Nashville Family Filmmaker + Photographer | Why Family Films Are the Next Big Thing in Family Memories

A More Dynamic Way to Preserve Memories

Photos are a great way to capture a moment, but a family film offers something even more dynamic. It allows you to capture not just an image, but the sounds, actions, and emotions that go into creating memories. Life is full of these amazing- but seemingly - mundane moments that we take for granted. Filming your family allows me to show you those little fleeting moments.

Mother wipes toddler’s face.

With advancements in smartphone technology and affordable cameras, families now have thousand of videos and photos on their phone. But where will that be in 15 years? How will we find the nuggets in the piles of files? Like many things, technology gives us a false sense of security, making us think we are capturing our lives all the time. But the permanence is lacking, severely.

Being able to replay memories that actually happened for years to come

Some of my annual clients were children who had parents who took video of their youth and they grew up rewatching those VHS tapes over and over. Back then, we had a few nuggets each year - usually Christmas and vacation - to rewatch. Today, we have all this content but no real way to watch it and it gets lost. We don’t know where the significant nuggets are. The only way around this is to take video with our phone (which means one of us will be taking video and not even in the family video) and then make a video out of it with an app and store it in a place where we can rewatch it. This is hard to sustain for the entirety of the years of raising children. Hiring me makes an intentional practice of having something to hand down.

Dad and Daughter Play Guitar together.

Family Films Can Be Passed Down Through Generations

One of the most magical aspects of family films is their ability to be passed down through generations. Imagine being able to watch a video of your parents or grandparents recounting family stories, traditions, or simply sharing their experiences. A family film becomes a legacy…a living memory that can be enjoyed by not only your children but by future generations.

In the future, your great-grandchildren might be able to watch your family film and feel a connection to you, even though they never had the chance to meet you. The ability to preserve your voice, your expressions, and your memories in such a tangible way is an invaluable gift.

Family films are rapidly becoming a favorite way to preserve, share, and relive family memories. Whether you’re filming a special occasion, capturing everyday moments, or simply bonding over the process of creating something together, these films provide a unique and lasting way to celebrate your family’s story. With the ability to pass them down through generations, family films are not just a passing trend…they are quickly becoming an integral part of family life and tradition. If you want to have your family filmed, please connect with me.

A family hanging out with their goats on their farm in middle Tennessee where they live with their grandparents.

Nashville Birth Photographer + Videographer | Midwife Feature: Sara Rosser

Sara Rosser (who has a midwife assistant, Sarah Fuqua who works along side her) is a local midwife, based in Columbia Tennessee. I have attended two births with her and Sarah (known as the Sara's)  as the midwife and she is just amazing! She is so peaceful and calm. In fact, most times she hardly touches the patient. Not out of laziness, but out of giving them space to labor. As long as they have what they need, she doesn't get involved much. But if a patient needs her, she is full on there.

Her practice revolves around the freedom of birthing, less interventions, providing a safe environment with positive reinforcement to get through the birth. She fully believes in the mother is the one who is in charge. That it's her body and her right to be in control at all times. She believes in informed consent. I have heard her ask the mother in labor more than once "are you okay If I touch you?". She is also a Trauma Informed care provider, meaning she is informed about birth trauma and how that can effect a woman and her future births.

She never announces how dilated the mother is, IF she even checks. She is a very quiet fly on the wall, she may even be more of a fly on the wall than I am. She just lets mom labor and pops in for a heart rate check on baby every so often. She has trained and worked for The Farm Midwives and is such a phenomenally talented midwife and a beautiful person. If a mother wanted to hire Sara, they can have her at their home birth, or have a birth at The Farm.

There is a review on Sara's website that sums her up perfectly:

                                                                                                                                                                        “Sara knew just when to help and just when to give me space to progress on my own.”

— Samantha

When a client hires me, and I find out that Sara (and Sarah) is their midwife, I am beyond excited. It is such a peaceful environment and the energy is just so quiet and calm. Sara has the best energy with a calm knowing that all is well. Learn more about my Birth Videography and Photography. Or You can inquire about it here.

Nashville Birth Photographer | Should I hire a photographer who doubles as a doula?

I gave birth to my 2nd son in 2012, and had a doula and a midwife at my birth at Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville, TN. I loved them both and could not imagine my birth without them. My doula, made a HUGE difference in my labor pains. In fact, when she left to go to the bathroom, I was so upset she wasn't working on my back because it made such a difference and I had a contraction while she was in there.I also had a filmmaker at my birth and have been obsessed with my birth film since. It is absolutely one of my most treasured possessions.There is no way I could have had one person fill these roles. Each one had their own very complex job that required a lot of brain work and I could not have gone through a contraction without my doula, and therefore, she also could not have been photographing and or videoing my birth for me.Years later, as I have stepped into the role of Birth Videographer and photographer, I have seen sweet well meaning people in the industry of birth, offer both as a package. I have explored this idea for myself and also what my opinion of it was. I have talked to mothers who have had doulas and I have spoken to many birth workers themselves and they all say the same thing... One person cannot do both jobs well. I have also heard from birth workers that they have witnessed these individuals in person and that they were not able to be there for the client as a birth support because they were too busy trying to capture their birth. I have a friend who is both a doula and a birth photographer, she said she offered the combo twice and that "it was terrible" and so she never offered the combination again. She made them hire her for one or the other and then hire another person.You, are the mother. This is YOUR birth. This is your choice. But because it is so important for the birth space and experience, I felt compelled to share my thoughts in a blog. I will never put the ability to book clients because I sold them a package deal to beat my competition or to make my brand look better, over the ability to provide the BEST footage of their birth. My clients come first, not my profits. But also, I do not know the intentions of these sweet meaning people and have no idea why they decided to offer both. My only assumption is to provide a package deal. But if the package deal does not serve the client, then it should not be offered.To learn more about Documenting Birth, click here.