I braved a quick trip by myself with my three little ones to visit rural Wisconsin and the kids’ great aunt and uncle. It was lovely to be surrounded by nature and the beautiful log cabin my aunt and uncle call home.

My twins are four-years-old and the baby is 15 months, so I decided to not bring my bulky camera and instead relied on my iPhone X to capture all of the fun the kids had on the visit. For these photos, I almost always had a baby or a kid in my arms or wrapped around my legs. (For those of you interested in the tech specs, I used the iPhone’s portrait mode for the low depth of field focus.) The photos aren’t perfect, but I’m so grateful I have these memories saved for viewing in years to come.

The photos got me thinking though. I’m not really in them and there were some funny moments in which I was a participant. Just by being the mommy, I am often focused on parenting and missed capturing some great moments as well. It would have been wonderful to have had an outside photographer really tell the story of our trip.

If you have a special event or family time you want captured in a story-telling manner, I’m completely game. How about apple picking? Birthday parties? Making pancakes? Fun lifestyle portraits are the bread and butter of my business, but my heart is into recording real family interactions and well, life.