because sometimes it's good to see how far you've come | Decatur AL lifestyle family photographer

Do you have something in your life that you've worked hard on over a long stretch of time? Maybe it's a skill or a character trait. Maybe you've started working out or resolved to cook more at home. Maybe you had a baby (or two or three) and have worked on figuring out this parenting thing. {Sidenote: PLEASE share all your secrets!!}

This particular family photo session was special for me for several reasons. One is that I adore this family. This mama & I have shared a lot of life together from the time our kids were really small. As an amazing nurse, she's answered many many medical questions for me over the years, including the time Alex had fallen and hurt his arm one afternoon. He seemed to be ok, but later that evening after seeing him at church, she suggested I probably needed to get him checked out. Yeah, his arm was broken. Not my finest parenting moment. This is why it takes a village, people. 

Another reason I loved this session is that this family was one of the VERY first families I photographed other than my own way back when I was deciding how much I loved this photography thing. It turns out I really really loved this photography thing, and that photographing other people's families and their children gave me just as much joy as photographing my own.

So it was fun to see a few years down the road how I'd grown and changed as a photographer, from their first session to this one. I am constantly working on this craft/art, always trying to learn new things and to just plain get better at it. Sometimes you really do have to look back to see how far you've come.

PS--if you're interested in sort of the evolution of my photography journey, you can take a peek at this post from a few years ago!

Anyway, maybe you could take a minute to reflect on an area of your life you've worked hard on. I bet you if you look backwards a bit, you'll realize you've come a long way!

Here are some of my favorites from this precious family's session! <3