This is a question that has taken at least a decade to come to any semblance of an answer. But, it’s an important one to answer, so I’ll attempt to do that for you here.

The quick-and-easy answer is that I needed photography to help me see the light and joy during my first bouts of seasonal depression in high school, when I didn’t know why I was feeling the way I did.

But that’s just where it starts.

Photography became my therapy in those seasons of darkness and doubting my worth. I would use my camera to make images of things around me that brought me joy and that I was thankful for. And that little bit of searching for and painting with light brought me light and hope.

It’s been nearly 10 years since those early seasons and I’m now armed with a name for what I experience every fall and winter and my practice of using photography as my therapy has transformed into a mission to serve others.

I have, for as long as I can remember, struggled with feeling that I was not good enough, that I was not valuable. When in a depressive season, those feelings were even more overwhelming and I was further brought down by comparing myself and my life to the picture-perfect lives that I saw constantly broadcasted around me.

It was in those moments that I realized that accepting the truth of who I am and my life was more forgiving and grace-filled than comparing myself and my life to others. Over time, I found that accepting my truth and actively seeking out things to be grateful for brought about so much joy and peace.

But, surely I was not alone in this.

Surely there were other people out there that feel burdened and downtrodden by comparing themselves to the picture-perfect lives that fill our feeds, making them question the worth of their life.

It was in that pondering that I knew that I wanted to show people that their life is valuable just as it is. That they are worthy and enough, just as they are.

And I’m not talking a styled, well put together version of you or your life. I’m talking the real, raw, everyday fullness of life that you live- even if it’s a little messy or chaotic.

Because friends, it’s those real, raw, everyday things that make up the bulk of our lives, that take up the most space in the memory storage of our brain, and will be the things that our grandchildren will want to hear about and see pictures of someday.

But they can’t if we don’t make those pictures.

So I am here to help you accept your truth, to embrace the fullness and beauty already present in your everyday life, and to make honest photographs that will show you that you are enough.

Sound like something you’re interested in? Click here to get in touch with me and learn more.