family photographer, writer, and educator among many other things
Hi, I'm Leah O'Connell
My person and our 3 babies
When everything else moves fast, this is what will stay.
Somewhere between my head stuffed in an Easter bunny costume and making little kids feel comfortable instead of pressured in front of the camera, I fell in love with the craft. It probably started even before then, honestly, as I organized our family photo books on the living room floor and did photoshoots with my friends in the backyard.
Photos always felt poignant to me. The thing that stuck when everything else was moving fast.
I've since been married for 13 years with 3 children and a wild dog among us. I've lived on an island in the west coast and in the wood on the east.
I've felt the deep well of gratitude that comes from photos that feel honest and connect us to parts of ourselves and others we choose to remember.
I started photographing families when I was 16 in mall studios.
It's personal to me. This work is all about holding family stories with reverence and joy.
There's a culture around “picture perfect family photos” and I'm not into it.
So whats the point?
In my sessions, I encourage families to put on a record, make some waffles, lay in the grass, splash in the river. It's in these moments that you get to soak in the beauty of it all - then relive it again and again in the photos we make from that well.
After nearly 20 years of photographing families - everywhere studios to dark homes and scenic mountaintops, with stoic teens, camera-shy parents, and crying babies - basically nothing surprises me.
My goal is to help you see your insides on the outside, for today and 50 years from now.
This isn't about perfect. This is about tapping into the goodness that abounds when we're all in with each other.
black
drink my coffee
PARKS AND REC
COULD ALWAYS WATCH
KAYAKING
SECRET HOBBY
THE EARTH + PEOPLE
PASSIONATE ABOUT
BOOKS
CAN ALWAYS TALK TO ME ABOUT
to put it simply
"Joy is the simplest form of gratitude."
- Karl Barth
REAd Post
When thinking and envisioning your family photos, you may feel afraid they’ll turn out stuffy or cheesy. If you’re looking for a place to start in understanding how we can avoid that, here are five ways to make your next session feel like you.
How to plan Charlottesville family photos that feel like you
take me there
Find it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen!
Check out the Photo Fuel Podcast
WHERE TO NEXT?
photographers
Families
REACH OUT
If your heart is beating yes, yes, yes
Reach out below to tell me more about your family and collaborate on a session that feels like a vibrant and honest reflection of you and your favorite people.