Want to hear one of my worst memories?

First thing you need to know about me: I’m as sentimental as they come. I started journaling daily as a young kid because my deepest fear was losing records of cherished memories. When I was 12 and digital cameras were still new on the scene, my family took a gorgeous beach vacation. We came home and somehow lost all of the photos from the trip in a data transfer error. I still remember sobbing on the floor. (Poor baby Emily!)

That experience instilled in me a deep desire to safe-keep memories. When I took my first photography class in high school, it clicked. I knew then that this was the method of record-keeping I wanted to master.

Thankfully, I had a host of willing subjects to help me learn. Being one of the youngest kids in a large family meant lots of nieces and nephews for photography practice. I still remember the magic of developing my first black-and-white print of my oldest niece in my high school darkroom. Since then, my photography has grown right alongside my sibkids.

Now I’m chasing my own kids around with my camera and I just wish I could bottle them up forever. I am both devastated and delighted by how much they change in just a few months.

Here’s what I’ve learned from years of photographing kids: you’ve got to let them see you’re still one, too. So hire the fun aunt. I’m coming to your session with poop jokes, a prize box, goofy dancing and zero shame—whatever it takes to put your kiddos at ease and capture a genuine record of their personality. I guess it’s the closest thing I’ve found to bottling them up.