Carolyn Mara is one of the most talented & creative artists I know. Her photography and artistic nature make her a challenge to photograph though since her own work of her and her children is already stunning!

That being said, she happily agreed to allow me to direct and gave me total control over the virtual session so that I could capture the moments, scenes and points of view that she wouldn’t normally capture. What came of it made me so happy because this is the way I get to see her with her daughter and what I admire about her most.

She is such an incredible mother that watching her in action is inspiring and motivating as she is able to be present in the moment whenever it comes to her kids. (This isn’t easy for all of us… ahem.. well me)

She dresses her with the sheer delight of a mother who truly appreciates having a little girl.  She does her hair with patience and love making it look so inviting and lovely!  Her joy and appreciation over having a little girl after having two gorgeous boys, is palpable.  When they play together,  she pulls out her vintage dollhouse and Calico critters (saved by her own mother from the 90’s) and gets on the floor and plays. Few parents take the time to quite literally get on the floor and play with their kids but Carolyn isn’t one of them.

She plays games and reads books nightly complete with voices and dramatic interpretations. It is marvelous to witness and I cannot tell you how many of these things i have implemented into my own home life because of her. Painting is an everyday occurrence for a child like Adelia (no surprise considering her mom is a painter) but having photographs capturing what they do when they play is not. I love how she teaches her children to make a beautiful mess and lean in to wherever their creativity takes them.  I feel soo lucky to have captured just a sliver of her mama skills as well as her adoration for her daughter.