Our Story

This morning I noticed that Facebook added some kind of story feature thing to our business page, so I figured it would be cool to tell our story there. It’s a story I’ve repeated in various bits and pieces over the years, but most haven’t heard it in it’s entirety and I definitely don’t have it written out anywhere. As Photographers, we consider ourselves the artists that illustrate the pages of our client’s family history books. Stories are important to us; we love them. It seemed fitting for us to share ours.

So after I wrote & posted our story, I couldn’t find it on Facebook. Not being super familiar with this new feature I got nervous that it would like maybe disappear in 24 hours or something, so I figured I’d copy it here. See, I’m all about preservation.

Once upon a time there was a young girl who liked to write poetry and take pictures. She grew up and pursued a career in business. She earned her master’s degree in Human Resources and worked in that field for many years …and she loved every minute of it. But she never stopped taking pictures. She took A LOT of pictures. In 2009 God called her family to adopt a child from Africa. A friend suggested she help fund their adoption by taking pictures in exchange for donations to their adoption fund. That sounded like a good idea and God used those donated funds to bring her son home. However, even after her son was home, the phone kept ringing with people who wanted to be photographed. Soon she found herself taking more and more pictures, and eventually she transitioned from her career in HR to a full time career as a photographer. Things were going so well that in 2015 she asked another talented photographer to join her. Lynn joined the studio as an additional family photographer, and has since expanded her photography offerings to include Fresh 48s, Boudoir, Proposals, Events, and Preschools.

A year later a woman named Sarah invited her for coffee to chat about photography. During that discussion, and much to the surprise of both women, she asked Sarah if she’d like to train to become the studio’s newborn photographer. The women looked across the table at each other with a delighted shock, and agreed to pray about the decision. It didn’t take long for God to confirm that this was the right step for Sarah and the studio, and by faith Sarah became the studio’s official newborn photographer in 2016. Since that time, the studio has increased in creativity, props, knitted goodies and doubled in the number of newborns we are blessed to snuggle and photograph each year.

The name Mercy Street Studio. Well, that’s where she believed she lived, right in the palm of God’s mercy – continually being blessed with more goodness than she could ever deserve.

The photo that accompanies this story is our most-photographed family, and represents the most precious and unexpected aspects of being photographers: the milestones & family history we’re trusted to capture and the relationships we’ve built with our clients and their families over the years.

 

Ultimate Senior Portrait Session | Exeter High School

Somewhere in mid-September I fell waaaay behind on blogging our Ultimate Senior Portrait Sessions, which were a BLAST this year. We had more of these sessions than ever before, and more adventures than ever before.

Molly’s session was definitely high on our list of fun and adventure.

Molly’s mom was the mastermind behind planning her session. She wanted sunflowers, which were in bloom in MA…but also a little bit of an urban feel, and also some nature, and water, oh, and some beach.

No problem.

We plotted out our trip: Newburyport, Plum Island, Colby Farm.

We met Molly and her mom in downtown Newburyport on one of those perfect weather days, sunny and just the right temperature. The storefronts were bursting with gorgeous window boxes in full bloom. Molly introduced herself with poise and confidence and showed us her wardrobe which was piled deep in the back of her mom’s car.

Not only is she a natural beauty, but she’s a girl who knows what she wants. Being a nature lover, she decided that shooting in downtown Newburyport didn’t really feel like her, so we headed over to the park to grab some shots where we were surrounded by nature, and then down by the waterfront. After a quick outfit and hair change, we hopped in our cars and met at Plum Island.

Time was flying by and we could feel the sun sinking lower with every passing moment. We needed to get to the sunflower farm before it was too late. We hopped in our cars like we were in the Amazing Race and set off towards our next destination.

The farm was magnificent. The sun was in the exact perfect position when we arrived. We walked quickly from our cars to the field as that warm golden light was covering the field and I knew it wouldn’t last long. Even though there were people EVERYWHERE, with each frame it was like Molly was the only one there.

As the sun set behind the trees, a residual burst of orange/pink sprung up from the sun’s setting glory and we soaked in every last bit of it.

What an amazing senior portrait session, and kickoff to a most unforgettable senior year.

 

 

Strength | Maine Newborn Photographer

Every now and again in life, someone crosses my path with a story that touches me.  It is plain to see that this mama is stunning on the outside and that her sweet girl is the epitome of adorable.  But what they cannot show are the details of her journey.   And if those could be laid bare before us, we’d see so much.  Most of all, I think we’d see the sheer inner strength of this young woman.  I pray these photos captured a fraction of it.  

The journey of motherhood ahead will not be easy either.  But the rewards are infinitely greater than the struggles.  Blessings on the road ahead!

 

I do it for the snuggles

~Sarah