Cat and the Fiddle Photography was named after my favorite nursery rhyme. I’m drawn to the musical connotations of the name, as I grew up with bluegrass and fiddle music. My dad and children are talented musicians—but it definitely skipped my generation.
Read MoreI LOVE to travel; sand between my toes, city streets beneath my feet, uncharted waters—all of it. I’ve filled passports with stamps and had to get new ones. My grandmother worked for the UNDP and did stints in Laos, Namibia, and Mongolia, amongst other places. I want to be like her whenever I decide to be an adulty adult.
Read MoreI’ve always been highly uncool—but motherhood, marriage, and adulthood have allowed me to appreciate the individual beauty in everyone and in their relationships. I find and reflect the authenticity of your family by connecting with you on a deeper level. I often find we are kindred spirits, which allows me to capture your true selves so you can avoid trying to fit into a certain mold of beauty or “coolness.”
Read MoreMotherhood didn’t come easy for me, at least not on the second try. After my uneventful first pregnancy, we experienced three painful losses, and it about broke me. We welcomed our miracle baby two years later—our only girl! We were overjoyed with two more surprise pregnancies after that, but all those months of heartbreak and uncertainty left a mark on my soul. When I think about parenthood and family, I’m never without a grateful heart.
Read MoreI’ve been called the Dad Whisperer; I’ve got some mad skills when it comes to working with husbands and partners (especially the reluctant ones), which is exactly why I make sure to pay extra attention to them in every session. I make jokes, connect with their kids, sing the theme songs to their kids’ favorite TV shows, talk about video games they like, laugh at everyone’s silly behavior, give them props for being a good husband, and praise them for raising such great kids. The results are portraits they love.
Read MoreOn any given weeknight, I play chauffeur for my kids to dance class, where I pretend that I’m stressed by the driving back and forth, but really, I appreciate the time shooting the shit with my dance mom friends. Alternatively, I cook two dinners at home (one for kids, one for adults: yes, we’re that family, and I don’t even apologize for it). I then watch Real Housewives while defending my crappy TV choices to my husband.
Read MoreOne of the things I’m most proud of are the numbers of families who come back to me year and year to create a photographic time capsule. Sitting with a client and looking at her series of annual photos, I was struck with a deep feeling of envy; I wanted what I had given her! As a mom, a woman, a friend, and a peer, I felt sad and jealous and happy and fulfilled all at the same time; as a professional, it was one of my proudest achievements.
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