Let me introduce myself...
My name is Sierra Nichols, owner of Sierra Marie Photography, and those two goofballs in that photo with me are two of my 10 nieces and nephews. (soon to be 11!) And everytime they come to visit I try to snap a picture or two with them.
When I was young we moved a state away from my extended family. I grew up only seeing my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents a few times a year. Then after I graduated high school I moved away for college and never really went back home to central Illinois. I hopped around quite a bit after receiving my degree, feeling a little like a nomad, before landing myself in Austin, TX back in 2017. It's the longest I've stayed in one city since being out of school. I think a big reason for that is due to my younger brother having moved here just a couple years before me.
Well over the last decade my siblings have been getting married and starting families, and since we are states away from each other I'm back to only seeing them once or twice a year. It's hard knowing the kids are growing up so fast and I don't get to be a part of their everyday lives. This is why the moments I spend with them are so important. Life is so fleeting and the days I get to see them feel like only a blip in time. I don't want to forget those moments. I understand how rare and meaningful those memories can be.
When I am photographing families, at all of their different stages of life, I am freezing those moments in time. I am providing them with something they can hopefully chrish for the rest of their lives. Look back on how little they were, how close they were as siblings, laugh about the fashion trends that have come and gone, and so much more. I have photographed a maternity session only days before they went into labor. I photographed a family with their dog that they had to put down a week later. I have photographed a 50th anniversary and the husband had unfortunately passed away shortly after. These experiences have changed me and the way I see my work. I'm not just out taking photos because it's fun to take photos, but because I know how fast life can change in the blink of an eye. Some moments in our lives move so fast, and it could be our last chance to document our time together.
So even though I may only be with you for thirty minutes, or maybe even an hour long session, and you may forget me years down the line... Your family will have these photos to look back on and remember your times together for decades. And THAT is why I enjoy taking family photos.
