After a heavy spring shooting schedule, we are loving this slower pace of work! It can feel hard to be inspired shoot after shoot, amiright? There’s only so much peek-a-boo behind the camera a girl can play!

But seriously, we believe life was intended to be lived in rhythms. Rhythms of hard work, playful fun, and life-giving rest. We are soaking in the sunshine, the heat of the noon summer day, and our cold iced tea — and today we are contemplating all the ways we get inspired! 

1. Our Own Families:
With the kids out of school for the summer and family vacations on the horizon, there’s an abundance of fun to be had together. So much of our photography, and posing specifically, is geared around playful interactions. It can be hard to direct those interactions if you haven’t shared in a few similar moments as well.

Take the time to PLAY with your family. See what delights them, what delights YOU, and take note. Maybe it’s the way you get your little one to lay their head in your lap, maybe it’s the way your husband plays with your boys, or maybe it’s a quiet moment you want to hold onto. Your go-to prompt or signature pose just might come from one of these moments! But if not, you’ll still have your own memories with your family to hold on to.

2. Our Locations
We know you’ve had this happen: you arrive and see that beautiful light and just KNOW it’s going to be good! You might see framing or layering or beautiful flowers you know you’re going to love! We love a location that we know our clients can interact with - maybe it’s a stream or creek the family can play together in, maybe it’s flowers we know a little one is going to pick for his mama, maybe there are rocks or sticks that are just waiting to be claimed as treasures!

For all these reasons and more, we love getting inspired by our locations! Next time you’re out and about, look at all the opportunities you have around you! Seek out the good light, sure! But don’t stop there. Challenge yourself in some unideal scenarios if it looks like a great opportunity to play! You’ll become a better photographer as you step outside your comfort zone, and you never know what new favorite spot you might find! 

3. Other Creatives
We love being inspired by other creatives … but not just photographers! Actually, did you know we intentionally try to limit the number of photographers we follow? It was one of the funny things we both realized about each other when we started working together!

It can be hard to create your own art when you are constantly consuming the art of those in a similar field! However, we love the idea of following other creative accounts — whether it be interior design, cooking, writing, gardening, Christian bloggers, and the occasional organization hack — We enjoy them all! We love taking inspiration from another creator and applying it to our industry or work! Wanting some inspiration? Here are a few Instagram accounts we are loving lately: @nestinggrace, @magnolia, @floretflower, @lillieeatsandtells, @shea_mcgee, @eyeforpretty, @thehomeedit, @halfwaywholistic, @valwoerner, @sheworkshisway .