The WANDER YEARS
“That’s the place to get to—nowhere. One wants to wander away from the world’s somewheres, into our own nowhere.”
― D.H. LAWRENCE
One of the hardest realizations as a parent, is that each day, if we’re raising them well and loving them fiercely… they will inevitably wander further and further from the warmth of our arms. They will wander out into the world, and we will hold our breath waiting for them to wander back home through our doors. These years, while they are home and still snug in their beds, while I can still wrap my arms around their tiny but growing bodies… These are our Wander Years.
I’ve often found, while scrolling through social media, that professional photos of children aged 7-17 are represented far less, add in photos of this age with their parents and there is even less representation. Throw in intimacy, and well it’s nearly nonexistent.
Creatively I find myself drawn to shooting what I am experiencing in my own life. When I was young and newly married, I shot weddings. When I was in my child bearing years, I photographed birth. Now as I creep into middle age and my children are getting older, I want to soak in the last of their little and celebrate the start of their big.
The root of these sessions is to depict what intimacy looks like with your children. Mothers AND Fathers. Maybe they are little, and still curl into your body at bedtime like tiny little spoons. Do you hold his face between your hands and study every freckle on his nose? Does she play with your hair while you sit on the couch watching Netflix together? Or maybe it’s even more discrete… a quick handhold on the car ride to school, or a head resting briefly on your shoulder while you cook dinner. Whatever that intimacy may be… Photograph it. Document it. We never know when those lasts will happen.
I was 7 when I last crawled into bed with my mom, wedging myself between her body and the mattress, trying to get as close to her as I could. My daughter turned 7 recently, I couldn’t bear knowing we could face that “last” anytime soon.
Our kids will grow, and how they show us affection will change. And as their parents we will relish in whatever they have to give us.
••• POSED FULL FAMILY PHOTOS CAN BE TAKEN AT ANY TIME DURING THIS SESSION.
YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THESE AND A MORE TRADITIONAL FAMILY PHOTO SESSION. •••
wander years: Photos Only
$675 – 2 hours session, approx. 50 photos are individually hand edited and delivered digitally via online galleries for download.
wander years: video
$800 – 2 hours session with a 2-3 minute video put to music to tell a more tactile and emotional story. With the addition of approx. 25 that photos are individually hand edited and delivered digitally via online galleries for download.
A simple questionnaire will be provided to help me better understand what you hope to capture during our time together. What snippets of your relationship you want to remember from this season.
