As I write this today I am 36-years-old (and 1/2 lol.) I struggled for a very long time with answering for myself this very basic question: do I want to have children. Admittedly it’s a loaded and serious question, but when so many other factors seem to have fallen into place a long time ago now, I was baffled by the fact that I was still having such a hard time answering it one way or the other. When you’re in your twenties some people know already, but a lot of people don’t and that’s pretty normal, there’s a lot to figure out still: Career, finding a partner… heck, who you even are and what you want out of life. But here I was, mid-30’s and everything was pretty much wonderful. I’d worked really hard on getting to know myself, to know what I wanted, then I worked really hard to get it. I had gone to college, I had traveled, I had a career I was passionate about, I was married to my best friend, we’d moved to my dream city, and I hadn’t put any of my dreams on hold to have a family too early, and yet, I was hesitating big time. It wasn’t even like I could tell you for sure someday I wanted them. So then maybe I just didn’t want them? Ah, not so fast. If that were the case, that’d be pretty obvious too, wouldn’t it. So if I couldn’t walk through door number 1, why was is so hard to walk through door number 2? Why did it feel like even though I couldn’t see it, even though I didn’t know what it was, I knew I’d be losing something big?
It’s because I would be. I didn’t really get to witness it until I started photographing families, but creating a family is something really magical. Now don’t let me downplay how difficult parenting gets, I don’t doubt that the hard days are HARD. But man, what I get to witness is so incredible. And still, I only get to see a sliver of how hard and how wonderful. But the little connections between siblings, between parents & their littles. The sparkle in the eyes, the big, genuine smiles or bursts of laughter.. that’s the stuff we live for. We get to make our own families, how freaking COOL is that!! It’s pretty darn incredible. I think I’m starting to get it guys… 😉 Meet Chelsea, Dave, and all their adorable little ones! One of the families who invited me along to hang out with them and gave me a peek at all that yumminess, all the love and all the giggles and come out of thin air when you have a family. Thank you guys for allowing me to capture these moments for you! You have a really beautiful family!
Check out their day below. Gallery here.
Music credit: “Storybook” by Analog Heart. Licensed by Musicbed.
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Laëtitia Donaghy is a French-born, Chicago-based, international photographer focusing on weddings and elopements. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Art with a focus in Photography, and a minor in Political Science from Florida Atlantic University. She brings to her weddings and portraits her Fine Art training in order to bring forth the realness and emotion present, and showcase people’s relationships. Her focus is on preserving as much of the day as possible and keeping it as honest as possible. She travels the world for weddings and other assignments. She has been published on the web and in print.
“In every conceivable manner, family is the link to our past and the bridge to our future.”
– ALEX HALEY
What a sweet family portrait session! I love all the fall colors and the range of emotions you captured!
Thank you so much! Fall is a great time for these types of sessions!