i really would have loved to start this series off with this session but it was a few days following the other two and i really needed to jump onto editing them before getting too overwhelmed. Last year, I booked a session with Jayme Anne Photography for Mother's Day. I loved them so much, I am booked again for the end of May! I was so inspired by her Project Motherhood series to get MOMS in front of the camera, I decided to also contribute to getting more Moms in front of the camera. Sarah, however, was the one that pushed me to really focus on the real deal, the maybe-not-picture-perfect-enough-for-Instagram deal. her words, which i wrote down were: "meeting moms where you are at, we don't need you to get dressed, clean the house or put on make up..." this spoke deeply to me because, honestly, that is the photography i started out with. ithe introduction of Instagram and Pinterest really changed our perceptions of normal as we were suddenly being inundated with everyone's highlight reel and strugginlg not to compare it to our normal. we are expected to do EVERYTHING, be EVERYTHING, and never falter, never sweat, never show weakness. that kind of expectation is debilitating and unrealistic.
...so! i'm trying to get back to that rawness and honesty, and what better time than in celebration of Mother's Day! the rawest of the raw. it has truly been a breath of fresh air! in spite of how these first three sessions differ SO GREATLY from one another, i love how they still manage to praise the Mother and her story with equal respect and recognition that she, indeed, is doing her best to selflessly love her kids no matter how insecure she may be feeling, no matter how tired she is from whatever issues she may be losing sleep over, no matter what her current struggles may be... i love that by showing a variety of Mothers in their everyday environment, moms will be able to relate in an honest way with one another and close the gap created by the highlight reels of social media. by recognizing and exonerating the beauty of Motherhood's everyday imperfections, i hope to encourage a greater sense of empathy and support within community. we have lost the village mentality. we need to rebuild that!
this session was awesome because Sarah wanted to capture her morning with the boys. it was an early wake-up call to arrive at 7am, but it was absolutely worth it. as it was a Sunday, they were able to enjoy a slow quiet morning without the hectic chaos of the school routine.
eventually, as you will see, Sarah will get to enjoy her cup of tea.
enjoy!
Sarah, what a treat to spend the morning with you and your boys.
Thank you for welcoming me into your home and life.
xo