So here’s the thing. In case no one has told you - perfect is a a big, fat, stinking lie. It doesn’t exist It’s not real and it’s definitely not who I am.

In so many ways, I am NOT a perfectionist. I don’t strive to have the perfect family, the perfect house, the perfect body or the perfect life. And nor do I strive to take the perfect photo.

What I do do though, is celebrate the real. With a real family. In a real house with a real body (in all it’s squishiness). And I live a real life. It’s real in that I’m here. I show up every day. Some days I struggle to show up. Some days I show up in tears, or yelling. Some days I show up dancing and laughing. And yep, though I do strive to improve a little bit every day, I don’t aim for perfection.

Despite this, we seem to think we need to be perfect, and it’s something that is socially programmed into us from an early age. But perfect isn’t real. OR achievable. Or fun! In fact it’s the complete opposite. It creates more worry, more anxiety and we are never left feeling like we have achieved, because perfect doesn’t exist. My kids have come home from school saying the mantra ‘practice makes perfect’. It makes me really sad and I’ve stopped them and said no, practice doesn’t make perfect, it makes better. There is no such thing as perfect, but there is ALWAYS better. We can always improve on who we are, what w'e’re doing, how we treat others, how we parent our kids, but to aim for perfection sets us up for failure. Every. Single. Time.

So why am I writing a blog about this? Because I aim to take real photos. Not perfect photos, but real photos of real people and real families. I will take out of focus photos. I will cut someones feet out of the photo, and someones head. And if you’re lucky, someones feet AND head. And all you’re left with is a feeling and an idea. Do you know that I will also capture? You. Your family and your unique love for each other. I fully expect to see toddler meltdowns, babies will cry and need feeding, and need a nappy change. Kids will run away, or yell, or throw something, or won’t listen to what you or I say. And that’s normal. And that’s real. And I wouldn’t expect any less. And you know what? It’s ok. I want you to know that it really is completely normal. And almost every family have their moments. But what I want is for you to enjoy the time with your family and not stress about trying to be perfect for the camera. Or for me. Because I really actually don’t want to capture perfect. But I really, really want to capture real.