JANUARY 5-on-5

Since having Ruby, my focus on my photography has been more reactive and less intention. I've traded my desire to capture unposed people, real-life moments for what I think my clients want instead. This year I plan to right that ship. One of the ways I will be challenging myself will be by joining some other photographers each month for a 5 on 5: my five favorite personal images for the previous month.

These people. They are my people. They let me photograph their crazy, their love, their lives.

The girls have a very special bond, mainly because my older daughter was a born caretaker. She will kiss and hug and feed and entertain more than my younger daughter will allow. There are so many sweet moments like this between them; this year I WILL pause to record them more often.

My circus. We are so unbelievably blessed to have found a family to do life with when our oldest boys met in Kindergarten. These six are as close to siblings as they could be and I love them all.

One of my best friends has been praying for a baby for as long as I've known her. This fall she had her long awaited son and he is perfect. I am ever grateful to her for letting me crash her home in the early weeks of his birth to take some raw footage of the early, anxious, blissful days of his life.

I love engagement shoots. Especially when I know the couple. Especially when the smiles can't be wiped off of their faces and their natural interactions with each other trump any posing suggestions I may have.

Feel like seeing some fabulous photos? Continue the blog circle to Stephanie's post.