My hope with See Things Closer Photography is that it brings your family together through intentional connection and that my camera helps you see the things that mean the most to you closer and in a beautiful new light.

Hi friends and happy solstice! This is a hard newsletter to write as there is so much heaviness right now in the world but I hope you are finding ways to hold joy and grief, together. In the words of one of my favorite Youtuber’s and Instagram follows, Jules Acree, “In times of stress, instability and awakening it’s normal to feel shaken. If you’ve been experiencing this in our unpredictable world lately, challenge yourself to take a deep breath and evaluate how far you have come.”

I love her words as I’m still in a time of recovery. It still feels like the world is at odds and no one seems to be doing the “right” thing. I hope you find ways this summer to show kindness to a stranger, fight for justice, and love on your people. And, if you need an extra dose of peace, I love Jule Acree’s mindfulness video here.

Speaking of summer… it is my favorite season for family photos is because school is out, bedtime is more flexible, and there is no shivering from the kiddos or adults. It allows us to get creative and capture fun memories from this season! Book your session below* or email me at brookejvg@gmail.com to discuss more if you’

Book your July and August session!

*The times in the link above, are set for ideal, sunlight outdoor sessions. If you’d like to book an indoor, lifestyle session in your home or an indoor studio session, those times are flexible for the day you select.

During my recovery, I started noticing “things that caught my eye” so I’m excited to share a few of those here monthly. As you all may have a beach trip planned this summer or a sandbox in your backyard, I feel as if I would fail you to not share this most darling beach toy/sand kit with you all.

Secondly, if you have a session coming up and you want to add a few new pieces to your child’s wardrobe at the same time (even though I always encourage shopping your own closet first), I stumbled upon this adorable children’s brand that was new to me called “Rylee + Cru” and again, I felt as if I would be doing a disservice if I did not share. ;) I know so many kiddos who would rock their clothing and wanted to share with you all!

In college, I took two classes of sign language to fulfill my humanity credits. I’m dyslexic, so learning a foreign language hasn’t always been easy for me so I wanted to try sign language. It was not as “easy” as I had hoped, but it did show me an inside view of an important language. However, reading “True Biz” recently really showed me how much I still had to learn. Even though it’s a fictional book, it totally reads as it could be non-fiction in how it really provides the perspective of how complex the ASL/cochlear implant world is. I can already tell this will make my top three book reads of the year for me due to how it provided such a powerful look into the deaf community and always left me wanting more each chapter.

For my audio book this month, I’m listening to “Where the Crawdads Sing”, because I read it the first time around. It’s our pick in bookclub this month in time for the movie release on July 13 and I’m on the edge of my seat. I think they casted “Kya” absolutely perfectly with Daisy Edgar-Jones.

Please reply and let me know if you’ve read a page turner recently. I am always down to talk books or add one to my TBR list for when I’m poolside this summer! :)