Featured: BYU TV + Erin + Ashley’s Sister Shoot

I had the privilege of being interviewed for BYU Weekly about this whole crazy philosophy I’m touting that being photographed can actually be fun. Instead of cheek-aching uncomfortable pose holding torture. Whoduh thought, huh? You can watch my segment here:

(my piece starts at 14:00)

(And agghhh, PLEASE ignore my use of “dilly-dally”. No worries. I’m a cartoon character, apparently. Also my crazy talking with my hands makes me want to punch myself a little bit.)

Annnnd bonus: the shoot I was doing during the piece? I held a contest for sisters for the chance to be part of the fun during the filming of the segment, and I had to choose Erin. Here are some things she said about her sister, Ashley:

“I saw your give-a-way for a sister shoot and my heart jumped for joy! The reason I got so excited about this give-a-way has mostly to do with the timing. I was just reflecting today about my relationship with my sister, Ashley. She is going to be married in December and that caused me to think about how our relationship is going to change once she is married. I reflected upon how our relationship has changed over the years. She has always been so mature, even when she was little, so she was always teaching me and showing me how to do things. I can even laugh now about the time that she told me she would eat dog food if I ate some first. I ate the dog food and then she tricked me and refused to eat some after I had already done it!

As most sisters encounter at some point in their relationship, I remember having ridiculous arguments with her over clothing, make-up, and all sorts of ridiculous things. I remember eating dinner one night and after saying something offensive to her, she responded by throwing her hard shell taco bell taco at my face! (Have you ever been slapped in the face with a hard shell taco bell taco? Ouch!)

While we have butt heads more than a few times throughout our lives, and while I still do not always understand my sister completely as we are so very different, I love that woman! I love her for all of her wonderful talents, beauty, and kindness, as well as her imperfections and shortcomings. I love her for the constant patience that she has shown me throughout my entire life.

Before she gets married, I want to document the way our relationship is right now, this very minute,

(and somehow capture the wild spectrum of love, emotion, change, and growth that we have experienced as sisters throughout our lifetime growing up together)

and show her how much I love and appreciate all that she has done for me up to this point in my life.”

Isn’t that beautiful? Coming into the shoot knowing how Erin feels about Ashley, I was awash with awe at the wonderful gift it is to document such beautiful relationships.

Thanks so much, Erin and Ashley, for being such good sports with the cold and not one but two cameras in your face! Thank you for letting me in on your love for each other–it was an absolute joy.

If you love somebody, too, we should talk about documenting it. Like, pronnnto. brookebee at gmail dot com.