From contributing writer, Nicole, of Salsa Sweets …

Like any parent, I am obsessed with getting good pictures of my child. I have had professional pictures taken of my child since she was only 10 days old and every few months since then. She is 3.5 years old now. That is a lot of pictures. Over that time, I have grown from just liking them to being curious about all the nuances to securing a fantastic picture. There are details about composition, lighting, foreground, and a million other things, but the most important is presence. Each photographer I have spent time with loves their work. They are wholly entrenched in each session, capturing joy, securing memories, and decidedly knowing that they are memorializing a moment that is so important for the subject. They want love captured. Isn’t that what pictures are all about anyways?

Photographers have this knack for being able to put onto canvas who someone is and what they are about. They do not need words and honestly, a true photographer can tell a story with just an image. Some of my most favorite pictures of my daughter showcase her ballerina twirl, her adorable dimples, and laying on her Daddy’s firefighting helmet. Those pictures remind me of our family history, of who we are, and the little girl that I am raising. There aren’t enough words to describe the meaning but our family photos do it easily.

The tables were turned with this set of cookies. I did cookies for the photographer. I don’t know this woman but I really tried to through the lens of a cookier. See, she teaches a photography courses and a childhood friend of mine befriended her during one of these courses. My friend wanted to express her gratitude for the impact that she had made upon her. I loved this idea because it was as if we were able to take pictures of her via cookies. All my photographer friends say that they never have enough pictures of themselves with their own family. I scoured her blog for just a tiny glimpse of her life and what she views as important. And I made cookies.

I was helping my friend say thank you but I also got to say thanks. She didn’t take pictures of my family but she gives others what I have received each time I look at a memory of our life. Another fabulous reason to deserve a cookie.

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