Sure, I’d love to make $100 or more on a 15 minute mini session. Who wouldn’t? But the money isn’t what my Santa and Easter Bunny sessions are about. These sessions are about the kids. They are about helping children to have the opportunity to visit Santa and the Easter Bunny in a more intimate and relaxed setting rather than at the mall or a bigger venue. They are about giving back to my clients and the surrounding community. It’s about helping parents have the opportunity to have a holiday memory captured on camera without parents having to stress about the price that comes with those images.

Santa and Easter Bunny sessions are about the joy and excitement the kids bring to the studio. It’s about watching the children grow. It’s about seeing the shy and timid ones open up and relax by the end of the session. It’s about seeing the fearful criers come in the following year and walk right up to Santa or the Easter Bunny after they’ve told me they are no longer afraid. It’s about the memories, the smiles, and the
pure magic and spirit of a child at Christmas and Easter.

While I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t in business to earn money, I can honestly say some things in
business are about more than the money. The joy of a child, and the preservation of their memories, is where I find value in my Santa and Easter Bunny session. My goal with these sessions is to give back to others by providing quality holiday images in a relaxing atmosphere at a price that is affordable for families in this difficult economy.

As always, keep smiling and keep capturing your most precious memories!

-Lisa Taylor 

There was a time in my life where I used to ride horses. I trained in hunter/jumpers, dressage, and even did a little bit of sidesaddle. While it seems like these days were a lifetime ago, it was really just about seven years ago. 

The accident happened on the Thursday before Spring Break (I am also and elementary school teacher). I dropped my son off for school that morning, and I told him I'd pick him up that evening from my parent's house after I finished my riding lesson.
Unfortunately, I never made it home that evening. An accident with a horse I had been riding resulted in a fall and a kick to the head by a hind hoof. This landed me in a trauma unit for a few days.

I came to at the scene of the injury for a brief period of time. I remember the face of the EMT holding my head. I remember him asking me questions which I couldn't answer. None of the questions bothered me until I was asked my name. Not knowing my name was a completely terrifying experience. I didn't know who I was, where I was, when it was...nothing would register.

I was in and out of consciousness throughout the ride to the hospital and part of my time in the ER. I can remember bits and pieces of my memory coming back. The EMT had the name 'Taylor' on his shirt. That was my brother-in-law's last name (mine too, but I didn't remember that part). Another EMT mentioned the name of a person and it clicked...I knew that person, and I could picture him. I started to relax as these small bits and pieces of my memory began to return.

This image was taken the day after the accident.

Most of my recent memory returned within the first 24 hours after the injury. However, I had a hard time matching names to memories. There were so many memories about my life and my family I couldn't remember...my wedding, all of my son's firsts, etc. Facebook became my new best friend. I could look up faces and match them to names of people. Hearing names did nothing for my memory, but seeing pictures was like flipping on a light switch. Sounds, faces, smells, and emotions came flooding back when a picture was matched with a name or event. 

The pictures of my most cherished memories hanging on the walls in my house, the photo books of my son as a baby, the scrapbook of our two trips to Disney when our son was 3 and again when he was 6, and the photos and daily memories that popped up in Facebook were truly my living history. These images brought back the memories I had lost. These images gave me back a part of my life I thought was gone. They also gave me back our loved ones who are no longer here with us on Earth. These pictures, some professionally taken and some cell phone snapshots, gave me back my family, my friends, my vacations, sad memories, happy memories...they gave me back ME!

So go ahead and take those pictures! Take your phone or your camera out! Snap that shot! Book that professional photography session! Annoy your friends and family with "just one more" photo! Trust me, there will come a time when you, your family, and your friends are thankful for those pictures. I honestly am not able to remember the name of the photographer who used the term "living history" as some parts of my memory still have not returned. However, I do thank that person, whoever she may be; and I say this because I do know it was a female photographer. Your pictures are not just for capturing moments now; they are capturing today's memories to make them visual for the rest of time. Your pictures are your visual memories. Take them and cherish them!