You know that feeling you get while looking at the ocean? The salt air brushing through your hair, the waves quietly crashing against the sand. You feel peace… you feel home.

That’s how I feel looking at my favorite photos. The ones from our wedding (we got married on the Chesapeake Bay, surrounded by blue water, our closest family, and more happiness than I could imagine). The ones when we moved into our first home, so eager for the future. The ones of my dad, who I will forever hold close even though he’s no longer here.

Scattered across our home on the walls and bound in books, these photos invite me back in for one more glimpse. They are my memories when I notice time is ticking much quicker than I would like. They’re my heart as I feel the love of days past. They are, in a way, my calming ocean waves while battling life’s toughest storms.

Without them, I would be lost.

This is what I think about when I photograph your family. I watch the scene unfold before me, waiting for just the right moment. Capturing your love, your story. So that one day, future you can look back. You’ll not only remember, you’ll feel that moment all over again. The joyful laughter on a summer evening, the soft touch of a loved one’s hand, that unique moment in time you always want to be yours - forever captured in a photo.

As time marches on, and the seasons change, maybe one day that photo will be your ocean waves. Bringing you peace. Bringing you back home. Even if it’s just for a moment.