Ryder's BirthStory: Imagine. Believe. Achieve

"Let the beauty we love be what we do." 

-Rumi

"The starting point of all achievement is desire."  Strong desire only creates stronger results.  I give all of me in every shoot that I take on.   I think it is impossible not to when you get to do something you are so passionate about on a daily basis.   I become emotionally invested into my clients, their stories, and figuring out a way to truly capture the essence of the emotions that they are feeling at that exact moment in time.  I make it my goal to document it in a way that whether it be 5 months or 5 years later, the moment they look at those pictures ,they are instantaneously brought back to what they were feeling at that exact moment.  I am constantly planning, thinking, and trying to push myself to the next level and capture the beauty of life.

I never know when the moment is going to happen, and out of nowhere..... BAM!  There it is.....That feeling.  A feeling I had never really felt before and was unsure of what it was.  I can remember the exact times this feeling has happened.  The first time was when I was editing Kelly and Terry's wedding in October of 2009.  I began looking through the images from their day, and immediately felt overwhelmed with a sense of wonder.  A sense of "Did I really do this?"  A feeling that is powerful enough to stop me in my tracks and immediately trigger tears that begin to well up.  That moment happened again while editing this BirthStory.   I took the time to stop in that humbling moment, and take time to recognize it for what it is, a milestone in my creative journey.  It is what it feels like when an aspiration becomes a reality.  It is everything that I have worked towards and have tried to create staring at me through my iMac screen.  The realization that my vision was reached and now transcends into the next chapter of what I hold my creative standard to.    

(Below are a few of those images that triggered that moment.)

Kelly & Terry (2009)

and HERE is their wedding blog

There is nothing more rewarding than witnessing my clients watch their BirthStory or see their images for the first time.  They get a glimpse at the moments they may not have even realized were happening.  Snippets in time they will never get back.  When my clients thank me, I smile, but honestly, I feel as if it should be the other way around.  I hold such gratitude towards my clients.  They invite me into their lives.  They allow me to witness, document and become a part of their most intimate moments.  To Jen, Erik and every other client who has been a part of becoming the photographer and person I am today, shaped the artist I work towards becoming, and allowed me to dream a little bigger....I am forever thankful for you.

Here is Ryder's BirthStory.  Turn up the volume, grab some tissues, sit back and press play.   

Ryder BirthStory from LeLe Photography

Imagine. Believe. Achieve.