Brandy Ward Photography

06/11/2021

𝕆𝕦𝕣 𝕗𝕒𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕔𝕜𝕥𝕠𝕟 𝕃𝕒𝕜𝕖 and we spend as much time as we can there in the summer. If you're thinking about summer family photos and are a fellow Stockton Lake lover, I'd love to take your family photos there! 𝐈'𝐦 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟎% 𝐨𝐟𝐟 for three sessions scheduled at Orleans Trail at Stockton Lake. If you're intersted, send me a message!

06/08/2021

What is your go-to baby shower gift? I normally go off the registry and pick something I used a lot with my own babies. Also, I now give all my new-mom friends a copy of There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather because I'm obsessed. Do you have a go-to gift? Or maybe a baby gadget you couldn't live without?

05/19/2021

My summer schedule is out! Well, through July that is. 😜 If you're planning to book a session in the next 3 months, now is the time to message me! You can find pricing information on the Investment page of my website.

05/18/2021

All this rain is killing me! Between the rain, overcast and mud I've had to move several sessions and I'm SO bummed!! I'm anxiously awaiting when I can get behind the camera again and capture a sun drenched session. My kiddos sure love all this rain though, they're covered head to toe in mud every day right now!

05/11/2021

The next book on my list of recent favorites is 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗴 𝗟𝘂𝗸𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗝𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗮𝗶𝗱𝘁

This book is written by a First Amendment expert and a social psychologist after an essay they cowrote for The Atlantic went viral in 2013. In the book they talk about three terrible ideas that have become increasingly popular in American childhood and education: What doesn’t kill you makes you weaker; always trust your feelings; and life is a battle between good people and evil people. The book starts out a little slow in my opinion but once I got to part 2, I couldn't put it down! After they explain the three untruths I mentioned above, (in part 1) the rest of the book is spent investigating the many social trends that have intersected to promote the spread of these untruths. They explore changes in childhood such as the rise of fearful parenting, the decline of unsupervised, child-directed play, and the new world of social media that has engulfed teenagers in the last decade. They also examine changes on college campuses, new ideas about identity and justice and America’s rapidly rising political polarization and dysfunction.

This book is very scientific and fact based. I wouldn't say it's an easy or light read but it's so, so good. I loved that it doesn't "lean" to the right or left, it's completely unbiased.

05/09/2021

Happy Mother’s Day! 💛

05/06/2021

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐍𝐨 𝐒𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐝 𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐚 Å𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐜𝐆𝐮𝐫𝐤
Ok, maybe starting my post series of recent book favorites with my #1 pick isn't the best idea but I couldn't help myself. 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕨𝕒𝕤 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕘.
Children need fresh air, ample time to free-play outdoors, and freedom to take risks. Rain, shine, sleet, or snow get those kids outside!
This book is written by a mother from Sweden who compares the Swedish and U.S. cultural differences in beliefs and practices regarding young children's exposure to nature. She uses scientific research and personal experiences we all share to explain why getting children outdoors is vital, not only their physical, but also mental health.
There is a saying that originated in Norway, “There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing” that has really encouraged me to get my kids outside, no matter the weather. The book also talks about the importance of unsupervised play, school structure and other topics. I could go on for hours about how much I loved this book, I truly wish every parent would read it. If you've read this book, comment below your favorite part of the book or DM me. I would love nothing more than to nerd out talking about this book!

05/04/2021

My May through July schedule is up and available for booking!
You can click the link below for pricing information, and visit the "Contact" page on my website to start the booking process. 💛

Learn more about session pricing and see answers to frequently asked questions.

04/27/2021

A little over a month ago I deleted my social media (thank you Business Suite for letting me post on my page without the Insta app!) I have been loving it! At first, I felt like I was really missing out but after the initial detox I've found I'm on my phone less, spending more quality time with family and far less stressed/influenced by other's material things. Obviously a social media detox isn't for everyone but if you're considering, I highly encourage it! Here's a couple things I've noticed over the last few weeks:
- My iPhone battery can last well over 1 day. What!?!
- I feel so much more satisfied! I no longer am constantly wanting a new shirt, new shoes, etc. Not being influenced to buy and avoiding the never ending marketing stream has been so good for me!
- Genuine connection is so much more fulfilling. Calling friends, texting with them and spending quality time (instead of the "omg miss you!" comments) has been so great.
- I have so much more free time! I've used my newfound nightly bordom to start reading and have definitely found a new love. Over the next few posts I thought I'd share some of my favorite books I've read recently (since I never know how to caption a post 😝)

Have you done a social media detox? If so, tell me about it!
Also, I officially have my schedule ready to start booking May and summer sessions - reach out if you'd like to schedule a session!

04/21/2021

Casually waiting for the t-ball game schedule to come out so I can start booking summer sessions! ☀️😃 I will not be offering any weekend sessions this summer but I'm looking forward to filling up my weekdays with sundrenched evening shoots!

04/14/2021

Feeding cows 💚💛
This session will forever be one of my favorites. I am so grateful to live the heartland and capture beautiful images of life on the farm.
Family photos don't have to involve stressful outfit planning and lots of posing - I want to capture your family's true story and memories you'll treasure forever.