Helloo and welcome to another installment of the “But Brooke…” series, in which we address what’s realllly on your mind when you’re thinkin about hiring a photographer.
 
Your kids. What they’re going to do, or not do, during a session. Let me guess, your kids don’t love sitting still and listening to adults boss them around? Hm. What’s that? They don’t smile on command, or do anything on command for that matter?
 
But let’s take it one step further–do your kids pee, vomit, cry, and/or scream at photo sessions? Guess what, friend.
 
ALL of these things have occurred at my photo sessions–and even in the SAME session.
 
You want to see those photos, right?
You’re looking at ’em. (Full session here.)
 
I’ll tell you a few secrets.
 

1- I thrive on the chaos.

 
I actually get a little nervous when kids listen to me too well. I’m counting on kids to give me their personality, their spontaneity and their spirited selves–it inspires me. So even if it includes tantrums or blank stares, I adore playing off the natural fun kids bring and I don’t try to stifle it.
 

2- Getting a fabulous photo takes literally less than a second.

 
I know that kids only have to listen to me or look at me or look like they’re having a great time for a fraction of a second while I press the shutter. Now, is setting everything up so those moments happen at the right second a skill? If you’ve ever tried your hand at capturing blissful loving moments on camera you’re prolly nodding furiously right now. Yes, it only takes a split second–but finessing that split second into existence and capturing it properly with light, motion, emotion, and technical stuuuff all aligned? That’s why dey call me a professional, m’friend.

 

3- Your job is NOT to make your kids listen to me. (woop!)

 
That’s right, you’re completely off the hook! You might even have fun at this session huggin and kissin your significant other and your babies. My job is to make sure kids do what I need–and I’ll always tell you if it’s not happening, but really, your job is to show up ready to love and be loved. My job is to get those loving, oozing-with-happiness photos every time, and I do it whether your kids are “angelic” or bouncing off the walls. Pretty sweet deal, right?
 
WARNING: this only works if you hire a photographer you completely trust, whose work you love, love, love. This means you’ll have to have looked at the photographer’s work more than a session or two. This also means you need to be willing to go along with every crazy idea your photographer presents, for best results. For more about what your photographer wishes you knew before your photo session, snag my free guide via email here.

Alright, let’s finish it off with the other secret weapon:

Having your session at home.

Home means your kids are more comfy. They get all sorts of excited to show me their space, their toys, their world. But through the most cynical lens, home is also an enclosed space, wink. So even if your kids are bouncing off the walls, we can still make lovely photos mid-bounce because there’s less chasing-around-the-open-field happening.
 
So, here’s the part where I wrap it up with a sales pitch because I absolutely want to shoot your clan of favorite humans no matter how crazy, wild, or weird–in fact, the weirder, the better. If you’re interested in a family shoot, let’s chat about your family photo session. 

Well hi and welcome to the first installment of the “But Brooke…” series, where we dive in to all the reasons why you’re NOT hiring a photographer right this second.
 
Cause we all know that preserving memories is what it’s all about and I could tell you a hundred lovely sob stories about what documenting your family means over the long haul–think about your grandchildren! timeless priceless family heirlooms! daily love reminders to keep goin in the crazy world of family life!, but I feel like we’re kinda past that. Real things get in the way. We’re gonna talk about em.
 

First I will admit that I am kiiiind of vain.

 
As in, every photo in which I do not look amazing never sees the light of day, regardless of how freaking adorable my children look. Every time I look through photos, I look at myself very first and only notice what my babies are doing if I look hawt. Aggghh, cue monkey-hands-over-eyes-emoji! But I’m admitting this to the internet cause I got a sneaking suspicion that you’re the same, mama. You need to look powerful, loving, and incredible in these family photos. And you’re not sure if I can do that, cause other photographers haven’t done it for you in the past.
 
So let me say: yes, I can make you look good. But not only that–I WILL make you look good, cause we share that monkey-hands-over-eyes secret that this piece of the puzzle is a big piece. I get you. I’m here to take care of you.
 
Because I’ve been on the other side, too, getting photos back of my family that made me want to hide in a corner, not because the photographer didn’t capture my family’s love or connection or my kids’ cute cuteness–but because I didn’t look great.

I’ve photographed hundreds and hundreds of women, of all shapes and sizes with “good sides” and “chubby arms” and “ugly knees” and insecurities and hearts of gold. I know how to make you look your most beautiful from a purely scientific posing standpoint thing–like we could get super technical and talk about the way I’ll position you so you don’t get a double chin, how I’ll make sure your arms are always in the best looking place.
 
But the core of it is, I know the nuts-and-bolts stuff of flattering women in a photograph. And beyond capturing moments, before art, beyond connection, I care about you treasuring these photos because they look like the very best version of you.

Here’s what Jennifer had to say:

“Oh my gosh, Brooke, HOW did you make me look so beautiful? It’s funny because my entire life I’ve dreaded having pictures taken because I always hate the way they turn out. You have serious talent and I’m so glad we got a chance to see ourselves through your photos.”

 

But WAIT, Brooke, does this mean you’ll just photoshop me into “looking good”?

liquify whatever to drop the 10 lbs?
Confession: I don’t even KNOW how to do that. This is regular real flattering stuff all done before the shutter button is pressed. Not photoshop fakery. I don’t believe in it, and in your heart you don’t really want it either.
 
If you need a photographer who can make you look good in photos, I’d love to be your lady. Brooke Schultz is a family and wedding photographer based in Salt Lake City, Utah and she knows how to make ladies look good, it’s true. Let’s chat about your photo session.

they found their forever home and it is almost as graceful as they are.

 

And if you’re interested in family photos that are full of heart and anything but cheesy, let’s make some. Check out all the details for family photo sessions here, and let’s chat about your session here.

i’ve been trying to transcend the mundane for 25+ years now.

 

i got an early taste of the moondance that is inspiration, swimming around in deep waters, experiencing and making art. first it was music, then words, now photographs. and at every turn i’ve covered my eyes at taxes and mail and applications and logistics of all colors–but what they don’t tell you about being a mom full time is that you are a logistics manager extraordinaire–schedules and appointments and keeping track of important crap, plus all the important crap only multiplies with the consequences ballooning up too when you have a child with special needs.

 

so squirming under that pin and trying to keep your head to the sky and your heart to the stars while cleaning up a constant trail of bodily fluids and library books–this, i finally realized, is my struggle: trying to stay big in a world piled up with the urgent small.

 

here’s your reminder, mamas and papas, that the quiet work you do is outside the realm of the measurable tinies.

 

keep your head full of sky and your heart blooming with stars, cause even if it doesn’t clean your house it will be the breath of a real life, one littered with love and full to the top.

If you live in southern California and you really want photos of your family that tell the whole story–the love and the bliss and the sacrifice too–I’d love to photograph your family.

sicker than sick with baby #2 and rain beating down the windows but every phase of life and mothering calls to me. it’s not fair to show only rainbows when there’s heartbreak too, for all of us. it’s all there, all the time–the bliss moments and the tear drop moments, dancing together, taking turns being in the background or the front.

 

navigating that dance makes me sigh–it’s complicated and i do it so messily, so badly lots of times. the older i get the more i give myself and everybody else more generous points for the trying.

and if you want to have photos of the whole story of your family, I’d love to photograph you with your best people in their favorite places. Let’s chat about your family session.

it’s better to be ridiculous than to be boring, i preached to them. just look at this shirt i’m wearing and remember that. and that shirt? it shed all over the floor like a freakin dog (an emerald green fringy dog with questionable fashion sense) which was absolutely ridiculous, so, mission accomplished.
 
i’ve been my share of ridiculous. i’m much more proud of those moments than the times i’ve been pitifully boring, wanting to fade into the background and melt into the floor and have no one notice me. i still find myself wanting to hide, find some normal status quo groove and kick back to ride for a few years. stop getting fired up about things. stop ughing back and forth between this need to be vulnerable, open, honest, real, and the desire to shell over.
 
which brings me to photo native. i joked about the nervous pee (hashtag pregnant) but standing up and laying my whole process and deep caring out there for you all to see and feel too was sky high flying and like walking on whipped air. it was a positively glorious experience to share and connect and be with so many wonderful like minded creators and my only regret is not having enough time to really talk, really see and hear on a deep level so many of you who were so kind to me.
 
we got to dive deeper in the shoot i led, with 13 of you wondering why in the world you signed up to listen to this dog-shirt-clad totally uncool person tell you about shootin a family. but you know–in the course of our shoot, magic happened. and before you roll your eyes cause i will confess i totes overuse the word magic–let me explain. a hundred different times these real, gorgeous moments would happen in front of us without me doing anything. it was pure family love unfolding all by itself the way it does when a dozen cameras aren’t on it. i kept pointing and whisper-screaming “this!!” and then with a chorus of head nods, we all sank in to that knowing: there’s something about family that transcends everything else, and all we gotta do is show up and pay attention to it.
 
ps–huuuuuge huge thank you to The FINDlab for so kindly sponsoring this shoot!
 
pps–want in on the cool things i make for photographers? drop your email here and you’ll get the juicy goods (and it’s freee, too. wiink.)

if you’re in orange county California or kinda near there and you’d love to have images of your family doing their lovey thing I make those kind of pictures so let’s chat about your photo session.

Here’s your permission.
 
To love something more than you should. More than is “professional.”
 
Here’s your pass to let inspiration fill you up with a zillion more ideas and projects than you can ever create in real life, to feel deeper than you’re allowed to, to laugh loud and obnoxious and dance like a lunatic in your kitchen even though your kids are not old enough to care. Here’s your permission to try ridiculous things that maybe and probably actually will not work even a little bit, to give that thing your whole best even if it’s not that bigga deal to everyone else, to buy impractical curtains and things that don’t make sense but just move you.
 
here’s your permission to live a life flying high walking that tightrope line between insanity and genius.
 
I had the incredible opportunity to teach at Photo Native this weekend, and we talked family photography. I shared my tips, the tricks and the how-tos, but more than that I shared that impractical piece of me that feels so deep, loves so hard and cares so. freaking. much about showing family after family their highlight reel–those moments that will give them strength to be patient through one more tantrum and wake up just one more day thinking, I still choose this. Even in the awkward dance of not knowing what this human who’s still dependent on you needs, exactly. Even in the heart ripping choice minutes–tough love and the spaces you finally realize how little is in your control, but simultaneously how huge your ripply impact is. To keep choosing family life when almost every outside voice is screaming ‘choose it as few times as possible’–that gets me way down under the surface.
 
if you really want to see bravery, courage, true love–look here. look inside families.

and hi hey hello if you’re still reading there’s a good chance you’re interested in a family session. see more family sessions here, or let’s chat about your session. (ps–if you’re in southern california, these were taken in–yes–january. so no need to wait for the fall, let’s get your family photographed n-o-w.)

Let me shoot your family this year?

Yes, in the first part of it, when you’re not really thinking about it yet–because that’s when I’ll be in your city, and also life doesn’t just happen in the fall.

And, for the first time, I’m offering something new. I’m calling ’em Home + Away Sessions. Cause fancy name, right! I’ve been shooting families exclusively in their homes and it is thrilling for so many reasons–your kids are comfortable there. it’s where your memories are made. it’s got so much meaning packed into every pixel because it’s all familiar, instead of some pretty park you’ve never been to.
But sometimes being photographed solely in your home is just toooo much. And you just can’t manage the making-it-picture-perfect part, no matter how many times I try to preach about love being the beauty and all that. Sometimes you just spin yourself into making excuses about how you’ll book a session at home once you’ve decorated a little more or after the remodel or or. And I get it.

So we’re going to slice off the best of both worlds and make a freaking delicious hybrid pie.

Here’s how it’ll go down.

I’ll arrive at your home and that’s where we’ll start. We’ll do snuggling and giggling. And we very well may stay there the whole time. But, if there’s another place nearby that’s meaningful to your family, we’ll head over there for the last bit of our session.

Cause if you’ve ever thought, gahh, my house is just.not.pretty.enough for an at-home session, here’s our chance. To use that one gorgeous corner with heavenly light and the front porch or the backyard with the bright red slide your two year old worships and then, to walk to Your Park or jaunt to The Beach or the one picturesque spot your living room wall kinda can’t live without.

Your Q’s are brewin. Here are the A’s.

So, what does our session include?

-Up to 2 hours of shooting in up to two locations–your home and, (only if ya want) somewhere meaningful to your crew. the closer the better (within a 20 min drive) so your kids aren’t completely DONE by the time we get to spot 2.

-50+ completely edited, hi-res digital files ready to print print print. Bye bare walls and frustration that there’s no proof you ever were there, living this wild and wonderful life with your kids.

But Brooke, my husband is like the opposite of into this. What do I saaayyy to that cute guy?

I happen to have one of those husbands, who shows up for family photos solely because he knows it’s important to me. If you’ve got one of these, I’d advise sticking with a full at-home session so we’re making glory as quickly as possible and not dragging into 2 locations. I promise to be quick, and since I photograph a guy who doesn’t love being photographed kinda all the time, I’ve got a few tricks up my sleeve. And hey, those tricks work–listen to this, from Jen right after our shoot: “Thank you so much for today. My husband said he enjoyed having our pictures done and that’s a first for him!” heh. proof.

But Brooke, how much does this cost? Christmas was like yesterday you know…

Two payments of $425. First payment is due to secure your spot. Final payment is due 2 weeks before our session.

How do I book?

Buttons comin at the end of this post!

What happens after I book?

I’ll send you a contract + questionnaire so I can get to know your family before our session. Once I have the contract, I’ll send along a welcome packet with more info about what to expect and how to prepare for our session. From there, we’ll talk location (if we need) and I’ll be available to answer questions + talk any more details between the time you lay down your dollars and the time we actually get to shoot.

What if we don’t have a home where you’re comin but we live near Portland/Utah/San Francisco + we want to come there?

Yes. Let’s do it. Destination family sessions work the same way–up to 2 hours of shooting with 50+ files, but I suggest one location so your kids are as happy as possible without trekking them all over the tourist sites. San Francisco friends, I’ll be in San Jose and Oakland, so if your home is near either of those spots/within an hour of San Fran, let’s do your home.

But Brooke, are you like, cool? I need a cool photographer for my family. Do people even like what you do?

Def not cool, can’t rock a beanie to save my life. but here’s the thing. I’d really, really love to shoot your family because it gives me all kinds of thrills, because I think it’s the most sacred, incredible, heart-wrenching, sweet work in the world to be part of a family and I get my kicks off seeing the love that radiates in that holy space–but. I know. The photography experience is way more than a wash of warm fuzzy. So I’ll let the peeeople tell you what they think.

“You perfectly captured my goofy little girl. You also managed to take a shot of me that I absolutely love which is super hard considering how hard us women are on how we look. There are so many treasures that you captured and I cannot wait to put these all over my walls!” -Jennifer

“Oh Brooke, the pictures are everything I was hoping for with a little somethin’ somethin’ extra that only you could make happen! I didn’t just want to have a keepsake of our faces, I wanted to preserve the nuances that are specifically us–the relationships that are each unique and dynamic–and you certainly brought that to the table.  Thank you, thank you, thank you for giving us this experience.” -Aubrey

“You made a day in our lives look beautiful while keeping it real. These are just so much better than I even imagined. Thank you. Just thank you.” -Claire

“Seriously, I can’t say this enough but thank you for the photos you did of us. It may sound cliche but it does not mean it’s not true when I say they are priceless to me. The session was chaos and magic all at once. AKA our real life.” -Jonathan Canlas

So here’s the part where you commit to showing up in your life, your memories, and all the things that are slipping through our “theygrowuptoofast!” fingers.

Buy a session for UTAH Feb 10 afternoon

SOLD OUT, thank you so much!

Buy a session for UTAH Feb 11 morning

Buy a session for UTAH Feb 11 afternoon

Buy a session for PORTLAND March 10 morning

Buy a session for SAN FRANCISCO April 8 morning

Buy a session for SAN FRANCISCO April 8 afternoon

Buy a session for SAN FRANCISCO April 9 morning

SOLD OUT, thank you so much!

Buy a session for SAN FRANCISCO April 9 afternoon

SOLD OUT, thank you so much!

and hey, thanks for realz for reading. couldn’t do it without you fabulous folks.