Well, that didn’t go how we expected, did it? At the end of 2019, I was certain that 2020 was the year my business would take a turn towards being primarily (more than 50%) birth photography. Well… that didn’t happen now, did it? Not when no one is allowed in hospital rooms. My passion was cut abruptly short in March and I had to cancel plans to photograph 7 births (and I’m sure there would have been more in 2020 had things not happened the way they did.) I did photograph 2 in January/February but that was it- and even now, no births on the radar.
That didn’t mean my business failed though, it was just a pivot. I closed the studio to allow my home to maintain a clean space, and I switched to more distanced lenses and a new camera body (this actually turned out to be an amazing thing that is sticking around!) I photographed more families than ever before, maybe everyone sitting around at home made them realize out outdated those portraits on the wall were!
As I looked through all the images from 2020 I noticed one prevailing theme- life goes on. When selecting my favorite image from the year, one came to mind the most. As I’ve mentioned before, my favorite image is rarely because of technical skill, perfect clients, or a perfect location. It’s not about the right outfit or the perfect lighting (although those things can help) – it’s about the story, the emotion, the moment. The more I know about a session, the more the images speak to me and this image, this session, is just that 110%. The entire session was gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, but the story behind the image is what gets to me.
Now, the story of this image is not mine to tell, but I can tell you about how photographing baby Hudson and his parents was special to me. For one, they’re family, so I have been connected in a way to the entire process that led up to this moment. My own life has contained pregnancy loss, infertility, and more so I connect even more to this family (although really to every birth and every newborn I photograph). Every child is a blessing, but it would be fair to say that one that come after a storm hits a little differently. Anyways, I’m getting all teared up just writing this. I hope you all find the beauty in this image, my favorite from 2020, as much as I do.