Hey everyone! So, this blog entry started off as a photo post for Zack’s bar mitzvah. But because it’s winter and because it’s the end of the year, and that means more thinking time, this quickly took some detours and turned into something else and so I’m putting this up first.

Here’s how it started: I was remembering when I met Melissa, Zack’s mom, for the first time to talk about photography for Zack’s bar mitzvah. She was just so likable from the moment I met her. And then over our lunches in a diner booth (sitting in big diner booths, by the way, totally a bonus for a client meeting) she was describing to me how she’d been making all of her event planning decisions: “When it’s right, you just know.” I loved her instantly. I thought, with a mom like that, this family’s got to be awesome – and I was right.

In the past few years I’ve found myself working closely with families as more of my photography involves big life celebrations like weddings and bar mitzvahs. It’s great because, really, many of us just know one family really well (the one we were born into) – but from working with a family for even half an hour, I get a glimpse into their home life, the way they express their love to each other, and their priorities and values. The most fulfilling moments in my work have little to do with photography – when I meet a family that I’m so glad exists, a warm little nest that lights up the world, that inspires me to give more love wherever I go and to call my parents more often just to say hi.

I think a lot about the line “You become a better photographer as you become a better person.” But I think it works the other way around too, so a big thank you to all the wonderful clients, now friends, I’ve met over the years through my photography work who have inspired me by loving their families and friends easily and abundantly, by having their priorities straight, and by just being themselves.