Rebecca Reed Photography

03/23/2026

Can you picture a rocket ship crash landing on a planet, and an alien approaching the spacecraft? If you see nothing when trying to picture this in your mind’s eye you might have antaphasia—the inability to generate mental images according to Alex Rosenthal who gave a Ted Talk on this topic. As I listened to his talk I thought “oh, I think I have the opposite of this”.

This exercise prompted me to take an online test called the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire developed by researchers. It gave me a score of 71 which means I am categorized as having hyperphantasia. On one end of the spectrum is Aphantasia, then Hypophantasia, then Phantasia and Hyperphantasia. Apparently there are also brain imaging techniques like a functional MRI or PET scans that are “used to observe brain activity and connectivity associated with vivid mental imagery, providing further insight into the neural basis of hyperfantasia”.

While I don’t always trust self-reported online tests, I think is probably safe to say I lean on the higher side of phantasia or the lower side of hyperphantasia based on the scale and questions.

This is quite fascinating to me as I hadn’t realized that we are all so different in what we see with our mind’s eye. It made me think about how powerful photography might be—especially family photography for those who have antaphantasia as imagery often prompts emotion.

This has sparked so many thoughts for me about how move through and process the world. I’m curious what it brings up for you? Can you picture your spouse or child’s face in your mind’s eye? If so how clear is that picture? Does an image in your mind’s eye bring up emotion? How about a photograph? Regardless of how you land on the spectrum how do you think photographs impact your feelings of connection to your family members or spark memories of your time with them?

If you’d like to take the test let me know and I’ll send you a link. I’d love to know where you land on the spectrum.

This is also your reminder that spring is officially here and April and May are coming fast. Let’s make some imagery that either does or doesn’t live in your head rent free and make it tangible!

03/18/2026

A little “behind the scenes” of this shoot: Natalie, who is a professional stylist, reached out with a deadline to capture her family in Manhattan.

During her pre-session consultation we discussed wardrobe and possible locations for her session. We made a combined vision board and created folders for wardrobe, locations and posing.

She chose two different concepts for her session and we matched the locations to those styles.

The way I plan sessions has evolved and changed over time. Having both a visual and verbal handle on what each of my clients is aiming for helps me lay the foundation for a successful shoot and create images they feel represent themselves and their relationship to the city well. It also helps them think through what they really want and get the most out of their investment. This pre-planning stage also allows me to feel prepared for more artistic experimentation in the moment. It was a dream to collaborate with a fellow creative for this session to create something tailored and personal for her family.

If you’re curious about exploring ideas to capture your family in NYC in a natural and artful way just sent me a DM and I’ll offer the first 4 people to respond a free consultation next week. A little time and effort can bring a large return in the form of images that will become part your family story and legacy.

02/11/2026

Valentine's Day Portrait Pop-Up in Brooklyn this Sat, Feb 14th for children, couples, families and singles. Can't wait to photograph you in this beautiful studio––the owners renovated this space using ancient painting techniques and all natural materials imported from France and Italy. I have 4 spots available. Message me for details and available times (wardrobe consult included). Forward this to someone looking for a last minute gift this week. ❤️

04/03/2025

If you have children you’ve probably been told to savor the days when they are young because it feels like you just blink and they are grown.

In reality there’s millions of blinks (the average person blinks 14,400-17,000 blinks per day and over 78.8 million times per decade). There’s also more school drop offs, soccer practices, music lessons, field trips, play dates and everything in between than you would take time to count.

In the swift pace of life (especially city life), years can start to feel like months. How often do you take time to pause and fully appreciate the stage your family is in right now?

Time tends to feel like it is flying by when we let all the unessential things take over our schedule and we feel like we aren’t making progress where it counts. I’d love to help you slow down time and savor the stage your in right now by helping you plan an experience to be present with your family and preserve this moment to add to your family legacy.

Testimonial from Julie:

“Initially I was hesitant to take pictures with my family as it felt like I was dragging teenagers to get out of bed on a cold morning. However, Rebecca was such a warm and welcoming presence she made everyone feel at ease.

I would highly recommend Rebecca to anyone looking for family photos as she has a great eye and works well with all ages”.

02/04/2025

A Valentine's Portrait Session Giveaway & A Free Guide to Document Your Written and Visual Family Stories. Link in comments.

07/30/2024

A July motherhood portrait session in Manhattan. If you’ve been considering a motherhood portrait please reach out! I’ll walk you through the whole process including wardrobe selection and location options. Someday your children will look for photos WITH you—what will they find?

From my client: “So much gratitude to .co for capturing these moments in our favorite park 🤍 Rebecca is not only a genius with the camera but a true artist and it was an incredible experience working with her. I highly recommend her to anyone in the NYC area looking for portraits!” —ReyLynn

02/21/2024

“Working with Rebecca was an absolute dream. She took my professional needs, creative hopes, and past shoot experience to cultivate a session that was comfortable and expressive, not to mention fun. Rebecca has a real talent for capturing the genuine essence people exude, and I couldn’t be happier with my photos!” -Sadie

02/18/2022

Special headshot offer available until the end of February in NYC. Send me a message if you're interested in learning more with a free 15 minute consultation.

01/25/2022

A man’s real possession is his memory. In nothing else is he rich, in nothing else is he poor. —Alexander Smith
I’m currently reading a book called “Fluent Forever” The book discusses how attaching imagery and personal experience to words is an incredible aid in memory and language recall. The author suggests making personalized flash cards. On one side he suggests printing the new word you want to learn, on the other side, instead of printing the translation in your own language, he suggests printing an image that helps you remember the definition of that word. No one can make a set of flash cards for another person because it’s important that you find an image of a dog, for example, that is what you imagine when you think of a dog, or an image of a boat that is what you imagine when you think of a boat—possibly a boat similar to one attached to your own personal experience, or a specific memory. The author notes that in this way, “you become the architect of your own mind”. This also allows you to attach “deep, memorable experiences” to the images you select. He writes “no one can give you a language; you have to take it for yourself”.
There are many stories of how sensory experiences allow people to access memories even when experiencing extreme memory loss. An example a friend shared with me recently was Tony Bennett’s ability to perform and remember lyrics despite his progressing Alzheimer’s. She said before his retirement, and despite his memory loss in other areas of his life, when Tony took the stage he came to life and had amazing recall.
I think the stages of life we choose to preserve, in essence, become our own personal language flash cards for the future. Those images, especially the kind captured with your people, in your natural environments and spaces, will contain all kinds of memory triggers that will keep bringing back to your mind many things that would otherwise fade over time. Making time to document our lives helps us become the “architects of our own minds” through intentionally reinforcing what we want to remember. Over time it is memory that becomes true wealth. Is memory something you’re investing in?

04/07/2021