There are sessions I walk away from and think that was really nice. And then there are sessions I walk away from thinking I am so glad I get to do this for a living.
This was the second kind.
Casey and Derek are past wedding clients of mine. I photographed their wedding a few years back and watching them build their little family since then has been one of the quiet joys of doing this work for as long as I have. When they reached out about doing a Day in the Life session, I didn’t hesitate for a second. And when they told me what they had planned – a pancake morning with their toddler Ollie, who I hadn’t gotten to meet yet – I was already excited before I even showed up!
The Morning
I arrived at their home in High Point on a completely ordinary Tuesday morning. No special occasion. No big plans. Just Casey, Derek, Ollie, and the dogs doing what they do almost every morning – making pancakes together in their kitchen.
And I just got to be there for it.
That’s the thing about Day in the Life sessions that I can never quite explain until someone sees their own gallery. There’s nothing to perform. There’s nothing to coordinate. You just live your morning and I follow along quietly, watching for the moments that matter.
It didn’t take long for the moments to show up.
Ollie
Here’s what you need to know about Ollie: he is absolutely, completely, entirely himself. From the moment I walked in, this kid had a personality that filled the whole room. He loves making pancakes with his family and this is a regular Saturday thing for them, a little tradition they’ve built together – and you could tell. He wasn’t nervous about the camera. He wasn’t performing for it either. He was just busy doing his thing.
His thing included holding mini pancakes up over his eyes like little pancake glasses while his dad sipped coffee in the background. I almost laughed out loud behind my camera. So cute!
And then there was the milk in the measuring cup moment. Ollie has this little ritual where he takes a sip of milk out of the measuring cup while they’re cooking. Every time. It’s just his thing. Casey mentioned it to me beforehand and I made sure I was ready for it, and when it happened it was exactly as perfectly, and wonderfully “toddler” as I knew it would be.
These are the details that you don’t think to photograph yourself because you’re too busy living them. But they’re also the details that you’ll look back on in fifteen years and feel something so deep in your chest that you can’t quite name it.
That measuring cup sip is going to matter so much someday.
See: Recipes to make with your kids this season
The Dogs
I have to talk about the dogs.
Because apparently the dogs had their own opinions about pancake morning and those opinions were: we would also like pancakes.
At some point during the session both dogs made their presence very clearly known – showing up in the kitchen, being underfoot, being absolutely shameless about the whole thing. It was chaotic and funny and completely unplanned and it made some of my favorite frames of the whole session.
This is why I love documentary photography. You cannot plan for the dogs deciding they want in on pancake morning. You can only be ready when it happens.
Other dog treat ideas to make with kids!
A Note About Casey and Derek
I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it: past clients who come back are some of my favorite people to photograph. There’s a comfort and a trust that’s already there, and it means I can get quieter and closer and more present than I can with someone I’ve just met.
Casey and Derek were exactly that. Relaxed, warm, completely natural. They just let me be there, and that made everything easier and more beautiful.
Watching them parent Ollie from the easy way they redirect him, the laughing, the way Derek catches Casey’s eye over Ollie’s head in that way parents do… it was genuinely lovely to witness.
I’m so glad I got to be in your kitchen on a random Tuesday morning, you guys. These photos are going to matter so much.
What I Want You to See in These Photos
When you look through this gallery I want you to notice a few things.
Notice how nobody is looking at the camera in most of these photos. Notice how Ollie is just busy – busy stirring, busy eating, busy being a toddler who is absolutely in his element. Notice how Casey and Derek move around each other in the kitchen the way people do when they’ve been doing this together for years. Comfortable. Easy. Real.
This is what your family looks like when no one is watching. This is what your ordinary Tuesday morning actually feels like. And this is exactly what I want to give you – not a record of how your family looked on one day, but a record of how your family was right now, in this season, in this home, in this little life you’ve built together.
Interested in a Day in the Life Session?
If this session made you think I want that for my family – that’s the whole point.
Day in the Life sessions are one of my favorite things to offer because they capture something that a traditional family session simply can’t – the real texture of your everyday life, documented honestly and beautifully while you still have it.
Day in the Life sessions are listed on my pricing page. I’d love to get you on my calendar and create something that helps you hold onto this season of life a little more intentionally.
What are your family traditions? Get some ideas here!
Read more about what a Day in the Life session looks like here and then get in touch – I’d love to hear about your family and what your ordinary looks like.
Bekah Cabrejos is a wedding and family photographer based in North Carolina serving families across High Point, Greensboro, the Piedmont Triad, Charlotte, and beyond. View the full portfolio or get in touch to start planning your session.
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