Throughout my life, I have always been an extremely creative person. Growing up, I loved to draw, paint, and dance. Still, stacked in the closet of my childhood home are piles of sketchbooks, old canvases, ballet shoes and jazz costumes. I’ve always looked for different ways to express myself through creativity.


When I entered high school, it was time to pick an elective. Like most kids I hung out with, I chose Yearbook & Journalism. Truthfully, part of me chose it because it was known as the “fun class”… but deep down, I really wanted to learn how to express myself creatively through words and pictures.


I absolutely loved it.


It made me feel involved in a way nothing else did. I got to attend events and games I normally wouldn’t have gone to, and then tell the story from my perspective. Yes, there were recap articles, but there were also so many opportunities to be creative.


Yearbook is also where my love for photography really grew. I had already been around it because of my aunt, who is a phenomenal photographer. I would spend hours with her- posing, learning, and honestly just watching in awe. There’s something about photography that feels almost unreal. Like you’re freezing moments you never want to forget.


At the time, I had no idea that “the fun elective” would shape so much of my life.


Growing up, dance was my whole world. I did everything- studio, competitive, drill team, even collegiate dance. Naturally, I thought I would own a dance studio one day… and I actually did… for about 9 months. (We’ll save that full story for another time.)


Life didn’t go the way I planned. There were hard seasons, changes, and moments where I had to completely pivot. After college, I worked in my family’s preschool while also slowly stepping into photography on the side. Eventually, that “side gig” turned into something more.


Then I became a mom.


And quite literally everything changed.


My pregnancy was incredibly difficult, and after that, I knew I needed to step away and focus on myself, my mental health, and my family. But deep down, I also knew something else:


If I was going to find myself again… I needed to be creative again.


That’s how I ended up here.. fully LEAPING into photography.


And I love it.  

I love that I control my schedule.  

I love that I can work from my couch or a coffee shop.  

I love that my job sometimes takes me to vacation spots like Broken Bow (which still feels kinda crazy).


But recently… I’ve felt like something was still missing.


And I couldn’t ignore it anymore.


I miss writing.


So here I am, at 1:00am on a Monday night, writing this instead of editing photos like I probably (definitely) should be. But sometimes, you have to do something just for you.


And this… this is for me.


But maybe it can be for you, too.


I’ve always been someone who is real, raw, and unapologetically myself. So this space is going to be exactly that. A place where I talk about motherhood, photography, the highs, the lows, and everything in between.


Because the truth is… even though my photos may be in focus, my life is not.


It’s messy. It’s chaotic. It’s overwhelming at times (most times).  

But it’s also everything I’ve ever prayed for.


Welcome to Behind the Lens & Life.


With love,  

McKinley