I LOVE being a part of surprises for other people. And when that surprise involves capturing joy and memories for an incredible family near me in Frederick County, Maryland? A total win! Not to mention, SUNFLOWERS! Diany is one of my closest friends. We co-founded our nonprofit Friendship by LIliZach together and love helping other […]

In our family, we know her affectionately as “Miss Amanda.” When we lived in Rochester, NY, she was our family’s babysitter, but above all that, she told us when we were overdue for a date night and gave me hours of uninterrupted time to take care of my growing photography business.And now she’s getting married! […]

When you have new dreams, you’ve got to dress them up a bit and give them a big moment to explode into the world. Honestly, that’s kind of how it felt to talk about the future of my business (and of me) with Emilie of Buoyant Marketing this year as we prepared to create a […]

I first met Christa and her family through the non-profit organization I co-founded — Friendship by LiliZach. Friendship is an effort to improve the first few hours,days, weeks, months of families who have received a diagnosis of Down syndrome in and around Frederick County, Maryland. My co-founder and dear friend, Diany, and I both experienced […]

If there’s one area of my family photography business that I’m most proud of finessing this year it’s my client workflow. And, how I take care of my clients for every session through my client experience. Some of this needs to be credited to Amanda Hedgepeth — not only for mentoring me at the beginning […]

I am a Type Two — known as The Helper. They’re known to be considerate, selfless, generous. They’re also known to be needy, self-destructive, fearful of being unloved or unwanted. There are so many moments when a friend will say, “Oh, that is SO Type Two of you!”

I always laugh with her. I love venting with her. I love surprising her with gifts in the makeshift mailbox on the corner of that fence. I love when she treats me to an iced coffee or watches the kids for an hour so I can focus on a phone call for work. Even in the times when we’re sitting on my deck, sobbing and listening to emo music from our childhoods, I still walk away feeling lighter and better. We can do nothing or everything and it always feels like a relief.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — repeat clients make my heart so happy. It means they trust me; it affirms that my work is what they need in their world and on their walls; it makes it feel like a friendship. I get to watch their kiddos grow up and change and it builds a really beautiful comfort level between us during photo sessions.

My friend Nicole and I were inspired by Lauren Kirkham’s recent Hour by Hour project where she beautifully captured her family on an average day. Nicole and I have been working for weeks now and using our self-timers and phone alarms to get us in the photos more often and to capture more of the “in-between” moments. Lauren’s project was just what we needed to get out of our comfort zone and make it happen.

I’ll never proclaim to be an expert in special needs or all illnesses, disabilities or diagnoses. But I am an expert in two things — taking photos and being Zach’s momma. Zach has Down syndrome, a genetic condition in which a super-awesome person has one extra copy of the 21st chromosome, leading to possible health, developmental and intellectual issues.