We all know photo sessions with a strong-willed toddler aren’t always easy and adding an infant with a mind of her own just makes it a complete gamble.  I always joke and say babies have a 6th sense about photos coming up. They decide not to nap or do just about anything to frazzle you as a mom before photos.   This session was no different – my toddler’s asthma was flaring and he was miserable and couldn’t nap.  My daughter also decided not to nap.  We scrambled around to all get photo-ready, running behind and rushing out the door as the pure chaos that we can be, but the moment we’re on-site, all is good again…

In all of the 7 or more sessions we’ve done with Ginnifer, she has always brought a calming presence and demeanor that makes the sessions easier, calm, and fun.  As a mother herself, she’s wonderful with the children. Ginnifer connects with them and draws their personalities out. Then she captures it so perfectly in our photos.  Sessions with her essentially feels like a play date for family getting caught on film!

The journey of motherhood has stretched me and forced me to grow in ways I didn’t even know I needed.   I’ve always planned every aspect of my life – relationships, career, goals, and even our marriage – where we will be as a couple in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years… I was so good at planning every aspect of every part of my marriage and life, that it all went just as I had pictured.  Until motherhood. From the beginning, my plan for motherhood was quite different than how it actually happened.

As much as I had the best intentions for clean eating, staying active, and being as healthy as possible, I was so unbelievably sick the entire pregnancy. I laid around and ate like a picky three-year-old because that was all I could keep down.  That should have been a clear sign to me before becoming a mother that I needed to let go of control.  I needed to let go of the perception that I could control everything and continue to have every aspect of my every day as I deemed it should be.

Children have little minds of their own… Tiny little people who have good days and bad days, who are sometimes tired, sometimes hungry, sometimes happy, sometimes “hangry”… Never really know!  There is no controlling so many aspects of motherhood – was it a little anxiety-inducing? Absolutely!  However, motherhood has forced me to let go of control.  Social media and unsolicited advice give one version of what motherhood should look like. I had to let go of those perceptions and pressures, because honestly, the journey of motherhood is different for each mom, as it should be.  It all unfolds exactly the way it’s supposed to, so letting go of control (as anxiety-inducing as that can be) allowed me to start enjoying the ride! It was very freeing!

So to all my fellow moms, let go.  It’s okay!

It’s okay if they have bad nap days, it’s okay if you have to give them an unhealthy meal now and then, it’s okay your house isn’t spotless all the time…  Stop spending time chasing the false narrative of this ideal state of motherhood and slow down to soak in all that motherhood has to bring you.  Soak in the sleepy snuggles, the teeny tiny voices, tiny hands, tiny feet, little voices – because before you know it, you blink and your baby is bigger and you’re not sure how it happened.

As a mom, time really becomes a thief.  The little things the kids do that are so endearing, they soon grow out of… These photos for me are a way to bottle up the moments.  I can capture them as they are at that age and look at the photos and still remember them and what it felt like to be a mom at that stage of motherhood.” The Mother in the images

“I have photographed this family numerous times. They are incredibly kind-hearted and easygoing, and are always up for anything for the session! As the mother mentioned, her little one needed a little extra comfort during this session. I just encouraged mom to hold her, as she fit so perfectly in mom’s arms and in her lap. We just rotated between positions, holding, sitting, standing & asking mom to caress baby’s hair, gentle touches of her fingers and toes…taking in all the sweet feelings.

I truly love watching their family grow and am honored to capture these milestones. Motherhood photography is a passion of mine. I have 3 children of my own, so I truly understand a mother’s desire to have photographs with her children in every season of their childhood.” Ginnifer, Photographer

GINNIFER HEINRICHS