Mindy Fuller : Wife. Mother. Storyteller. I love words, so brace yourself for this long story of mine. 

I've heard it said, "the days are long, but the years are short."  The older my children become the more I'm realizing how very true that is. This is why my heart is dreaming about lifestyle photography. I want to document your right now. This season in your life. The little details of your day that will soon become a different routine.  Storytelling sessions are not about forcing your children to look and smile in the perfectly planned out pose. It's about watching them be who they are in these precious childhood days that certainly won't last forever. Don't wait until these every day moments have slipped through your fingers. Document your life.

Over the years I have documented many things and have met so many wonderful people. I've been a part of weddings and births and so many happy occasions. In this season of my life I feel a very strong pull to lifestyle photography. I want to see the tiny details of every day life and see the magic hiding there. In every family there is a story. This is mine. Let me help you tell yours.

On a day that seems like it couldn't have been so long ago, my children were small. They ran through the house on chubby little feet in their diapers and crazy bed head hair. Messy faces during meals and crumbs on the floor, but laughter filled the room like the morning sun. The to do list seemed endless, but they tugged at my shirt to watch them pretend they were fairies or heroes...and in their precious little minds, they were. They giggled and played as the day slowly turned into evening. There were tears, of course, but I don't as much remember them now. They squealed and splashed during bath time and water covered the floor that I should have already mopped. Pajamas and curls, they stood on the counter to be eye level with their daddy brushing their teeth and singing made up songs. Their tiny hands had dimples on their knuckles and they reached high in the air for me to hold them yet again, only moments after being put down from my arms. They nuzzled their little faces into my chest. I patted their backs, I twirled their hair, I held on tight even when my body was so tired. My husband's voice echoed from their rooms as he prayed over them, tucked in blankets safe and warm. I read one more book, I sang one more song, and slowly sleep came as we rocked and sang. Exhausted and sinking deep into my husband's embrace we would laugh and talk about the day as if these chaotic moments might never end. The very next morning everything would happen exactly the same way...or at least I thought it would. Before I knew it our same old routine had completely changed. They aren't so small anymore. They still need me, of course, but in different ways. I didn't realize those moments we were living in were so fleeting, just as they are today. 

My grandma was a lifestyle photographer before it was a thing. She had a Polaroid camera that she carried everywhere with her. She was always taking pictures of every little detail about her day. Everyone wondered why. I knew why. I always knew. She saw the magic in the every day. She was telling our story. There are countless pictures of moments we wouldn't even remember had her loving hands not pressed the shutter. She taught me how to document life. I'm named after her. She was Marie to those who knew her and I'm Mindy Marie. When I began to pick up a camera she immediately supported my love for taking pictures. She bought me rolls of film and always had coupons for double prints tucked away to give me. When my business began many years later I wanted to honor her memory in some way. She was the first one that inspired me to document life. It has always been about this for me. I found out one day that her sister had always called her "Ree" and I knew instantly that was it. This is where Ree Photography was born.