Baby Chloe Ebadi

One of the best parts of my job is following clients from engagement to marriage to starting a new family. A great example is new arrival Chloe Ebadi, a baby I have been waiting to photograph for years!

This anticipation was of course due to her being born to two of my favorite clients: Molly and Mark. Images of their wedding are all over my studio...it was a breathtaking event and they were a dream to work with. So was their little one! Meet Chloe: And here is Bear who seems intent on reminding everyone that he is still only 9 months old and not nearly ready to be thrust out of his baby status. So surely the binkis are for both babies.Now, here is my little homily for the evening:

Molly is an interior designer and her home is just stunning (http://www.mollykeenandesigns.com/). I walked in and without thinking said, "Ugh. Why can't I get my house to look like this??" After thinking about this comment I realized how frustrating it is when people say similar things to me, i.e. "Why don't the pictures I take of my baby or my friends ever look as good as yours???" I always think, well, probably because you haven't pursued the craft single-heartedly for almost a decade. And because you haven't invested thousands and thousands of dollars into your camera & computer equipment and then spent thousands of hours learning to use them. But also because it isn't your passion. And if you had and if it was, I'm sure your pictures would be as good as mine! And you probably wouldn't have to do invest nearly as much time, money or tears as I did along the way because I'm exceptionally stubborn and really only learn by making mistakes.

Anyhow, my point is, don't compare your house furnished primarly by Target and flea market items to a brilliant interior designer's, your crock pot meals to a trained chef's gourmet creations, your garden to an inspired landscape artist's, or your family snapshots to a professional photographer's. I'm trying not to. I'm even trying not to compare the images I create to other photographer's images because I always start to feel like a fraud. I just need to try to do everything to the best of my ability, stay inspired and treat my family, friends and associates with love, grace and humility.