This is me!

I recently had the joy of stepping in front of the camera myself for a branding shoot with the wonderfully talented Vanessa Brown Photography — who also happens to be one of my dearest friends. There's something quite different about being the one being photographed after almost 20 years of being the one holding the camera, and it gave me a fresh appreciation for what I ask of every client who sits in front of my lens. I was blessed to be able to have my beautiful daughter, Sophie, as a part of this shoot too. Capturing memories that disappear so fast.

A lot has shifted for me lately, including losing 31 kilograms, and while that's not really what this shoot — or this post — is about, it's part of the bigger picture of where I'm at right now. Feeling more like myself has a way of showing up in everything, including how I show up for my business.

This branding shoot was really about connecting back to why I do this work in the first place.

After nearly two decades behind the camera, across weddings, families, newborns and boudoir, what keeps me here is connection. Families coming together — grandparents meeting a new grandchild, a five-year-old proudly showing off her baby brother, a couple who built a life together standing side by side. There's a real privilege in being let into those moments.

I think growing a human is one of the biggest blessings there is, and I never take it lightly that I get to witness it up close. Pregnant bellies, tiny newborn fingers, the exhausted, overwhelmed love on a new parent's face — these are moments people will only get to experience once, in exactly this way, with exactly this person.

That's the power of connection and love, and it's what I want every single image to hold. Not just a nice photo, but something that lets a family feel what that day actually felt like, years down the track.

Because milestones don't wait. Kids grow, seasons change, people we love aren't around forever. My job is to slow all of that down for just long enough to capture it — so the moments become memories, and the memories become something a family can hold onto forever.

I do this because I know what it feels like to want to disappear from photos, and I know what it feels like to finally feel proud in one. I want that for everyone who walks into my studio — to leave with images that actually feel like them.

Huge thanks to Vanessa for capturing this new chapter with so much warmth and skill. It's a good reminder that even photographers need someone else behind the camera sometimes.