2016 | In Review

Overwhelmed.

That's how I feel right now, looking through some of my favorite photos from the year.

Sometimes you get so busy worrying about how far you have to go that you forget to stop and appreciate how far you've come. This post is my pause.

2016 was my first official year in business, the year I found my voice as a photographer, and the year I received unbelievable support from so many wonderful people. 

There is a story behind each one of these pictures that holds a place in my heart.

First of all, congratulations on making it through all 1,000 pictures (ok, only 57. But still).

Second, to say thank you to all of you wonderful people for such an amazing year, I want to do something to give back. 

I'm giving away a storytelling session to a deserving family or couple, nominated by you.

If you know of a deserving family who would be thrilled to have pictures to document their beautiful everyday life, send an email to stephwoodwardphotos@gmail.com and let me know:

a. their contact info

b. a little bit about their story, and why you are nominating them

The session will take place in February, either at their home or one of their favorite places. 

Thank you all- from the bottom of my heart- for your love and support. Here's to a new year full of many more beautiful little moments.

The Good 'Ol Days

Crammed between my brothers and sisters in a warm mini van on a freezing Christmas Eve, singing "Jingle Bells" at the top of our lungs and feeling completely happy, content and safe.

Baking our favorite peanut butter chocolate chip cookies from my mom's well used, very stained Betty Crocker cookbook on Sunday evenings. Grabbing the cookies straight off the cookie sheet, and blowing furiously before shoving them in our mouths. 

Relaxing on the couch together in the evenings, listening to my Dad read "The BFG" while my mom played with my hair.

Growing up in a family of 8, things were often chaotic and messy. We argued a lot. My little brother drove me CRAZY sometimes, and my sister and I couldn't seem to get out the door to school in the mornings without yelling at each other because "that's what I was going to wear!!". 

But lately I've been missing those simple, everyday moments a whole lot. My heart aches for the good ol' days when we all lived under one roof, sharing life together. The good, the hard, the happy and the crazy.

When the wonderful Tomlinson family contacted me about an at home session and I found out they were also a family of 8, I was SO excited. They are right in the middle of those "good ol' days" where everyone is under the same roof, and I couldn't wait to capture for them the photos I wish I had of my own family.   

"Change is the only constant in life". Even though the stage of life you are in right now seems like it will last forever-- it won't. And these everyday moments are the ones you will miss the most. 

Want to capture the wonderful, crazy life you are living right now? Let's talk! I can't wait to tell your story through photographs so one day you can look back on the "good ol' days" and have those memories come flooding back. 

If you're itching to see more family stories, check out this one and this one. 

5 on 5 | The Temple

There were a lot of stories I wanted to share this month. I mean hello- it was October! We went to the pumpkin patch, our favorite fall festival, carved pumpkins, explored the canyon with it's beautiful leaves, went trick-or-treating, etc. And I have lots of pictures of all of those things. Hopefully I'll still get around to sharing them. :) But this was the story that really spoke to me this month.

Almost seven years ago, my husband and I were married in this beautiful temple in my hometown-  the Logan, Utah LDS temple. Now we live about two hours away, and even though we visit frequently to see my family, for some reason we had never taken our kids to visit this beautiful place that is so meaningful to us.

A few weeks ago we were visiting to shoot a wedding for one of my very best friends from high school. It was awesome and wonderful, by the way. Blog post to come soon. ;) On our way home we decided to stop and show our kids this lovely temple we were married in, and talk to them about why it means so much to us. 

It was a perfectly warm, sunny, gorgeous fall day. We wandered around the beautiful grounds, collected pretty leaves,  rolled down the hill (at least they did- I tried it once and was SO DIZZY I couldn't stand it), and took pictures obviously. :) 

For me, the temple represents peace. Whenever I am feeling frustrated, overwhelmed or confused about something in life, this is where I come. (Well, to one of the temples. There are lots in Utah. :P) In the temple is where I feel nearest to God. It is quiet, peaceful, spotless and beautiful. I can pour out my heart in prayer and always, always feel the love the Lord has for me. I leave feeling refreshed, stronger, and with a better perspective on life and my problems. 

This specific temple will always hold a special place in my heart. Spending time here with my family on this beautiful fall day is a memory I don't want to forget.

You can see the rest of my pictures from this gorgeous afternoon here. I managed my very first picture of a butterfly, and even ended up in the frame a few times myself! 

And if you're curious, you can learn more about LDS (Mormon) temples here. 

Finally, don't forget to hop on over to the see the next story in our blog circle! Jennifer K Photography- Maryland Lifestyle Documentary Photographer

Good Vibes

Raise your hand if your life is crazy busy.

If you feel like you are rushing from one thing to another, constantly trying to get something done while being distracted by another thing. 

You love your family with everything you are, but sometimes it seems like you just can't quite be enough for them. You feel like you are doing a half way job with everything in your life because you are just stretched too thin. 

Oh it's just me? ;) 

Parenting (especially little kiddos) while juggling work, church responsibilities, friends, etc is HARD. Sometimes it feels good to just admit that. Say it out loud. 

But spending time with this awesome, fun loving, laid back family gave me hope. 

Their life is dare I say EVEN busier than most. They juggle so many responsibilities, and when I asked them how they do it they said "well we aren't doing it well". 

But I'm here to say that YES dear Sato family, you are doing it well. Very well. In fact you are rocking it. 

Stepping outside my own bubble of crazy and spending this evening as a "fly on the wall" following your family around was such a gift to me. 

Photography forces me to slow down and notice the little things. To reveal the beauty in ordinary moments that otherwise go un-appreciated. 

And you know what I saw? I saw you taking time to have fun together. Working as a team, always having each other's back. Loving your kids, and them loving you right back. I saw how you do your best and work so hard for them. I saw a whole lot of love.

Most of all I saw that you are doing so much better than you think you are. 

And because you are, maybe that means the rest of us are too.

So THANK YOU for trusting me enough to let me step into your world for a little while and document your story. Thank you for giving me hope, and reminding me that we are all doing better than we think we are.

If you've read this far and want to see more, check out this story, and this one. If you're ready to preserve your own family's story, let's chat! 

5 on 5 | Cousins

A few weeks ago my kids, younger sister and I went on a road trip to visit my older sister in Vegas. Her kids are my kids only cousins, so they are always super excited to see each other. 

Our first day there they took us to one of the coolest parks I have ever been to. It was pretty hot (hello Vegas weather), but we all had a blast together! Except for maybe the cranky, hot, tired toddler. ;) 

It's funny how sometimes the simplest things are the most memorable.  

What? There are six you say? Considering I narrowed them down from about 15 favorites, I'm feeling pretty good about it. :P 

Oh! And I was pretty excited that my last month's 5 on 5 story was featured on Beyond the Wanderlust (a beautiful photography blog). You can take a peak if you wanna. :D 

Now head on over to Melissa's blog to see her awesome lensbaby pictures! (Waterloo, IA birth and family documentary photographer)

Zucchini Bread | Kushlan Family Story

Home. That's what spending time with this wonderful family felt like to me. 

It might be because Emily and I grew up in the same little town out in the middle of nowhere Utah, and have been close friends for years. Or maybe it's because I have my own fond memories of backyard gardens and making zucchini bread with my family. Or maybe because of the love and warmth that fills their home. Or maybe even because after this session I got my FIRST ever flat tire, and Emily and Josh came to my rescue and taught me how to change it (aka changed it for me. :D) 

Either way, that's the word that keeps coming to mind. Home. It really is a beautiful word, isn't it? 

When Emily first called me about this session, she said that she takes lots of pictures of her kids, and her husband with her kids, but she doesn't make it into many of the photos. Sound familiar? :) 

She wanted to be part of that story. To be in pictures WITH her family. 

Visual evidence that she was there too. Loving, playing, and devoting her whole life to them.

You might look at your life and see a messy house, weed filled garden, crazy kids, and "boring" life. But what I see is magic. I see those fleeting little moments that tell your story. Your unique, love filled, wonderful story. And hopefully I get to show you that despite the craziness, you are doing a pretty darn good job after all. 

back when they were tiny | Smith family story

Refreshingly real, and with hearts of gold. Always, always finding ways to improve themselves and help other people. I find myself taking mental notes of things I love about people, and Sean and Jessie's list could go on for ages. 

After trying for 7 years to have kids, they were blessed with these three miracle babies- right in a row. And even though they are completely exhausted, they treasure this time with their little boys and want to remember everything about it. Because (as we all know) with that exhaustion and every other struggle kids bring, they also bring a whooole lotta joy. 

After the session, I got this little note from Jessie: 

“Just wanted to say thanks again for today. I’m so excited to have these pictures and memories of my little family, to remind me what life was like ‘back when they were tiny’. I’m already emotional about it and I haven’t even seen them yet! Haha.”

After spending the morning at home, we headed to one of the family's favorite places. Savers! The boys think it is the coolest thing in the world to play with the toys while mom looks at clothes, and they even get to pick one toy each to take home. How fun will it be for them to look back on these pictures 10 years from now and remember one of their favorite family traditions?? 

Can you imagine this family sitting around the table 20 years from now and flipping through a book of these pictures? Think about all the memories that will come flooding back. 

And how awesome would it be if you had pictures like these from your Grandparent's or Great Grandparent's lives? Pictures that show you not only what they looked like, but what their lives were like. How they lived, and loved. 

If you've read this far, you might be thinking about how cool it would be to preserve your own family's story this way. Yeah? Get in touch! I'd love to answer any questions you have. If you want to see more, check out this story, and this one.   

5 on 5 | Mud Cakes

Month two of our 5 on 5 blog circle is here! In case you missed it last month, this is where a group of photographers tell a story with 5 images on the 5th of each month. You can see my last one here. 

When I was little, my siblings and I LOVED playing in the mud. We would tip our bikes upside down and use the spinning wheels to "shape" our mud cakes. I remember being so proud of those masterpieces. 

That's probably why when my girls started turning on the water spigot and playing with mud in our "flower bed" (which is more like a weed bed right now- I haven't mastered the art of keeping flowers alive :P ), I couldn't resist pulling out my camera. 

I finally bought a big bag of bulbs and plan on reclaiming the flower bed, so I'm glad I documented their *hopefully* last time of playing in all that mud. Knock on wood. :P 

And a bonus picture, because when I said "Chloe! Your face is so dirty!" she tried so hard to see it for herself. :D :D

Now head on over to see this lovely story by Melissa Clark, a birth and family documentary photographer in Iowa. 

PS- I had THE HARDEST time choosing which images to share for this post. If you want to take a peek at the rest of them, head over here. 

5 on 5 | Swimming

I'm super excited to start participating in a project called 5 on 5. It is a blog circle that features documentary photographers whose passion is telling the stories of our everyday lives. Each photographer will post 5 photos that tell one story on the 5th of each month. So after you're done reading my post, click on the link at the bottom of the page to check out the next photographer! 

My parents recently traded their 100+ year old country cottage for a townhouse in the city (or at least closer to the city). While we all miss the beautiful fields, wide open space, garden and animals, they don't miss the mice and constant repairs. :P 

The biggest perk of their new home (at least in my kid's opinions) is hands down the awesome new pool. It's always hard to say goodbye to a chapter of life, but we're sure having fun making new memories. Now if only Summer would last a little bit longer!

My favorite part of these photos: how much my two year old loves those upside down goggles, even though she can't go underwater yet. 

Oh hey! I even managed to get in the story with a handy dslr selfie. ;) 

Next on the list: Central Florida family photographer Nicole, of Nicole Austen Photography. Go check out her beautiful work! You won't be sorry.

Welcoming Baby Kit

After years of hoping, heartache and loss, Brad and Erin were finally blessed with their miracle baby- little Kit. 

Since this precious newborn stage passes in an overwhelming, sleep deprived haze, my goal was to capture all the little details they wanted to remember. Itty bitty hands and tiny flaky feet, bath time, a meticulously prepared nursery, the adorable outfits gifted by friends (that were already getting too small). All the little things that would help them re-live this amazing time in their lives- over and over again. 

Press play to view the little "fusion film" we put together with a few video clips. My new favorite way to really capture life. :) 

If you are having a baby soon and want that precious time in your life honestly and beautifully documented, let me know! I'd love to preserve those priceless memories for you with a relaxed, in home session.