“The true secret of happiness lies in taking a genuine interest in all the details of daily life.” -William Morris
A beautiful morning with the sweetest family celebrating 6 months with their newest babe. <3
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in home session
I’ve been photographing this family since the beginning and that always feels like a gift to me. To get to see them blossom into parenthood. To see how the battles and trials and joy filled moments all mesh and melt down together, how it begins to shape them, softening them in the best ways possible. What a privilege to bear witness of a small bit of time with these photographs. Congratulations guys. It’s a blessing to see the parents God is shaping you into.
It’s a wild world out there right now and so much has changed since the last time I blogged. I’ve thought about how to share my work during this time. I’ve wanted to share how I’m struggling because I feel that there is so much power in not feeling alone in the ways that we struggle, but I haven’t wanted to be a discouragement. I’ve wanted to encourage all you mamas that now find yourselves homeschooling your children so suddenly, wanted to tell you that it will all be fine and to extend yourself SO much grace during these days and everyday, as I have to remind myself often, but I didn’t want to be just another voice offering advice in a time when everyone seems to be giving their advice. I do want to share all of these things with you, in time but right now, I just want to remind you of the beauties of home. When we are in the absolute thick of it, which we all are right now, I'll be the first to admit, our lenses get fogged up quickly. It’s a hard job what we’re all doing, some days it feels impossible so we need some reminders for ourselves. I am at home with our children every day and we homeschooled even before this happened, but I still need a reminder (often) about these beautiful and precious days. I need to be reminded to forgive one another(including myself), to have patience with my little ones, to let things be messy, to put on a show when I need a break, to step away from a lesson that is bringing frustration and read a book, to make a meal together and do my besssssst not to get frustrated(lol), to sit down and build a hot wheels track with my 5 year old rather than scroll social media, to choose joy even when I don’t feel like it and to call a friend and cry if I need to. After a week that held so many emotions, last night I lay in bed and scrolled through my camera roll while looking at old photos of my kids and felt the need to remind myself of all these things. God’s grace is new for us every single day mamas and now more than ever, I am clinging to that and I hope you are too.
Grace to you.
xo Bethany
And speaking of reminders of the beauty of home, I’m sharing the Cleveland family with you today that I photographed last month. My time with them was precious and even then, a breath of fresh air for me. I arrived and daddy was wearing their newborn as he sipped his coffee and cuddled their toddler on the couch. It felt like a beautifully simple but sacred time in the life of a family and I was so glad I got to be there for a small piece of it.
“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.” -Abraham Lincoln
I have photographed this family for years and each time is special but this time was even more so. That’s because I got to photograph them on their new farm. I’ve seen and heard them dreaming about this since we met and to see them in this space that’s been talked and dreamed about for so long was so beautiful to me. I love that they are seeking a life for their family where their days are filled with homesteading, farm chores, chickens and goats and long walks to the fire pit, watching sunsets on the pond and most importantly, each other. I hope you love these photos of the Bessom family at home on their farm as much as I do.
If you’d love for me to capture your family at home where you’re comfortable and you and your kids let your guard down. Where all the beauty of the mundane and real living take place, I would love for us to talk about a session together this year. You can drop me a line here and we can chat!
“What is done in love is done well.” -Vincent VanGogh
I got to meet Ali earlier this year at a gathering of local photographers. I sat across from her and listened as she spoke about her family with joyful tears running down her cheeks and how having her son had changed everything for her. So, it was my privilege to photograph her in her home and pull up a chair with a front row seat and spend time time documenting the beauty of this family. What a blessing your family is sweet Ali. <3
To know them is to love them. I’ve gotten to know this sweet family over the past few years and it was a JOY to photograph them as they welcomed their 5th baby girl earlier this year. Congratulations Duncans, we love you guys so much!
Trying to get myself back in the swing of blogging because I have had so many amazing family sessions this year. So I’m gonna start by sharing this one. I met this family at home and hung out with them there followed by a walk at their farm. It was a sweet and slow evening and just really the most beautiful thing you can imagine. Enjoy.
“As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful.” -Laura Ingalls Wilder
I’m completely in love with this session for lots of reasons but mostly because my time with this beautiful family was so natural and honest. Kids playing all around, making coffee, practicing piano while mama fed the baby, warming up supper as I finished up. Just a beautiful piece of their story captured on an early spring afternoon. Congrats Meek family. It was a blessing to photograph you guys.
“May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.” -John O’Donohue
The Geiger family recently became a party of five and we documented their sweet new family on film. Enjoy this little slice of life. <3
“I have, as it were, my own sun and moon and stars, and a little world all to myself.” -Henry David Thoreau
The Baird Family at home on their land. In their own little sweet world. <3
Photographing families at home is one of my favorite things, especially when there’s a new baby there. Congratulations Waring family! Blessings to you 4!
This session I’m sharing tonight is really special for a couple of reasons. Number one being that Tracie Ancelet is a gem. She’s a local photographer here in Knoxville that I met for dinner one evening last year that sparked an incredibly beautiful friendship. She’s one of those rare gifts in life, a friend that pursues the hearts of others with her whole heart. You feel completely validated in her presence. I could go on and on but if you know her, you know this about her already. She feels special to me for all those reasons mostly but also because she was my first real local photography friend. And if you are in this business, you know what a priceless gift it is to have a local friend to share thoughts and ideas with. It’s HUGE, and rare, and wonderful, and she’s all that to me.
This session is also special to me because it’s my first ALL film session. I’ve been shooting mostly with film for my personal work for a while now and while I’m still unsure where it’s place is with my clients, it was incredibly refreshing to focus on a client session with this medium. Being with my clients is always my favorite part of the process and shooting film allows me to focus more on my time with them. So, thanks so much for letting me stretch my creative wings a bit and share a bit of working through the process. No matter what, I’m learning even more about this art form that I love so much, and that’s worth it all to me. Enjoy.
