I Was There Too is a series of conversations I am having with photographers and medical moms who are telling stories of life for families with medical complexities. This time I am talking with an Edmonton based photographer who has told our family’s story.
Meet Kelly Marleau of Fiddle Leaf Photography.
I originally met Kelly at the first and only photography walk I have ever attended. From there I ended up mentoring with her a number of different times and finally booked her for a family photography session in October 2018.
Kelly met me at our house after work and together we walked over to pick up kids from daycare and dayhome. She then spent the rest of the evening documenting our crazy little family.
I love the way Kelly was able to capture so many of the details that described our family at this point in time. I’ve talked about it before but it is some important for me to see myself in my family’s story because I was there too.
Below is the slideshow Kelly put together from our session. And if you are really feeling like you miss the Wolfe Pack circa 2018 you can head over to my blog post about our session.
I Was There Too Conversation
Kelly is an amazing photographer and photography educator. In this I Was There Too conversation we chat more about her photography work, mentoring other photographers and what’s next for Kelly with Clickin Moms.
The following are a few excerpts from our conversation that stuck out for me. They are time stamped for your convenience in case you want to skip ahead to a particular topic of conversation.
Design Blog to Clickin Moms Pro
1:00 “I’m not one of those photographers who picked a camera up in high school and stuck with it. I literally fell into it. I was actually writing a home decor blog and I needed better pictures of the rooms I was doing and so I bought a camera and the rest is history.”
Lifestyle vs Documentary
9:30 “Most people need to ease into a documentary session. They want to have a session with me and they’re expecting a lot of direction and I’ll give as much direction as a family needs. They’ll do one session with me…and then the next year they’re ready for a half day in the life.”
Monday Me Project
11:30 “I had been doing different project with my kids. My kids were growing up and they were tired of it…I had to find something different. So that year I decided to focus on self-portraits.”
13:55 “I fell in love with it. It’s a self portrait every Monday of the entire year. I carried on and did it the next year as well. It’s amazing to see the progression. I can look back at the photos and see the emotions I was working out at the time.”
Here are a few of Kelly’s tips for those of you thinking about your own Monday Me project.
- Choose a day to keep you accountable
- Pick a time you will be alone in your house
- Try new things
- Have realistic expectations, sometimes it will just be your hands holding a coffee cup
Kelly tipped the scales for me and this year I am doing my own self portrait project. I started talking about it in my last blog, This is (Almost) 40. You can learn more about Kelly’s Monday Me project in her blog for PopSugar or her blog on her website.
School Photography Sessions
20:00 Interested in learning about how Kelly set up her school photography sessions. She talks all about it near the end of our chat.
You can find Kelly over on her website, Fiddle Leaf Photography or if you want to get to know her a little better she does a ton of stories over on Instagram @fiddleleafphoto
UPDATE!!
Lifestyle at Home is now live
And here’s my review…
This breakout perfectly describes the experience of working with her. Kelly has photographed my family in our home and she has mentored me on my own photography journey. Kelly and Jenny have done a phenomenal job of clearly laying out how to photograph families in their homes with a breakout that applies to both new and experienced photographers. And as always the images speak for themselves!
Lifestyle at Home includes everything from preparing clients for a session to troubleshooting the challenges that arise when photographing real life. I wish this breakout was around when I was starting my own business, and I will definitely be sharing it with the students I mentor.
Kristy Wolfe