Happy New Year!

While I can’t share images from this particular session out of privacy for my sweet client, what I can share is how this session made me feel.  It’s what I wish I could bottle up and save for a day when I feel stuck creatively.  Perhaps sharing this will help you if you’re in the same boat.  And perhaps when I find myself in a rut in the future, I’ll be able to come back to this post and read the why and how that made me feel how I felt!  Will it work?  Time will tell!  They say a photo is worth a thousand words.  I also believe that a photo can take you back to how you were feeling.  The dream scenario here would be that when I find myself stuck creatively, I can come back to this moment in time, view this image—and all of the many favorites I wish I could share!—and have the emotion flood back simultaneously.  Sounds completely logical, right?  Let’s go with it!

Before sharing the image, allow me to share some of the backstory.  Over the summer, I photographed a client and her colleague.  Together they are starting a new business, and I couldn’t be happier for them and how they are going to shake up their industry in the best way!  More to come with their session!!  Another one of their colleagues saw their gallery and loved the results.  She reached out to me, and we worked together to create a stunning portfolio of images for her and her next chapter in her profession.  After some back and forth tossing around ideas for locations for the session, we landed on one that she had experience with.  I had also been to said location, however, outdoors during this season was not going to work.  A few years ago, I photographed some senior portraits in various indoor areas of location.  In all honesty, none of them fired me up.  None of them inspired me in any way.  Now, don’t get me wrong, my client had a wonderful experience and loved their senior portraits!  The issue was on my side.  Needless to say, I was a bit nervous going into this portrait session, because, as always, I want to do my best for my clients and serve them very well.  I arrived a little early, took some deep breaths, and vowed to find 1 spot—just 1!—that could rise to the occasion.  As I walked around, I found myself intentionally being extra open-minded to any and all possibilities.  However, this one hallway was coming to a dead end.  More deep breaths.  Wait, there was some light…a lot of light, in fact!  Beautiful, natural light streamed in from nearly all sides of this open room!  This was it!  This was that spark!  I felt like I had found a hidden gem!  If I hadn’t walked a little bit further, would I have found this space?  From then on, my deep breaths turned into calm, steady ones, coupled with a wash of what I can only explain as exuberant creative energy.  As I type this, I have goosebumps!  I am literally feeling how I felt that day, and these are just words!  Isn’t that so powerful?!  The session with my new client flew by with the best energy, an energy that I want to remember and recreate anytime I want or need to do so!  We were brave with trying new poses.  We laughed.  We shook off any stiffness that may have come from passers-by going about their day.  Before we knew it, the session had come to an end, and I felt like it had just begun!  I shared details of what to expect next, and we said our farewells.  The gallery is one I’m extremely proud of, one that I know will serve this client very well and for quite some time as she embarks on a new trajectory in her field.

While this image isn’t profound and doesn’t highlight my client (to respect her privacy), it is part of the story and the experience.   The glimmer of a bit of glare reminds me of all the natural light that filled the space, drawing my eyes toward it from the dark hallway.  The colors are bright and cheery.  There’s a cute bird!  Plus there are peonies, and if you’ve been following me for awhile, you are well aware of my affinity for these beautiful blooms.  This framed print was one of the first things I saw walking into the space, and it seemed to be a welcoming sign saying that I was going to be just fine.

Happy New Year, friends!  May 2026 be filled with endless possibilities, hidden gems waiting to be discovered, and peonies!