Hallmark has long been a source of tear-jerking marketing ads. Sentimentality is their job and they do it well. Still, I am struck with the realness of their latest television ad. The slogan behind their commercials is “Everyone has something they need to hear. Vow to tell them today.”

The idea is so very simple yet so incredibly poignant. The majority of people are pretty bad communicators when it really counts. It’s not just men either, women are often just as bad. We’re often too scared, selfish, or unaware to say what needs to be said. Almost all of us go through life assuming that the people we love know how we feel.

I tend to think myself a good communicator. I am confident, direct, and I try to say the things that others may be afraid to say. But four years after the death of my mother I still think of things that I wish I would have told her, or should have told her more.

Like all Mother-Daughter relationships, ours had our own differences and complications. When I was younger it was always easy to get caught up in those issues, in the day-to-day crap. As I grew up and moved across the country, the distance and my mother’s hearing disability separated us and made communication more difficult.

I told my Mother that I loved her, but it took learning I was going to lose her before I really realized how much. It’s often in loss and sadness that we realize the things that bring us the most joy. What would you say to your mother if it was the last thing she could hear from you? That is what she needs to hear today.

This Mother’s Day take the time to tell the mother in your life, be it your own mother, your mother-in-law, your grandmother, your sister, your wife, or your friend, exactly what she needs to hear.

It’s time for the Juniors to take the stage! We are currently photographing for our 2013 Model Team. Our models receive the opportunity for extra photo sessions, earn referral credits, get their photos on our 2013 marketing materials, and receive studio swag and perks. Apply HERE

Mother’s Day is not far away and it’s time to start thinking about what you are going to do for Mom this year. Mother’s Day has become as commercial as every other holiday in this country. We are bombarded by different things that our mothers are expected to want, chocolates, flowers, massages, jewlery, etc. But really, Mother’s Day is a day to really reflect on all that our mothers have given to us and to take the time to thank her.

This year why not make an impression with something that you both will treasure for years to come. Remind your mother just how beautiful she is with a Mom and Me Session. These sessions include a professional hairstylist and make-up application. Let your Mom see just how beautiful she is and spend the time together letting her shine. And don’t forget Grandma, she is a beautiful mother too!

Inner beauty is a term that many people use but what does it really mean. Most people associate inner beauty with some sort of moral decency or basic goodness, something completely separate from what people see. But the idea that “true beauty is on the inside” is, frankly, ridiculous. Beauty is something we see, hear, and feel. To me, inner beauty is the confidence, life, and joy that we show others that transforms us into something more than just the sum of our parts. It’s the shy smile, the warm laugh, and the twinkle in your eye that tells loved ones how you feel and makes strangers want to know you better. Inner beauty is not something you have to look past features to see, it is something that changes your features into something completely different.

The two examples of this come immediately to my mind are Ellen Degeneres and Julia Roberts. These are both widely recognized as beautiful women. Ellen is a Covergirl spokesperson and Julia has been America’s Sweetheart for nearly 25 years, but what is it that makes them beautiful?

Ellen Degeneres is an attractive woman to be sure, but hardly “typically beautiful.” She is 54, has the smile lines that come with it and, often avoids most things that are traditionally feminine. The fact that she is an openly gay woman has also not always helped her image in the mainstream media. But she has been accepted by Hollywood and is seen by the public as a beautiful woman. She is a Cover girl! To just look at her, Ellen is pretty but not all that special. Ellen’s beauty comes, not from symmetrical features or even from the charity work that she does, but from the joy that simply radiates from her when she smiles, speaks, and dances. It’s her inner spirit that has transformed her from a comedian whose career nearly tanked when she came out of the closet to the beautiful woman who has captured the heart of America.

Then take Julia Roberts. She is widely recognized as an absolutely stunning woman. She had the “Hollywood” good looks when she broke onto the scene in Pretty Woman and she has remained the very image of beauty and grace for nearly 25 years. She is America’s Sweetheart. As beautiful as Julia Roberts is, what makes her that way? I mean, her mouth and nose are both too big for her face, her naturally curly hair is, I’m sure, unmanageable, and her laugh is loud, and quite frankly, a little startling. But aren’t all of those the very things that made stand out, that made the world fall in love with her?

What sets these women apart is not a pretty face or a nice body but their ability to share their beauty with the world. But that’s not necessarily easy for every woman. So many women get so caught up in the things that “make someone beautiful.” She gets so caught up in the fact that she doesn’t have flawless skin or the perfect body shape that she loses the confidence that makes her beautiful. When we can accept who we are and love that person, that joy will transform anyone. It will make her beautiful.

Spring is in the AIR! Maybe some days more than others, but it is here. Bulbs are popping up, the cherry trees are starting to blossom, and we are getting more and more sunshine. If you were waiting for the Spring to get your senior portraits, now is the time.

The last few months of high school will fly by so book now to ensure that you have your portraits by graduation.

Whether your Spring Break is this week or next, it is always a welcome break from the grind. Especially with the rainy weather that tends to stick around the Northwest this time of year, it’s nice to dream of sandy beaches and warm sunshine.

When my kids were in high school they were always very involved in rowing, which did not allow for any break in the Spring. Now they are both out of college and this last January all four of us were able to take a trip to Maui. It was a fabulous trip. It was so great to just relax for 10 straight days and capture the beauty there. The surfboards in the picture above are located just outside of a little town called Paia. They were difficult to find in Maui’s winding Upcountry roads (the girls were nearly sick in the back of the car once we got there) but they were definitely worth it. Though we enjoyed our time in the bigger city of Kihei, the whole family really loved the smaller, northern towns. The north coast of Maui is where the bigger waves are found on the island. Paia has a storied surfing and windsurfing history and is commonly known as the “World Capital of Windsurfing.” We sat up on the cliffs above Hookipa Beach and marveled at the surfers and windsurfers riding gigantic waves.

We cannot wait to go back again! I hope you are all enjoying your time off!

My favorite moments are when clients come and see their portraits for the first time. One would think I would be used to it, but the distorted view people have of themselves still shocks me. So many, women in particular, have deep-seated insecurities that are fed by different societal and peer pressures. The best part of my job is the feeling that I get watching a young girl see herself through someone else’s eyes and realize, some for the first time, how beautiful she is.

So many girls and women don’t allow themselves to believe that they are beautiful. Girls, we really are our own worst enemies. Beauty is something that we are always chasing and only let ourselves experience in fleeting moments. We are willing to see it in others but only rarely in ourselves.

Young women don’t view themselves as beautiful, though society accepts them as the standard of beauty. They are constantly chasing the beauty they see for themselves in the future. They will be beautiful when; the acne clears from their face, when they get their braces off, when they lose ten pounds, etc. They can never reach that moment when they truly see their beauty because there is always another ideal to be chased.

For mature women, who have bore children and begun the next phases of their lives, their sense of beauty is all in the past. The focus of their lives has shifted and now they become worn by the daily grind. To them beauty goes hand in hand with a sense of regret. They can now see the beauty they left unappreciated yet few can see it in their future.

At what point did we pass from thinking we will be beautiful when, to believing that we can never be beautiful again?

I am just a guilty as anyone else. Anyone who knows me knows that I battle the scale. The wrinkles I’m collecting around my eyes and on the backs of my hands hint at the years that have gone into the making of my psyche. I now know that while I was once a beautiful and sexy young thing, beauty exists in each and every one of us. As a photographer, I can see the beauty in each of the women that come through my doors. It pains me that most seem so dead-set against seeing it for themselves. Regardless of your age, shape, wrinkles or scars there are others who see your beauty. I want to show women what their loved ones see. I want to show them their true selves. I want to show them someone beautiful.

Attitude of Gratitude is Sue’s mantra. Everything in life happens for a reason, be grateful for it. This morning I sat down and wrote about some of my gratitudes.

• I am grateful that I was born a woman. I have empathy and compassion for those around me.
• I am grateful that I was raised by a rigid and selfish father. It gave me the strength and the will to do better in my life.
• I am grateful to have struggles with my weight. That gives me understanding for the plight of others and the knowledge that beauty is more than skin deep.
• I am grateful for the times in my life when money is short. It teaches me there is so much more to life than money.
• I am grateful for the rainy days. The sunny days are that much brighter.
• I am grateful for being a mother. Without children I could never know the capacity of my ability to love.
• I am grateful for my husband. He knows my shortcomings and puts up with me anyway.
• I am grateful for my messy home. Life happens here.
• I am grateful for my ’99 vintage automobile which is currently in for repair. It’s paid for any typically gets me from here to there.
• I am grateful for my business. I know of no other way I could meet and enjoy so many incredible people.
• I am grateful for my clients. It is a blessing to watch as they see themselves through my eyes.
• I am grateful for the spirit that guides me.
• I am grateful for life.