a smile is worth a thousand words.

I am learning this craft called photography. I am making lots and lots of mistakes. I am also capturing lots and lots of beautiful moments of some incredibly beautiful people, and for this I am so grateful. Often, in photography, people ask what your focus is. Although I have not completely honed in on one specific direction, I with out a doubt want to capture people. People in all of their flaws and perfect imperfectness. Their beauty. Their sadness. Their most happy moments. Their most vulnerable. But most importantly, I want to capture their smiles. Laughter in a photograph for me is like a cup of coffee in the backyard on a warm, sunny morning in july. A sunset on the beach on a late august evening. Being curled tightly with those I love by a cozy fire in the middle of a snowy december evening.. and that first really warm spring day when all of the green seems to just have magically reappeared overnight, and the tulips and crocus have begun to sprout their heads. Capturing a real moment of laughter is like medicine for me. I can't help but smile when seeing it.

Ali and I set out on a chilly morning this past November in Farmington, CT. What we thought was going to be an hour or so ended up being a three hour excursion. We laughed. A lot. We wrapped ourselves in lots of blankets(and may or may not have changed a couple of times in the parking lot of Winding Trails). We hopped in a canoe and hoped that we wouldn't float away.

I am still learning this craft of photography. I am still making lots of mistakes. I threw away probably half of the photos I took, if not more. I took FOREVER to finish editing them(which has been a lesson all on it's own). But I take away soooo much from every shoot I do. And among the many things I learned from this one, I above all realized that I love capturing smiles. Joy. Laughter. What a gift to give someone, a frozen moment of their joy. What a gift they can give to their loved ones, their children.

Thank you Ali for coming out in the cold with me this day.. You are a truly beautiful woman, and your radiant smile is contagious. Keep sharing it.. We need more happy faces like this in the world.

xoxo

laughter is the best medicine for the soul

We were laughing hysterically during this shoot. I mean, tears pouring from our eyes. It was an hour of pure silliness, joy, and soul-therapy. There is something to be said for just letting go.. re-connecting with our inner-child, making silly fish faces just because it makes us laugh! Since having children, I have found myself able to do this more easily. A child can bring this out of almost anyone. But to be able to do this, as just two grown women in a park with a camera, not a single child in sight, well... I think that is special.

Amber is a beautiful old friend of mine whom I have always found to be a happy, glowing person with a contagious smile and laugh. As I was working on this set of images, I was literally transported back to that afternoon in Elizabeth Park; laughing out loud at the sheer silliness, smiling at the joy, and breath-taken by the beauty of this woman.

Amber is a Holistic Health Coach, Registered Nurse, and founder of Whole and Vibrant Living.