Me Ra does it again....I'll now unveil for you 122.jpg

If you haven't heard of Me Ra Koh, stop now and go check out her blog. She is a pro photographer, mom, and woman of great strength and vulnerability. I'm super lucky to know her personally.


Anywho, she just posted about her Sonoma Workshop and if I could figure out how to link to a specific post, I would. Still working on understanding what to paste where, etc. :)

I've always felt that having your portrait taken is a very psychological experience. Read my post on "My Approach to Photography" to get the whole rundown. Me Ra talked about the image that she has always wanted to have, of her and her husband. She described having lots of images of them smiling and goofing off, but she had always wanted a serious one that showed the connection they have. Her post struck SUCH a nerve with me...I had wanted that same type of shot of me and my husband and I had the same insecurities about having a shot like that..I worried that I wouldn't look "pretty". Well luckily, I got that shot inadvertantly last summer. I had my husband shoot some portraits of me for my website. I chose him because I feel the most comfortable in front of him. Trust is a huge issue in really letting go and showing what's on the inside. After we got some good shots but before I handed him back his beer and sent him on his way back to his shop, I grabbed this shot. When I saw it, it stopped me dead in my tracks. "This is US." I thought. It was so us, so stripped down, so genuine. I couldn't stop looking at it. I didn't really share it with anybody, but enlarged it and put it on the wall in the bedroom. It wasn't for anybody else to see but us. When Me Ra did this post, though, I thought, "Oh no. She's talking about OUR shot. I just HAVE to blog about this!!!" lol So without further ado, I'm ready to share my most favorite portrait of my husband and I:

See, he's the intuitive one...which is why I love how his eyes are closed and he looks as if he doesn't have a care in the world. He's the one with the calmness. Me on the other hand, well it's just so fitting that mine are open and I'm not SMILING. I'm watching. This is the shot I want my kids to look at when they are adults...this is the "US" that isn't leaving for work or making another sandwich or folding clothes or even playing around with them. I love my time alone with him because we've had the most amazing conversations since we were 17-years-old. This is the "US" that has those conversations.

I'm normally a pretty private person in my non-photography life, I like my quiet time, my space to think, but sometimes it's worth taking some of that and making it public. I have always had such compassion for portrait clients, senior clients, etc. I feel their nervousness because I feel the same way. I take them through the session in a goofy but caring way so that I can capture them in a way that nobody else could before. I mean, that's totally my goal. :)