Motherhood in the Studio: Insights from a Business Owner Balancing Work and Family

My sweet daughter Adelaide will turn two this summer, and for much of her little life she has been following me into my photography studio while I set up for sessions, clean up after cake smashes, photograph products, package up client orders, and organize our props. Grayson was the same way, always coming into the studio with me at a young age and finding something to play with. I have always recognized what a gift this business is to our family. Beyond providing an option for me to be a small business owner, it’s shown my children what is possible for them, their lives, and their futures is only limited by their imaginations. 

Now that my children are growing up, looking back on each of the times they visited the studio is so meaningful to me. I remember Grayson always loved playing with my ONE letters and playing peek-a-boo in the curtains, and I have so many videos of him on my phone playing in our old studio and collecting all the sample baby photos so he could look at them. Of course, the studio’s snack cart has been a big hit with both of my kiddos, and they have both raided it more times than I can count!

Adelaide isn’t into playing with the ONE letters like her big brother was, but instead, every time she hears me say I’m going to go downstairs to the studio she has to grab one or two of her dolls and bring them down to the studio. She picks out little bed props and blankets, grabs a toy camera, poses her dolls, and says “cheese! cheese!” when pressing the button and pretending to take pictures of the babies. She is absolutely obsessed with babies, both real and pretend, and she loves greeting my clients at the door and peeking into their car seats to see their little ones. She knows the word “client,” and she understands that I take pictures of clients' babies and that I go to their houses to see their babies. It’s just… an incredible experience watching the two of them as an important part of my business. 

I love that my job allows me the flexibility to work from home while raising our children, and that my kids will both grow up seeing their mama build a thriving business. They get to see me follow my passion, be creative, share art with others, and work hard. I think that this might be my favorite part. They’re both going to see that women and mothers can do anything they want. It’s a lesson I hope they both carry forever, especially Adelaide. I want them to both feel empowered, strong, and creative in their own lives. I hope that they will remember these days in the studio while Mommy worked - chasing her dream - knowing that they can do the same, with whatever they choose to do in life. 

Beyond the work I do, both of my little ones truly appreciate the power of printed photographs, and they love seeing our family portraits up around our home. They both spend hours looking through our family photo albums. Grayson actually has a few digital kid cameras, and he can often be heard saying, “Wait! I want to take a picture of this so I remember it!” I just love that. 

The photos in this blog were all completely unprompted and taken in the studio. Adelaide was posing her little dolls while I was cleaning up after a session, and I turned around and saw this adorableness happening behind me. Another day she was in the studio and she wanted to try on all of the pretty dresses in the Baby Wardrobe. After she put the first one on, she insisted: “Cheese! Cheese! Picture!” And she ran over to the couch setup in my studio and sat herself there and smiled. When I went to take a picture with my phone, she yelled “No!”, hopped down, and pointed to my real camera. She asked me to put the monkey on it (a fun little attachment to help kids know where to look), and then she got back onto the couch and waited for me to take her picture. All unprompted. I couldn’t stop smiling.

I hope that my children will grow up knowing that they can do anything, be anything. I hope Adelaide will  be inspired by her mama to appreciate the power of printed memories, and to savor the little details in life. I hope the same for Grayson, and I hope that he’ll always remember those early days together spent growing this business alongside him. I’m forever grateful for these incredible moments with my babies in my little studio!