shannon griffin photography
Gaby and Ryan are avid surfers and travel the world to do so. They are currently living in North Florida, but were home visiting family in Boca Raton and knew they wanted to involve the ocean in their session.
Your photographs should encompass your environment; the very place that brings you inspiration and feeds your soul. For these two, that involves water and movement.
We met at sunrise and the rest is history.
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This photograph, of me, will always be my favorite from that time.
This is so much of what motherhood has felt like to me. Everything is a foggy memory because I was in constant fight or flight. Something that might seem like a normal inconvenience would send me into a full spiral. I would look around at other mothers and say, “How are you enjoying this? Why did you choose to have another baby and do this to yourself all over again? What’s wrong with me? Am I ever going to enjoy motherhood?”
I wasn’t someone who fell in love with her baby right when they put her on my chest. It took me almost two years to feel that for her. Yes, I had love for her and would do anything for her, but she felt like a stranger to me. I couldn’t let her in because I was actively fighting motherhood every day.
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“My photographs are on our bedroom wall, so I have seen them countless times since they have been hung, but every time I look at the pictures, I am still in awe that it is really me in them. I feel beautiful and sexy looking at them, but ironically, it is actually more of a daily reminder to myself to look internally as much as externally. When I look internally, these photographs make me feel empowered and I remind myself that I am capable, that I can do things outside of my comfort zone, and that I can have self- acceptance and self-compassion, because despite all my imperfections (as a wife, mother, and just person) - I am enough.”
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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 favorite part of what he wrote was, “Being creative begins with noticing what others have overlooked.”
When I became a mother I felt incredibly overlooked and isolated. My entire pregnancy was spent being fawned over, making sure I was okay, doctors checking on me, etc. After I had my daughter it was no longer about my health, my needs, my wants, or my mental health. Even women who aren’t mothers are often overlooked and the ones who take care of everyone else in their lives.
My promise with each woman I photograph is that I’m going to bring them into the light. There is no more hiding. There is no more telling yourself that your family comes first and you’ll stay in the shadows.
Is it uncomfortable? ABSOLUTELY!
Is it necessary for growth? YES!
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