Family Photojournalist
Serving Raleigh, Apex, Cary & Wherever Your Heart Calls Home
3 Kids Taught Me the Best Photos are Made in the Ordinary,
Three Kids Taught Me This: The Best Photos are Created in the Ordinary,
Where Genuine Connections Flourish
When I picked up my camera and began to photograph our ordinary everyday life, I was shocked to discover it was bursting with joy & delight. These photographs truly revealed the soul of our family.
When I became a mom, I realized that the picture perfect Instagram families didn't map onto my own life. It seemed boring and inauthentic. I found that I craved genuineness and connection.
I needed to know I wasn't the only one with wildness and chaos running around my house.
It was through this yearning for true connection, that I discovered my passion for family photojournalism.
Weaving in and through all those moments of chaos and wildness and mundanity, there are bonds that go soul deep.
There is joy and wonder and delight. There is tremendous meaning and beauty in the ordinary.
And I can show you yours.
Through My Lens
See the Very Soul of Your Family,
See the Very Soul of
Your Family,
Let's Talk More
It is hard to put in words, but I can feel captured in each shot.
It is hard to put in words, but I can feel captured in each shot.
emotions
-Kelly
Our photography shoot experience with Rachel was one of a kind! We had always done yearly family photos that were posed and honestly felt similar year to year… That was not the case with Rachel… Each image is a very special moment in time that we will always be able to look back on.
They tell a story of our little family!
Rachel was fantastic to work with! She made us all feel so comfortable and at ease, and that really comes across in the photos too!!
Photographing family connections is what
Photographing family connections is what
As parents, we can easily become blind to all the incredible joys of each day. And, let’s be real, some days are just plain tough.
But being able to see the bonds that your family shares, the impact that you have on one another, and the sheer joy and safety of unconditional love, reveals that even the toughest days are another building block of your legacy.
The photographs I create are meant to inspire hope, incite joy, and evoke memories of connections that endure for generations.
lights me up!
lights me up!
Your Most Comfortable Family Photo Experience Starts Here.
Your family photojournalism session is designed around you and your family’s individual needs.
This means that a shy toddler has plenty of time to warm up and show off their goofy side. That the rhythm and flow of your day can settle into the usual comfortable groove.
Something I constantly hear from my clients is that their session feels like an old friend just came to hang out for the day. That the camera fades away, and they are able to just be.
That’s exactly the point.
Experience the joy of simply being yourselves, with heartfelt images you’ll treasure always.
-Leslie
[O]ur son, who is usually shy and slow
to warm up to strangers, took to her
[O]ur son, who is usually shy and slow to warm up to strangers, took to her
immediately.
immediately.
He grabbed a book and sat right next to Rachel, waiting for her to read him the story.
She read at least 3 different books for him during our photo session. When we headed out to the park, he kept asking us if Aunty Rachel was coming too. She just blended right in and our son enjoyed every interaction with her; everything just happened so naturally.
Real , Real , Real
Real , Real ,
Real
Families
Connections
Joy
Real
Real
Real
families
connections
joy
of the Pirtle Family
of the Neal Family
with the huang family
a day in the life
the holidays
