Every December, close to Christmas, all of the women {girls} in my family get together for an annual cookie exchange. It has been a tradition for 16 years. We each pick a new recipe, and make a dozen of that kind of holiday cookie to give to each person attending and exchange the recipes. So, think we each get dozens of different varieties of cookies to try through Christmas! We wear holiday aprons made by Grandma while decorating cut-out sugar cookies altogether at one house.
But mostly, we laugh. We laugh a lot, we laugh at each other’s decorating skills and talk about silly things. We also eat brunch, and this year we had homemade wine made by my talented cousins. Wine makes everything more fun. (haha)
Ohhh and even better this year we had those most incredible opportunity to capture it all! We had the honor of having Blimie T Photography, family storytelling photographer extraordinaire present.
Who is she, you ask?
What does a family storytelling photographer do?
Well, let me tell you about her and the beauty that she does. First, her name is Blimie, that is pronounced blee-mee. She is ahhhh-mazing!
Here is what she says on her website;
“There’s uniqueness to your family’s story, and documentary photography captures it for eternity.
Staged poses just don’t make the cut when life is chock full of color, action and smiles!
Get real with pictures that tell the story of YOUR life in a raw, organic way.”
So, let’s just say I was more than excited to have her in our home with my family to capture such a special long-lasting tradition.
I was telling my family about my idea to have her come. They at first thought I was a weirdo, and wondered why on earth I would want a stranger come over and take random unposed pictures while we just did our thing. I explained that to them she was professional and to just act natural, and to pretend that she wasn’t even there.
I gave Blimie a background of our tradition, and invited her over. She greeted my whole family with love and told everyone, “just act natural,” I reassured them to be themselves and go on as they were. They saw her work, and knew in the end, we would end up with beautiful results.
Blimie has a gift. She walked around, was up and down, snapping photos at different angles, and always found the right moment to capture. This year we held our cookie exchange at my mom’s house, and my mom is like Mrs. Claus. Her home was decorated so beautifully, and you could feel the magic of Christmas. Every year she does this, and it is something I look forward to every year.
But this year, Blimie T Photography caught the spirit of Christmas, our tradition, on camera. She took endless amounts of photos of us laughing, crying, decorating, the small moments, the silly exchanges, each moment embraced, embarrassing moments…every single moment. How? Because she was IN the moment, she was there.
She was able to tell OUR story through pictures.
I was there, I felt like I knew what the photos would turn out like. I was wrong. They were more than I ever expected. Just days later, she was ready and came back over and presented us with a slideshow of our day. I was blown away.
My mom, and I and my daughter watched it together. We laughed during it, we got teary-eyed and were able to re-live moments that didn’t even realize happen. We were in the moment and she caught it. Captured forever in beautiful photos. A memory to last a lifetime. Photos with my grandmother, which is my daughter great-grandmother, cousins, aunts, my mom, all of there together. Generations all together celebrating a Christmas tradition.
We then went through each photo one by one, and really looked at each one. We noticed things that we didn’t notice before.
Most importantly we got to relive the JOY we felt in those moments. We are a close family, and Blimie was really able to capture that.
Blimie T Photography absolutely captured the spirit of Christmas and my family that day. I will be forever grateful for these photos.
————————
Blimie T Photography is a full service storytelling photographer based in Milwaukee, WI and services the Southeastern Wisconsin area including (but not limited to) Milwaukee and surrounding areas, Waukesha County and Ozaukee County.
From her website:
“DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY might sound stuffy and official, but it’s just the opposite! I actually prefer to call it “Family Storytelling”. It’s an honest, raw peek into your family’s life. It’s capturing the seemingly mundane happenings that are the essence of your life, so you can look back and relive the emotions of the moment.
Your family is Authentic. Original. And Just Plain Awesome! I want you to see it and feel it. Really feel it. And when your children grow up, they’ll be able to see and feel the love and devotion you poured into them.
For me, documentary family photography is more than a photo shoot. It’s creating a family history, and preserving those moments of love for your children to cherish forever. If you have any more questions at all, please feel free to CONTACT HER HERE.
You can find her on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM and learn more on her WEBSITE.
————————
Do you have a moment, a day-in-the-life, tradition, special event or snapshot of our life that you would like captured? Contact her, run the idea past her. She is amazing and has the best ideas, and is so personable and kind and willing to listen and help you find the right moment to story-tell.
I promise, you will love it. You will love her. I am so thankful.
Join Blimie’s EMAIL LIST + learn fun things and tips like how to capture the perfect moment!
{ SUBSCRIBE HERE }
Tell her The Lake Country Mom sent you!
Leave a Reply