There’s a certain ache that comes with realizing you don’t have many photographs from your childhood.

For some people, photos are everywhere tucked into albums, framed on walls, pulled out during holidays with stories that begin with “Remember this?” For others, like me, there are only a handful. A few snapshots.

I grew up without my mom in our household, and believe it or not that can affect you in adulthood. Along with that absence came the absence of photographs, proof that moments happened, that childhood existed the way it does for so many others. My childhood wasn’t easy, and while I could have let that define me, I made a different choice.

I chose to change the cycle.

I didn’t grow up with shelves full of albums or images that told the story of my early years. I can still remember being fairly young and telling anyone who asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up that I wanted to be a MOM. I knew I wanted a different childhood for my own children then the one I had, so I decided something important when I became a mother myself:

My children would never wonder what their childhood looked like.

They would have memories they could see.

They would grow up knowing they were loved, present, and celebrated. Not just through words, but through photographs they could hold onto.

Why I’m So Sentimental About Photos

I’m deeply sentimental when it comes to documenting my own children. Not because life is always perfect but because it’s real.

The laughter in the living room. Barefoot mornings. Tiny hands reaching for mine. Holding a toddler as I cook dinner.

These moments feel ordinary while we’re living them. But years from now, they’ll be everything.

That’s why I make an intentional effort to be in the photos.

Not perfectly styled, some days I just stay in leggings and a t-shirt. Not always rested. Not always feeling camera-ready.

But present.

Because one day, my kids will look back and see proof that I was there. That we shared joy in our home. That we built memories together as a FAMILY.

So many moms tell me the same thing:

“I hate how I look.” “I’ll get in the next one.” “I just want photos of the kids.”

But here’s the truth, your children aren’t looking for perfection.

They’re looking for you.

They want to see the way you held them. The way you laughed with them. The way you showed up, even when you were tired, overwhelmed, or even burnt out.

Photos become more than images over time. They become reassurance. They tell your children:

I was loved. I was safe. I mattered.

This is a huge reason why lifestyle family and newborn photography matters so deeply to me.

Lifestyle photography isn’t about stiff poses or forced smiles. It’s about connection. Presence. The way your family naturally exists together.

It’s about documenting the season you’re in, the chaos, the tenderness, the in-between moments, so your children can one day look back and feel it.

I photograph families the way I do because I know what it’s like not to have those memories preserved. I’d give anything to see what I looked like as a newborn, did my girls look like me? Did I have blonde hair and blue eyes? I’ll never know for sure but one thing I do know is that when they have children they will have the chance to look back at photos and videos from the moment they were born to see comparisons in their own children. That means a lot for me as a mom who doesn’t get to do that.

And I know the power of changing that story.

Creating Something That Lasts

If you didn’t grow up with many photos, motherhood can feel different. You become the memory-keeper. The cycle-breaker. The one who chooses permanence where there once were gaps.

Being in the photos isn’t about vanity.

It’s about legacy.

It’s about giving your children something tangible to return to, a visual reminder that they were deeply loved and cared for.

And years from now, when they flip through albums or scroll through old images, they won’t just see what their childhood looked like.

They’ll remember how it felt.

If you’re a mom who feels this deeply too, you’re not alone. And your story matters more than you realize.

Ready To Preserve This Season?

If you’re expecting a baby or raising little ones in the Knoxville area and feel the pull to document your family in a meaningful, honest way, I would love to walk alongside you.

My lifestyle newborn and family sessions are designed for real life, for moms who value connection over perfection and want their children to grow up with photographs that feel like home.

You deserve to be in the photos.

And your children deserve to remember just how loved they were.