Moving House and Creating A Home | Boston Day In The Life / Professional Portrait Photography Testimonials
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Happy Monday everyone! Can you believe it's August already? I'm certainly having some "I can't believe it" moments of my own today! Disclaimer: I try to keep my personal "Wholehearted" posts separate from my photography-specific posts, but today's post is a little blending of the two…because sometimes, personal life and work life blend a little, and I think that's ok. So here's what I've been up to:
Andy and I spent the entire week the last week of July piling boxes in our car and taking trips to our lovely new apartment, all while sweating our faces off! It was an exhausting week, but waking up to my favorite person in a space that it finally feels right to call "home" is so worth it. We couldn't have done it without the help of some awesome friends, and without the courage to help each other take the leap into a big life change!
Since going to college in 2007 I have moved almost once a year, and Andy has lived in about 15 different places in his lifetime. I think in some ways we have both developed an expectation in our young adult lives that nothing will stay the same for very long and few things ever feel 100% settled. Yesterday over breakfast, we were talking about this and our concerns about investing in making this apartment our home. Do we buy all our new furniture on the cheap in case our rent goes up or our landlord decides to sell the house, thus making us move again, maybe even into a much smaller apartment? Or do we choose our new furnishings with care (and maybe more time and money), deciding to bring them home with us because we really enjoy them and they'll add character to our environment for the next year?
I'm leaning towards the latter—partly because it's been rare for me to ever be in a position to style my own living space. The creative part of my brain is excited to dive in to this new type of fun challenge, and to do it with my life partner! (The rest of my brain is overwhelmed with all the little decisions to be made, but that's another story!) It can be so refreshing to have an external environment that feels like it matches who you are internally, and I hope to get there one day. I think I also have this on the brain because over the weekend I was reading "A Manifesto For The Well-Worn Home" in the 11th issue of Kinfolk, the Home Issue. How fitting! I consider it a must-read, especially in this day and age of disposable products and immediate gratification.
If you're like me and don't own a home yet, I would love to know in the comments: what ways have you found to make your rented living space feel like home? Do you ever try to keep your investments minimal in anticipation of a future move, or do you invest in decor that you really enjoy?
Since my life for the past week has been consumed with moving house and I've barely had time to get any new photos together for a more visual post, I thought I would share some awesome testimonials I received after a couple recent photo sessions! Everyone loves a good, sincere compliment, but I think these testimonials are even more than that—they show what the actual experience of a photo session is like, and why the investment in yourself (and sometimes your family too) is so worth it.
In contrast to the first section of today's post, houses and apartments come and go, but your personal story, and your family's interwoven stories, really are forever. As people, our internal memories, thoughts and feelings can be fleeting, but the visual and physical keepsakes of photographs solidify our stories and create a very special, shareable experience.
Mary was one of my first Day In The Life clients, and is a super kind, talented, and wonderfully interesting woman all around! I got to spend six hours with her and her family in their home (including kiddos Dominic and Naomi) and it was such a sweet, fun, memorable time. Here's what she said after receiving the photos from her session:
My biggest concern was that it would be six hours of awkward, since I'm generally overly concerned about people being in my house and hate having pictures taken, but it absolutely wasn't! It was totally wonderful and you were just the right amount of present and absent to make the day feel awesome.
My favorite part was watching the capturing of the more adorable, happy moments on camera, like Dominic playing on his mat or Naomi flipping upside down or dressing up, and knowing that we'd get to keep them forever.
You made us feel so comfortable, you were friendly and personable, and a joy to work with. This photo session was so unique, capturing the best parts of what real life at this time was like, which is truly what I think most people want to remember anyway, and not the more traditional posed shots that have nothing to do with how things actually are.
Kari was my classmate and friend first, but also recently became a client! I was so excited to have a photo session with her so she could have some headshots with personality for work and grad school! Here's what she had to say:
I tend to be really negatively self-conscious about getting my pictures taken, which I know isn't unusual. I was really concerned about my outfit being okay, my hair looking perfect, and my smile looking "right". I even brought extra outfit options just in case one of them would look better on-camera! You didn't ask me to change (though I would have willingly) and totally put me at my ease. The photos look better than I ever imagined!
You kept me laughing and not thinking about the fact that I was having my picture taken (and then spiraling into worrying about my hair, my face, etc), you were flexible, and you had lots of ideas!
And a message from her to anyone looking for a photographer for their own portraits:
Lorna is great! She responds to communications quickly; she told me exactly what to expect; she's flexible; she spoke with me in-depth about what I was looking for in a portrait session; she kept me laughing; the session itself had a very relaxed, comfortable feel; and I'm incredibly happy with how my photos turned out!
If you're interested in this idea of solidifying your story, whether for personal or professional reasons, get in touch!
Don't forget to let me know in the comments: If you're like me and don't own a home yet, what ways have you found to make your rented living space feel like home? Do you ever try to keep your investments minimal in anticipation of a future move, or do you invest in decor that you really enjoy?
