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Category: Education

On Anxious Clients

October 15, 2021
anxiety, clients, Bartram's Garden

I work with a lot of clients who let me know that they live with anxiety. It’s always been important to me that I acknowledge this piece in my work,…

posted in: Education
tagged with: anxiety, anxious, clients, mental health, neurodivergent

On Normalizing Divorce

October 14, 2021
hands almost touching, brides, divorce

The myth of a wedding being a magical day that only happens “once in a lifetime” needs to be disrupted. It’s no secret that in the US, about 50% of…

posted in: Education
tagged with: divorce, separation, Wedding

On Appropriation in the Wedding Industry

September 22, 2021
cultural appropriation, wedding industry

Appropriation pops up constantly in the wedding industry. From tipis and sugar skull decor to photo booths with fake mustaches and sombreros. It’s not rare to search a wedding blog…

posted in: Education
tagged with: AAVE, cultural appropriation, Pause on the Play, wedding industry

On Being Enough

August 20, 2021
queer, couple, Philadelphia, photos

I struggled a lot with allowing myself to take up space within the disabled community. It took me seeing a TikTok from @crutches_and_spice speaking to someone essentially asking for permission to identify…

posted in: Education
tagged with: disability justice, identities, on being enough, self-discovery, taking up space

Digging Into the Problematic History of Wedding Traditions

August 17, 2021
Appleford Estate, wedding

[CW: Mentions of slavery; capitalism] Let’s start by talking about wedding parties. I intentionally avoid using the words “bridesmaids” and “groomsmen” because I don’t like tying gendered words to people…

posted in: Education
tagged with: capitalist, heteronormative, patriarchal, problematic, unsustainable, wedding industrial complex, wedding traditions

On Being a Trans Parent of a Trans Child

July 20, 2021
Gender Identity, Trans, Child

[Content note: This has been shared with our child’s consent, “so kids like me feel less alone.”] Last summer, our 6-year-old told us they were nonbinary and wanted to use…

posted in: Education
tagged with: children, Gender Identity, genderfluid, mental health, trans, transgender

Anti-ableist Alternatives to “-Phobia”

July 9, 2021
alternatives to phobia

Recently, I learned that using words with the suffix “-phobia” to describe oppression can perpetuate ableism. Phobias are real mental illnesses, so equating them with bigotry is where the ableism…

posted in: Education
tagged with: ableist language, alternatives, anti, phobia

On Gendered Bathroom Signage in the Wedding Industry

June 1, 2021

It’s time to talk about how performative actions in the wedding industry can feel like rainbow washing. It’s not uncommon for wedding venues to tape a “gender neutral” sign on…

posted in: Education
tagged with: accessibility, gendered bathrooms, gendered restrooms, inclusivity, wedding industry

On Gendered Language

April 27, 2021
chestfeeding, portrait

As someone who photographs a lot of growing families, I wanted to share some language that I’ve found helpful in being more inclusive for clients. It’s important to never assume…

posted in: Education
tagged with: alternatives, chestfeeeding, gendered language, inclusive language, pregnant people

On Being Nonbinary

March 25, 2021
nonbinary, photographer

Some folks have been asking me how I’m trans if I came out as nonbinary, so I wanted to share some education around gender identity. As defined by @transstudent, transgender/trans…

posted in: Education
tagged with: Gender Identity, nonbinary photographer, trans photographer, wedding photography

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