just being me

i'd rather be happy every day, than sadi'd rather be laughing every day, than crying i'd rather be me, than someone i'm not. - author unknown

i was contacted a while back by this amazing photographer.

hi!  i'm seriously interested in you doing our family's photos this year.

really?  no way.  i seriously love your work. the session was scheduled.  and then rescheduled twice, due to weather (something i'm not really used to happening, having relocated from san diego and all). but thank goodness...because the session finally happened yesterday and it was such a fabulous, fabulous day.  michelle and family drove four hours for me to do their session.  needless to say, i was beyond flattered.  actually, it went more like this...

i can't believe she wants me to do her family's photographs. oh man, i'm so nervous. i really hope i don't fuck these up. i hope she's happy with what i show her. i still can't believe she wants me to do her photos.

it's hard photographing a fellow photographer's family, especially one you so admire. it's funny because you look at other photographers' work, with admiration for what they produce....knowing it's different than yours.  sometimes it makes you question what you produce.

over the days, i went back and forth thinking...

i don't shoot like her. will she be happy with the way i shoot...with what i show her?  how will i pull this off?

but in the end, i realized (again) that i have to be confident in myself and what i produce.  i am not everyone else.  i am me! and i know that i'm being wholeheartedly true to myself and giving each and every client (fellow photographer or not) all i have to give.

yesterday was a magical connection (one that i'll blog more about tomorrow) and some of my favorite photographs ever.

i'm grateful for opportunities like this. so very thankful...that she trusted me, to do this for her. so very, very blessed to be doing what i love (although sometimes i still can't believe it :-).

here's a few of my favorites...