We are so honored to have one of our clients, Maura Winkler, write a guest post for us where she shares why having family photos taken every year by a photographer is something so important to her. As photographers ourselves, we also make it a point to have our family photos taken by another professional photographer we admire at least once a year. While these photos were taken last fall, even now, with a global pandemic, we believe in the value of family photos. Whether you’re having a porch session with a professional photographer or taking phone photos by yourself, we believe there is always goodness to be found in the now moment of life. Photographs are visual reminders of the experience of life, all of it. If family photos are something you you are considering, you can learn more about the experience of family photos here. We are currently offering outdoor family sessions here in Buffalo, NY and to the upcoming places we are traveling. If you’d like to reach out about booking a session, you can say hello here.
Every year of motherhood, I’ve wished more that I could bottle it up and save it for later, for a day when my house is empty and I miss the mess that tiny hands make and how it feels to snuggle little ones.
I also have a deep desire to be present in the moments I spend with my family so that I can thoroughly enjoy them while I’m in them, not merely in hindsight. Did you know that taking photos and videos disrupts your memory of an event? That’s right, the first step to making a memory is simply paying attention.
In a world of a million distractions, the desire to preserve a moment with a camera can, in fact, be yet another distraction that takes you out of the scene, both physically and emotionally. The solution for me? Documentary-style family photography sessions I have done for our family every year.
Christina and Brian have been taking my family photos for years. They’ve been with us for lazy Sundays in our home, the change of seasons, the birth of my baby, a recent vacation to the Dominican Republic, and so much more.
The value of building a relationship with a photographer is that the entire family relaxes in their presence so that they can capture the most authentic and organic version of your family. We’ve appreciated the opportunity to simply be present with one another while someone else captures what it looks like.
Every shoot, I care a little less about what we’re wearing because in hindsight, it never matters. When I page through the books of our sessions with Shaw Photography Co, I remember how I felt not what we were wearing.
We’ve recently become enamored with film sessions with Brian Shaw. It’s the final piece of the puzzle in terms of creating an authentic story about our family because it limits the amount of editing, culling, and perfecting that can be done. Film captures a moment with exactly the amount of imperfection that feels sincere, memorable, and beautiful.
I’m a strong proponent of the less is more philosophy. Instead of being weighed down by thousands of iphone photos, I can take solace in knowing that two to three photography sessions per year with the Shaws capture my family growing and changing and help to preserve our story for years to come.
Maura Winkler is a parent to three children with husband Charles Winkler and a midwife at Fika Midwifery in Buffalo, NY.
Are you interested in documenting your family in the upcoming months here in Buffalo, NY or somewhere beyond? If you’d like to learn more, you can say hello here. We’d love to learn more about you and your family!
