Stacy Ideus Portrait

The story behind this day...
This was originally supposed to be a full family session with Erica, her husband, and their three kids.
Then Shoot Day happened.
One son woke up and chose violence... in the form of vomiting.
To make things even more interesting, the family was leaving for New York immediately after photos. Hair and makeup had already driven in from out of town and nobody really had the energy to reinvent the plan.
So Erica and Ruth decided to come anyway.
And honestly? It turned out to be one of those happy accidents that ends up being better than the original plan. Ruth got all the attention to herself, soaked up every minute of it, and absolutely glowed in front of the camera. She felt beautiful, celebrated, and completely seen.
Meanwhile, the family made it to New York, nobody missed their trip, and the full family session is now happening in August.
Not exactly how the day was supposed to go—but sometimes the best stories start with a kid throwing up.


hair & makeup by

We all end up in the soil eventually. So may you have such goodness that it enriches for centuries. (not sure where I heard this...)

Normalize random acts of kindness.
Buy her the photoshoot. No occasion. No milestone. No “we should really do this someday.”
Just a casual:
“Hey, I think you’re beautiful and deserve to exist in photos that aren’t blurry iPhone screenshots.”

Honestly, flowers die.
Photos last forever.
And nobody has ever cried happy tears over a grocery store candle.

If you could gift a photoshoot to ANYONE... well..... who would that be?