One thing I love about my job is the stories I get to uncover when I walk into peoples homes.

I often say that what I like the most about photography is that my camera gives me the excuse to be places or in spanish “Me da la excusa de meterme donde no me han llamado”.

In my line of work most of the time the first time I am meeting my clients is in their homes, their sacred space where every corner breathes the essence of who they are. I love getting to know my clients through my sessions and discovering things about them through the books they have on their shelves, their kids favorite stuffy, the guitar in the living room. I feel honored to enter these intimate spaces and above all listening.

When I met M at her apartment I was welcomed by a huge mural covered in flamingo wall paper, the coolest retro bar and her beautiful husky. She was in her second pregnancy expecting twins and wanted to capture some sweet moments with her eldest son and her husband in their home before welcoming beautiful chaos in the shape of two baby girls.

Conversation flowed very easy with M, like we were old friends that hadn’t seen each other in a while and she confided in me one of the most moving stories I had ever heard in my life. She told me she was a breast cancer survivor, got diagnosed in her early 20s and for a while thought she wouldn’t be able to have children, even thought at that point she didn’t know if she wanted to be a mom.

She went on to tell me about all the ups and downs and about a trip to the amazons where an elder took her a side and told her out of the blue to not worry because she was a goddess of fertility. She told me that even though she was self conscious about her scars, she was grateful to be alive and get the chance to be a mama of three beautiful souls.

I was extremely moved by her story and her bravery and while we here inside her walking closet looking for a different outfit, I noticed the amazing light coming in from the sky light. I asked her if she was open to do a couple of more intimate images, I felt inspired by her story and wanted to show her her scars where nothing to be self conscious about but living evidence of her courage. She trusted me and we spent a few minutes making some images that till today are some of my most treasured work.

After going home and working on them, I sent her these images and she told me that she teared up when she saw them, and that seeing herself through my lens made her have a different perspective of her story and helped her love her scars.

Sessions like these are why I love my job.

an unexpected maternity shoot

waiting for Isla