Butterly Kisses

Butterfly Kisses

She and her grandmother had a very special bond. After her grandmother’s passing, she developed a little “thing” that helped her get through rough moments, and also to make big decisions when she was a little lost on what direction to go: when she saw a butterfly, she would know it was her grandmother giving her a sign of love and a little push in a certain direction. It has been a mainstay in her life for over a decade and it has never failed her, not even once.

So, butterflies absolutely had to be a part of this session in some way. It was the most important element to her and I will be honest, at first, I wasn’t exactly sure it was something I wanted to consider. Truthfully, I’m not a fan of prop-like elements in photoshoots. To me, there is a big chance they will take away from the subject, and I find most times the photos become more about the prop than the woman I’m trying to capture. So, when she said butterflies, I really had to think on it.

I had to take some quiet time and just get inside my head, which is what I do when I need to come up with some inspiration for a photoshoot. I just let my imagination run wild and let it loose to design whatever it wants to. Sometimes this takes a few days, and in some cases a few years (coming soon). I’m not even sure how I came up with this concept, but when it hit me, I started to get pretty excited, which is my signifier that I’m onto something!

My gal Lee Ann (AtHome Beauty) said she’d reach out to florist to see if we could get some donations, based on my idea, and I’m thrilled to say that Holly from Holly Hanna Florals was game for the idea. I did supplement with greens from Trader Joe’s (I needed quite a lot) but I was pretty happy with the outcome. I ordered those butterflies from Amazon…and that was that! I was leaning towards a more midsummer night’s dream, garden-like, fairytale look, with subtle butterfly elements. Lee Ann, of course, killed on the hair and makeup, and well…this beauty just came alive.

What I loved most about it was that she didn’t even know what we were doing till she showed up, and allowed me to have complete creative control and freedom. Happy to say she loved the photos and that is just the bees knees to me.

If you want a beautiful look at the day, be sure to watch the film below!