Your Life is Beautiful | ID Photography | Mankato Family Photographer

A week or two ago the owner of Fearless and Framed posted in her photography group. In the post she asked a question.

"Why do you pick  up your camera?"

Pause. Good question. 

A little under two years ago I wrote about how events in my life had drastically changed the focal point of my photography. Today the conclusion I came to still rings true; your life is beautiful. 

Even though everyday its seems like its not.

We still live in the same rickety farm house where the light in the kitchen has a mind of its own. I would be shocked if I

idn't unearth no less the three hot wheels cars in every room in the house (usually its more). Screams and fights echo off of these walls, just as much as laughter and love do.  My days wax and wane with the jubilation and frustrations of parenthood (seriously if you thought terrible twos are bad, wait until the sassy sevens hit you!). Through it all I am still growing as a person, wife, and business owner.

Every day I have to remind myself. Don't get lost in the mundane. YOUR. LIFE. IS. BEAUTIFUL. 

And I challenge myself to see it everywhere. In nature, in emotions, in relationships. And in capturing it, it makes all these gifts ready to be celebrated and cherished. 

But WHY do you pick up your camera?

I promise I am getting to the answer. But I really had reflect a bit. Because part of me picks up the camera not only to capture my family, but to provide for them also. 

But it still goes deeper than my own personal photo projects or monetary gain.

At the heart of it all, my picking up my camera allows my clients to have an excuse to celebrate and revel in their emotions, strengthen their relationships with the people they love most in everyday moments and milestones. 

While it may be for 'just because', a surprise, a milestone, a celebration, I get to capture THEIR story, I get so show them how their love, emotions and lives play out in full color. In short, I am a mirror of the life they are living. 

One of the most common phrases I find myself saying during is session is. "It's ok to just be."

So if we are out on a prairie and a 4 year old insists on finding the 'cows' and we'll end up as a search party on an adventure where we find a pond for his dog to play in. Every so often sitting for a family photo were he tells us about his favorite dinosaurs and again insists we will find the cows.  He'll pick flowers for one of his favorite girls, while she and his daddy take some photos together of just them. And then we are off on an adventure again, playing with daddy in the sunset, play a little tag and then of course we need to get to the job at finding those dang cows. Which we never actually find, but we do come across a cattle gate, which may have been even better than finding the cows. 

And to me there is nothing more ordinary and beautiful than following the imagination of a child.