Family + Newborn Photo Sessions  //  Mentoring  //  The Workflow Launchpad

I’m writing this at an old wooden table with freshly picked daisies poking out from a mason jar. My daughter plucked them from the field outside, flanked by acres of woods that have been in my family forever. 

 

 

This wood cushions the sound of rumbling four-wheelers from across the man-made pond a few yards down the hill and houses the memory of thick mugs of black coffee in the hands of my Papaw. It bears years Texas hold ‘em and Spades and bets wagered in Chex Mix pieces. 

 

Now, this cabin is quiet as Aaron sleeps in a pack and play behind me and Gavin is tucked on the couch where he dozed off with my mom an hour ago. His little legs are covered with a tea towel and I smile knowing he’s still small enough for that to be a blanket.

 

Kira draws in the rocking chair and later, I hear her stifled giggles bouncing off the cabin walls as she wraps doughy pepperoni rolls in the kitchen. 

 

It’s always a good 20 degrees colder at this cabin in the woods than it is at home, and a brisk March-like breeze whirls through the open windows, carrying memories of my childhood and long weekends traveling to see family. 

 

Building forts in the woods with my brothers, sketching from my favorite moss-covered rock, playing MASH and staying up late laughing in the bunk beds, cops and robbers on our four-wheelers and rounding back to the porch where my mom has bologna and potato chip sandwiches on white bread and red kool-aid waiting for us. 

 

 

When I’m here, it’s like my hands open up, even if I didn’t realize I was clutching them.

 

 

No matter how short or long we find ourselves somewhere, the walls and sidewalks and shops and fields are integral to the chapters in our lives. 

 

 

Even when they are temporary, when the walls haven’t been painted or patched yet, when they are not perfect - they are our companions and the companions of our children who don’t see those things as eyesores or one-day fixer-up plans. 

 

 

Photographing a family without their place, at times, feels like a missed opportunity. Of course, there is magic in the breeze along long grasses and the way a child lights up when they are spun in the hands of a father through the sunshine of a field. 

 

Yes, you can make beautiful photos in a random park or along a blank studio wall - stunning, inspiring photos that help rewrite how we see ourselves, our roles, our connections with each other. 

 

 

There is extra meaning there. 

 

A long-time friend who joined around the campfire to swap stories and clank cold beers. 

 

Later, when you’re looking at photos from the walls of a different home or returning to a place you once loved dearly, you remember the popsicles you served on that porch and the sound of socked feet padding down the creaking hallway toward a Christmas tree. Your kids look at them and strike up questions that lead to stories that lead to connecting deeper in the history of family. 

 

You see that place and its details sing. Part of the family.

 

If you’re interested booking a family session with me this year, this is a great time to secure your spot before weekends start filling up. Just hit reply or fill out the contact form here to get the ball rolling. 

 

With love

 

 

 

website // www.lofirefly.com

instagram // @fireflyphoto_leah  

private group for photogs //// Family Photographers Behind the Scenes