family

Gulf Stream Family Photographer

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Gulf Stream Family Photographer

We spent time in their rooms while they showed me their favorite toys. Mom said that some of those toys hadn’t seen the light of day in about a year. There is something deeper in the meaning of these sessions. Having someone pay attention to you as a family, take the time to document it slowly, show you how important you are as a family, but also individuals, and allowing you to explore the past and present. These kids had someone asking about what brought them joy and wanting to photograph that. They had the chance to feel seen by someone other than their parents. They had the opportunity to feel seen WITH their parents. So often we are the ones doing all of the work and when you have someone else see how special your family is, there is so much honor in that.

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Boca Raton Family Session - Let the kids run free

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Boca Raton Family Session - Let the kids run free

I truly believe that my duty as an artist is to not only fully plan out every session based on each, individual family’s personality, but also to build that trust so that they can let their guard down and let me in. These aren’t quick sessions where I tell you where to meet me and to wear whatever you want. This is weeks/months in the making and I’m getting to know every member of your family. I’m planning wardrobe based on each person’s age, likes, aesthetic, etc. We also plan around your home and where you’ll be displaying your art. Everything is cohesive and not a single detail is left out. It’s all a small part of a bigger picture (no pun intended) that is the goal of art you can hand down for generations. I’m not telling “a story”, I’m telling YOUR STORY.

So yes, I let the kids run free at our sessions together. I let them lead. I let them tell the story of their family. They are the ones who see us in our purest forms. To them we are good. To them we are love. To them, we are the magic makers. My goal is that when they are grown, they will look at these and it will hit them that they were the magic after all.

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My daughter was the death of the weakest parts of me and the birth of the strongest

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My daughter was the death of the weakest parts of me and the birth of the strongest

I used to think that having a child would be the death of me.

In a way, it was.

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Why Mom is the most important person in the photograph

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Why Mom is the most important person in the photograph

“In another world, my mother does not become a mother. She doesn't meet my dad or at the very least, she never falls in love with him. Instead, she goes to a college out of state and pursues her dream of becoming a nurse and she travels the world in her free time, taking photos in france and trying new foods in tokyo and maybe she adopts a dog, a four year old golden retriever named Sparky who sees the world with her and she never has to wonder about what if's in life because she is too busy living it. In another world, I do not exist, but my mother gets to live, not just survive.” — Mae Setrova

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Surrendering What "Could" Be In Motherhood

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I've been fighting motherhood since Maeve was born. I have a hard time letting go of control. There is something so hard about surrendering your thought of how parenthood "would" be.

But, the other side has been incredibly beautiful.

It's not Maeve's responsibility to inspire my growth, but she has just by her sheer existence. I'm facing hard truths about myself and areas I need to stretch and improve upon. This is the work I should have been putting in long before I had a child, simply to become a better person. But, I wasn't. She pushes me to see my areas of weakness and make them into the strongest parts of me.

I never realized how resilient I can be until the process of becoming pregnant and everything that has followed.

She's also made me the best version of an artist to date. I've always served mothers, but now it goes much deeper. The way I can empathize and strive to give them an experience that will mean more as the years go by. This time in our lives is all about survival and my mission is to give mothers a few moments of breath...a few moments of letting go of control and expectations.

"I feel there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people: - Van Gogh

Little girl in dress, running into the ocean waves during a colorful sunrise