Our little laundry room closet. Just image a frantic Asian women kneeling on the floor with mounds of bedding and bath towels.

Red or green bath towels? I remember sitting in our laundry room closet feeling stuck while THE Kirsten Lewis Bethmann sat downstairs hanging out with my family the night before our very first Day In The Life photo session. The red towels were obnoxiously Christmasy red, but hardly ever used and still pretty fluffy, where as the sage green towels were less harsh on the eyes, though starting to show their wear. I was already feeling like the WORST HOSTESS EVER for not having a spare bedroom for this big name photographer and relegating her to our living room couch for the night. Did I mention she happened to be newly pregnant? (Facepalm)

After 10 minutes of indecision, I finally came downstairs with an armful of pillows, quilts and blankets of varying warmth, and pretty much all the towels I owned—because hey if you can’t chose one, chose them all! As I stepped down on the last step, miraculously not dropping or tripping over my tower of bedding, I could hear Kirsten and my daughter’s squeaky 3 year old voice, deep in conversation about each and every stuffed animal in her collection while my almost 1 year old pulled on my husband’s hand, trying to toddle over to get in on the conversation.

Woman with glasses eats sandwich at table while baby in high chair eats off a pink plate

In addition to making a pregnant woman sleep on my couch, I MAY have also served her a burnt grilled cheese sandwich for lunch…

Oh wait, I definitely did…

Photo by Kirsten Lewis Photographer 2015

Maybe you also have closet full of mismatched bed and bath linens. A never-ending pile of unfolded laundry that never seems to get put away. Perhaps the “baby weight” hasn’t gone away and the baby isn’t even a baby anymore. Or perhaps there’s some other aspect of your home or life right now that you are not thrilled about for the secret fear of shame and judgement.

But the thing I learned that night under my pile of towels and blankets while my family chatted away with Kirsten was this. No one was judging me on my hosting abilities, on the cleanliness of my home, on my parenting tactics, or the fact that I hadn’t showered in days. All of that judgement was from myself.

I’m willing to bet that every person you allow into your home is looking to connect with you…

To know you.

To learn something about you.

I would love to be one of those people.

Connecting with your family is my biggest priority, even before I ever click the shutter. Because I am a person before I am a photographer, and I want to get to know each and every one of you. Not just as subjects in a frame, but as real people with real personalities and opinions, as people with real relationships and family dynamics.

And after shooting family documentary photo sessions for 5 years, there is a reason why I stay over the night before every Day In The Life session. There is a reason why my camera is put away the night before a session. There is a reason why each session feels like hanging out with old friends.

A photo session with me means peace of mind that all the beautifully authentic moments of your family are captured no matter how many loads of laundry are on the floor, no matter how big the trail the Lego monster and Rainbow Loom fairy left behind, nor whatever mess life throws your way. Because no matter how hard it is to see through the mess, I promise you, love is always still there.

Are you ready to see how beautiful your family is a midst the chaos of life? Let’s chat!