Long before Julie Stephenson was a "photographer" with a website, a blog and an overwhelming need to be the perfect editor and "business" person (I use that term very loosely), I was just a mom with 2 things. A camera (not at all expensive) and an urge to document my family's day to day life. Our real and natural lives.
And I did! In the four years of having just a regular old digital camera, I took 6,141 pictures. Which averages about 4.2 pictures everyday! There are birthdays, Christmas's, 1st days of school, and holiday program pictures. Most parents have these photos on a roll of film or a memory card.
But those aren't the pictures I love the most. My favorites are blueberries on baby teeth and laughing in the leaves. It's the excited 3 year old and his new found tree frog or the sassy toddler standing up on the toilet. The photos that seems so ordinary and uneventful are the most special to me. These are the photos that flood my eyes and jog my memory of years gone by. They remind me that time flies, kids grow and that I'm lucky to have experienced these real and natural moments with my amazing kids (and husband). These pictures didn't need editing or a price list. They just needed us.
Photos like these, are why I'm drawn to the natural, photojournalistic type of photography. In my opinion, photos taken in this style tell a story. You don't see a studio, new clothes and curled hair. You see silly faces, belly laughs and eyelashes. The little everyday things that will sustain you when your child is grown and gone. Moments where the precious faces are captured forever. Photos with the ability to take you right back to the days when they were jumping in puddles or sleeping in car-seats.
P.S. I feel like I have to mention, in the not quite 2 years since I've had my upgraded camera, I've taken 22,997 pictures. Averaging 31.5 pictures everyday. WOW, I think I have a problem!
My name is Julie and I'm a photoholic!