It’s a perfect fall evening, the air is crisp but not cold. The distinct sound of the street performer playing drums on his plastic buckets is one that is almost as much of a staple to Lansdowne St. as is the smell of piping hot sausages, peppers and onions along with the yelling of excited (and a bit crazed), lifelong Redsox fans. This is Fenway Park!

Pushing through the crowds, we ascend up a dark, narrow, concrete path that leads to an opening where upon exit you are almost blinded from all the lights. Then, the most exciting thing happens. As your eyes adjust, you take in place so saturated in color, a place so rich in history and just like that you are staring at the oldest ballpark in America! A place where since 1912, generation upon generation of die hard fans have been cheering on loyally; rain or shine, win or lose. The place where JFK’s grandfather threw the out the “first pitch,” where fans have stuck it out since 1918, just before Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees, until 2004 when the “Curse was Reversed.” You can’t avoid the excitement of such a place. And Tuesday night was just that exciting! It was my husband’s birthday and what better place to celebrate than out for a night of baseball with friends?! Cold beer, popcorn, the loud and vulgar heckler attacking player #9 on the Tampa Rays inning after inning (I’ll come back to that later), all added to the experience. “NOW, BATTING FOR THE BOSTON REDSOX, DESIGNATED HITTER DAVID ORTIZ!” Designated hitter huh? My husband so lovingly explained that his only job is to hit the ball. Although Ortiz does occasionally cover first base, designated hitters are not required to play offense and will often bat in the lineup for pitchers. “The pitcher’s don’t know how to hit?” I asked. He just kinda laughed it off and said they may know how to hit but it’s not worth taking the risk that they may get hurt during a play. As the evening went on, I noticed the pitcher warming up for the next inning. Then another. And another. How many pitchers does one team need?! LOL. Well, turns out there are opening pitchers, relief pitchers, closing pitchers etc. As you can probably by now tell, I’m not the most educated sports person there is but it got me thinking, these ball players are professionals. Their leagues are professionals, their coaches, managers, owners, all professionals. Yes, they love the game but let’s face it, baseball is a business. They are there to make money. If they don’t make money, they can’t continue to do what they love. Without making a profit, they don’t play ball. I’m sure that the pitcher for the Boston Redsox can hit a baseball and I’m sure the designated hitter can catch one. But to run this team like a professional business, they let each player do exactly what he is best at. And that is his only job. He is just expected to hit the ball. He is just expected to pitch the closing inning.

I often hear “You don’t photograph weddings? You don’t photograph families? Kids? What do you photograph?! What’s left?” I always find that a bit funny. It’s as if there are only weddings, families and kids as a career option for photographers. I guess that’s a little like me saying a baseball player catches, runs and hits. It’s the very broad, general idea but not at all how a professional team actually works. And it’s not how I work either. In answer to your question about what else is there to photograph, there are photographers who just photograph food, there are advertising photographers, photographers who just photograph pets or landscapes. There are some photographers who just photograph fashion, editorial, runway, red carpet, lifestyle, a day in the life of…I could go on and on. But I create fashion inspired portraits for women. And do you want to know my answer to why I only create fashion inspired portraits for women? It’s because I’m really, really good at it. Plain and simple. Yes, just like a hitter can also catch a ball, I can also photograph a wedding or a family portrait. But just like the professional leagues, I leave that up to someone else on my team…and by team, I mean colleagues. I don’t need to be the opening pitcher, relief pitcher and closing pitcher. Could I do it? Probably. But wouldn’t I be exhausted?! And I wouldn’t be able to give the best of me at all times. I want you to have the best of the photographer you chose. Getting married? Hire someone who specializes in weddings. Expecting a baby? Contact someone who just does newborns. Your family is growing? Time to book a family portrait photographer. Need a grooms gift (boudoir) or really feel the need to be pampered and celebrated? Then I’m your girl! I’m really good at what I do. And that is to pose people from their nose right down to their toes, to make them feel comfortable and to connect with them in a way that creates a portrait like no other. I understand there is a lot of emotion and urgency that goes into buying the services of a wedding photographer or newborn. But what is more urgent than having a portrait of yourself that you are proud of? One where you feel beautiful and comfortable? If you wait until you are perfectly happy with your body or the way you look, will your children’s children ever have an amazing portrait of you? Since your little girl learns from what you believe, not what you tell her, will she ever know what it’s like to accept herself? To think of herself as a beautiful, strong woman who deserves to be celebrated? Do you remember when you would watch your mother get ready for an evening out? You thought she was the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. You watched her apply her lipstick and maybe even helped with her pearls. You watched as dad lovingly kissed her shoulder and zipped up her dress on the way out the door. You have beautiful portraits of her because she was confident. She didn’t hide from the camera. What will your loved ones have?

Now, about that loud and vulgar heckler….yea, that was my husband. LOL.

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