backyard BBQ? Family game night?

Or just plain capturing the everyday mundane fabric of your life; which one day won’t seem so mundane. We’ll wish we could have a slice of it back.

The stories are endless. Let me honor your memories through photography for you.