I love a styled and curated shoot as much as the next photographer, but these types of sessions are my absolute heart and something I have a passion for doing. It is my hope to explain why through writing this blog. I also want to give a peek into my thought process before and during sessions like this.

This session was a gift to the Vellenga's from their daughter in law. George and Henrietta own a dairy farm and are starting to scale back. I was commissioned to document milking and anything else that caught my eye while I was on their farm. I know how important it is to have detail filled photos of your loved ones, no matter what their age is. The magic is when these photos can be of your loved ones in an environment they are completely comfortable- and especially when they are doing what they love and have a passion for. I love seeing people doing what they love or being where they are most comfortable- it truly fascinates me as I get to witness someone with an expertise or passion for something.

In general, I look at photoshoots as creating a time capsule. When you look at the photos, especially ones from a story telling session, your memory is jogged and you remember little things that turn out to be the most important things. You find comfort and joy looking back at a certain time in your life- seeing your home and the way it was decorated, seeing the chair your Dad always used to sit in, seeing how small your grandkids still were. And when you see the photographs and hold them in your hand, you recall stories and memories that would have been forgotten otherwise. That, in my opinion, is a priceless gift.

I encouraged Henri & George to think of the things they do on a daily basis- no matter how inconsequential those activities might seem. They had a couple things planned, but upon further prodding and getting to know them, we discovered more things to incorporate. I asked questions like, "can you take me through your daily routine?", "what do you like to do together?, "when you're not working on the farm, where can your family find you?", "what do you love doing when you spend time with your grand kids"- through those questions we made our way through and around their home and incorporated the answers.

It was not an interrogation on my part- it was a natural conversation, BUT I did have an agenda and goal in mind. My conversation with them was a strategic one with the goal of finding out what matters to them. Nothing in this session was about how it looked- it was all about what was most important to them.

My other goal is always to make my clients comfortable and to reinforce that I am here to document all the things that make them "them" and make their home "theirs" and enable them to be themselves in front of my lens. Photoshoots can feel intimidating and can make even the most confident person a little self conscious- I hope a lot of that falls away during my sessions- that's how I get the photos I am really after.

We started the session with photos of them in their favorite places in their home.

We made our way around the farm and decided to incorporate George's favorite tractor. It was great having the grandkids around during the session because they helped put Henri & George at ease. It's easy to get a little uncomfortable in front of the camera- part of my job is easing that and helping my clients to *almost* forget it's there.

Next it was time for milking

My advice to anyone doing a session on a farm- prepare to get dirty, wear your muck boots, and prepare to walk fast (farmers have a lot to do in a short amount of time).

Once I finished documenting the milking, I went back to the house to say my goodbyes. I was told that Henri had an idea- she always gets out her tin of candy to give to her grandkids and wanted to have it documented. My heart burst inside- she got what I was doing here. These are exactly the moments I want to capture. I had to barter with her to get her sunglasses off, but she did it. I like the photos with the sunglasses and the ones without- both are "her".

I found myself touched and inspired by the hard work and love I got to witness that day. I was amazed as I walked in and around a home and farm that Henrietta and George have spent their lives building together.