Hi. I’m Dawn.
My path to family photography is a little different than most. I started making pictures from scenes I found as I walked from my CTA stop to my first apartment. What began as something to keep me entertained on my walk home turned into a full on obsession. I’d get off two or three stops earlier for the view, for the chance to take a different picture, for better light. It was always worth it.
A few months into my new obsession the Chicago Tribune asked me to be a contributing photographer for their Discover magazine. WGN News in the morning featured my site. A few more months went by and my work was published in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Magazine, Wallpaper*, American Photo and more. Off I went. I made pictures everyday.
I was a photographer.
It surely wasn't an accident when I began creating portraits of children and their families. The pending birth of my first nephew inspired me to dive headfirst into photographing children and their families. I fell in love with all of it.
How could I not? No building ever hugged me before I went home. No Chicago landmark ever cried when it was time for me to leave. Nor did this city ever ask me to photograph it. Perhaps that's the key. Each time someone was inspired to briefly welcome me into their family, it felt like a pretty spectacular gift. After all, they trusted me to tell their story.
So without much hesitation, I made photographing children and their families my life. Today, I rarely walk past a family without seeing them in pictures, without dreaming up the moments they might share in front of my watchful lens. I wish to photograph them all.
Won’t you let me tell your great love story? It would be an honor.
With great appreciation,
