an evening with the beam family
the beams.— this session was published in the 2025 spring issue of Feels Like Family as a 'Story Worthy’ feature, along with me being named as an ‘Artist of the Season’ (pg. 107-115)
Here’s the article I wrote about the session that was also published;
“The session that almost wasn’t. I was on my way to the Beam home when the interstate suddenly came to a halt. I immediately texted Mae to let her know I was stuck behind an accident and that I was going to be late. After inching my way down a couple miles – the session start time long since come and gone, I was finally on my way again. Traffic had just started moving as normal when Mae texted that the kids were starting to get cranky and asked if we should reschedule. I was almost there so I said let’s go for it and if it starts going downhill, hey at least we tried. But surprise surprise, through setbacks we got magic.
We threw out our plan of doing a more “traditional” session at their neighborhood park, in favor of staying at home, letting the kids lead, and going with the flow. After a kitchen dance party and a front yard picnic, the kids wanted to ride their bikes before bed. While Asher and Emmett zoomed around, Isla was not about to let her brothers leave her behind. She was adamant that she ride her bike too. As Jake helped her adjust the seat and ride down the sidewalk, Mae told me that was the first time she’s ridden a bike. They’ve had the bike for awhile, but she hadn’t had any interest until that moment.
This session was extra special because shortly after we took these, they sold their house. This was the house where Mae and Jake built their family, it was the only house the kids have ever known. This house served them well, but it was time for them to move on. So as stressful as getting to the session was, I’m thankful for it. Without being an hour and a half delayed, we wouldn’t have gotten these photos. We wouldn’t have documented their everyday evening routine in this home. Would we have liked the photos of what should’ve been more? Maybe, but I don’t think so. As this session was unfolding, it felt like everything fell into place and this is what I was meant to document for them.”
