It was our first vacation as a family, and it couldn’t have been better. On a last minute whim, my husband, Cody, decided that we were in desperate need for some rest and relaxation. Cody could sense that it was time, and I’m so glad that he pushed for us to pack up our 14 month old son and drive 13 hours south to Gulf Shores, Alabama. While packing, I made sure to bring along one of my cameras that had been collecting dust for the past 3 years, or so. I grabbed the camera that I first started my business with, one that I knew I wouldn’t care if it got destroyed by sand. Although I knew it wasn’t the greatest thing in the world, it would still capture all of the memories, laughs, giggles, and emotion that I knew surely would happen. There is a saying that the best camera is the one that you have on you. Doesn’t matter if it isn’t the most high end model, it can be the phone in your pocket. As long as these memories were captured, that’s all that mattered to me.

As a photographer, people always say to me, “…you must have so many photos of your son!” The truth is, I don’t. I’m terrible about pulling out my “fancy” camera to take photos of our everyday. So, with this trip I wanted to be intentional and freeze this time through photographs. One night after we walked home from dinner, I grabbed my D3200 (my old, old camera!) and snapped away. The sunset was perfect and, despite it being a couple hours after his normal bedtime, Elijah was just as a happy as he could be.

I want to cherish these moments forever. I want to have more than just a memory. I feel like photography is important for these reasons.

Life so quickly passes by. I feel like the everyday rhythm catches us by surprise sometimes. One day our babies are learning to roll over, and in a blink of an eye, they are walking. At least that is the case with my baby boy, Elijah. I want to cherish these moments forever. I want to have more than just a memory. I feel like photography is important for these reasons. I want to always remember how perfectly Elijah fits in his daddy’s arms. I want to always remember his huge smile with those adorable gapped teeth. These are moments I will sadly never get to relive in-person, but a photograph can take me back to this time. This is why I love doing what I do. This is my “why.” A photograph should be so much more than ink on a paper, or pixels on a computer screen. It should capture love, memories, and things that can easily be forgotten but are worthy to be relived.

So here it is! A moment in time during our family vacation. A vacation that happened because my husband (thankfully) persisted on us having. A night that we purposely set out to capture. We aren’t dressed perfectly, the wind is blowing through our hair, but every photo is perfect to me. Absolutely perfect. Every single one!

A photograph should be so much more than ink on a paper, or pixels on a computer screen. It should capture love, memories, and things that can easily be forgotten but are worthy to be relived.