Redefining the Family Portrait Experience

The Intimate Story of Family  – East Coast Lifestyle Family Portrait Photographer Angelsea Urban

 

in·ti·ma·cy (noun)

Something of personal nature. Belonging. Closeness. Familiarity. Nearness. Inseparability. Devotedness. 

 

Bold truth time. I’ve been putting off this post for months because I honestly had NO idea how I was supposed to explain this to people.

I still don’t on so many levels.

How do you explain stuff you can’t really put words to, but you just know? And asking for people to trust you, because you just know that is what we are supposed to be doing?

So in an attempt to put one foot in front of the other, I can share what I do know, and what I can explain, and I’m going to ask that you stay with me on this journey and eventually this will all make sense.  Hopefully to both of us.

I won’t bother you with what specific things prompted these changes, because honestly it’s been a series of events in my life and work for probably more than a year or two or even longer than I care to admit.

Suddenly one day all of these random pieces seemed to click together like a puzzle I never knew was there, and all of a sudden my exisiting business flashed before my eyes and I realized all of the missed opportunities I hadn’t taken, the time I had wasted, and that the most precious thing in the world to me wasn’t even the main focus of the business I spend so much of my life on. That I kept the core of who I was merely to my business philosophy page but not in the forefront of the very work I was producing.

Family.

Every decision I make, I think about my family. How it will affect us. My kids, my husband. Our future, our goals, our mission, my KID’S mission, everything. It all comes back to my family and our life together.

And not just MY family – meaning the one I married and made. But the family that I was a part of when I was born.

I am a daughter. A sister. An aunt. A granddaughter. A niece. An individual also part of a family.

And then it’s not just the family I was born into. But the family I continue to make by choice.

The honorary “Uncles” and “Aunts” that I grew up with. Or our best friends that are now “Aunties” and “Uncles” to our own children. The “cousins” my kids are growing up with. My children’s Godparents. My BFF.

That family also. The family we declared on our own. Not by blood but by choice. Intentionally.

Because we wanted to belong to one another. 
When I think about what matters most in my life, I don’t hesitate with an answer. Not my job or my house or vacations or even my heath (which is a very close second). It’s about my family. Spending time with them. Cultivating our relationships. Serving each other. Teaching each other. Being devoted to each other.
At the end of my life, I want to know that I lived my life with an intentional purpose to have an intimate relationship with my family. A similar relationship that I pursue through my faith in Christ. To have that continual hunger for closeness. To experience every kind of emotion that makes us precious and human.

 

That’s nice, Angie – So what the heck does this have to do with photography?

 

Nothing. AND…. everything.

I believe as a creative person it’s impossible to separate the product of your “work” from your heart. Because truly all creative work comes from deep in the soul if it is to be authentic.

Sure – I could have a formula of camera settings and go-to poses and I’m sure most clients would be fairly pleased with the results. And there are a number of perfectly talented photographers that can perform that task for them within a client’s particular budget.

But I want to do SO much more than that.

I want you to write letters to your children. And I want to photograph their little faces as they light up hearing about all of things you wish for them.

I want you to journal about your life for your family. And I want to photograph you in that moment. I want you to look back at that photograph and remember how you felt.

I want your children to play hide and seek. To run as fast as they can. To find a clover. To throw leaves.

I want your experience to make memories of precious moments together, not just photographs.

I want for your grandchildren to touch the sand that you walked on. To smell the perfume you wore that day. To hold these photographs in their hands and imagine the sound of your voice in your laughter that day.

I want your mother to hold the single portrait of you. As she celebrates her own child and her own accomplishments of motherhood.

I want to celebrate the intimate story of family with you. In every shape and size. Chapter by Chapter. With intention.

To collaborate on this experience and go beyond just the end resulting photographs or fancy products.

To tell the Intimate Story of YOUR Family.

 

OK So maybe I can describe it a little? But I know even this is only scratching the surface.

AND… So that I may deliver the best, most rewarding, most intimate, most amazing portrait experiences (gulp)…

I will no longer be booking any other kind of photography. 

I love photographing weddings. I truly do. And I will miss my bridal couples terribly. But I know that it just doesn’t fit right now. Maybe it will again someday. Friends, this was one of the hardest decisions to accept and one that has kept me from moving forward in the past several months. But I know that I need to move forward in this direction, even if it doesn’t make complete sense to my logistical brain right now. I just know.

Also, because I’m a fraidy cat and want to stay fresh, and I want to be able to deliver the best artistic experience for each client, I will still be stretching my creative legs with various personal projects, styled shoots and other types of photography through my Education Branch where I will be coaching business owners and training wedding photographers. I *may* even offer to photograph a wedding or two for a very close friend or family member. You can read more about that here EDUCATION DIVISION and here EDUCATION DIVISION: PART 1 – COACHING.

So…. that’s enough wordiness for now, don’t cha think? More information (and details) will come soon I promise.

If this sounds like a photography experience you would be interested in, please contact me using the links below. Sessions are extremely limited in order to deliver the remarkable client experience you deserve.

 

 

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To book your session, please contact Angelsea Urban at: http://portraits.angelseaurban.com/#/contact/ or email angelsea@creativeeyephotography.com

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Earliest session reservation available late March 2014.