Authenticity.

The word resolutions has been haunting me these past couple weeks and I couldn't figure out why. Everywhere I turned, someone else was posting all about their great resolutions for the year. I think it mostly bothered me because I don't believe one decision is going to change your life and make you that much happier. How many people actually follow through with their resolutions each year? Probably not that many. I know I don't. Every year, "I'm going to finally eat healthier and exercise more this year!" Two weeks later...off the band wagon I fall! I think it's because we come up with these huge goals, that are oftentimes too big for us. We should probably have broken it down into a few baby steps that would lead us in the same direction, which are far less intimidating.

This year, I decided rather than a whole resolution, I was going to come up with one word to define how I wanted my life to change. I thought about how I wanted to be more present with my friends and fiance, and get outdoors with Belle more. The word I came up with though, was authentic. It's so easy to get lost in the world of social media, or "The Face Book" as Justin likes to refer to it as (he doesn't do social media). Where people fabricate these beautiful images and posts about picture-perfect lives, but they are missing the authenticity. The imperfect moments, genuine, real moments are what we remember. I've always been known for "keeping it real" for the most part. But this year I aim to live in the moment, and cherish the authentic moments around me.

This word doesn't just end in my personal life though, it doesn't get tucked away when I show up to your photo session. My goal, is to bring this authenticity with me. I want to capture your most treasured moments for you to have to look back on forever. If your Saturday morning brunch at home with the family is what you look forward to all week, then I want to be there capturing those memories for you. If you want to hold onto every first your newborn baby has before leaving the hospital, then I want to be there to capture the first yawn, first bath, first cry or smile. So, if you've worked with me before, and have another session lined up with me for this year, you may notice a bit of a change in the way the session looks. I hope that you welcome these changes with me though, and invite me into your home, or on a special outing with you, so that I can continue capturing all those special moments for you. I look forward to seeing the kinds of raw emotion I get the privilege to capture this year!

Here's a few photos from one of my favourite fall couple sessions.