COVID brought a lot of feeling - fear, anxiety, worry. For a little while there I wasn’t sure how and if I would make it as a small business owner, a photographer even more so. Everything I do is about human contact. And that was taken away from us. Labeled unsafe.

I won’t go into too much detail about my personal journey through it all. I want this to be a happy post about an amazing family photo session. Because, to be honest, it feels like it brought me back to life. It gave me a certainty that I can still work, still create what I am here to create. It may look a little different behind the scenes. I may keep more distance. Will not use certain lenses any more. Won’t be fixing your hair. Will have to rely on my voice to guide you through poses. May need to get louder so you can actually hear me through my mask….

But this session made me realize: COVID did not win. It will not win. It didn’t take away my eyes. Or my feeling of the moment unfolding in front of me. My ability to facilitate and capture closeness. It will take time and work, but we will come back stronger, more confident and more empowered because of this.

COVID will not steal joy from photography.