Interpreting Everyday Magic

Interpreting Everyday Magic / By Ashlyn Nuss

We all know that feeling – the moment when the world slows down just a bit, and for a second your soul exhales as you realize the moment you’re experiencing right now is one of the ones you’ve always longed for. Maybe you’re eating breakfast with your toddler who still has that fuzzy bed head, or you’re in the hospital room with your newborn after a whirlwind birth, or you’re standing in your grandpa’s front room noticing a picture you hadn’t given much pause to before.  Maybe you’re chasing bubbles in the backyard you worked so hard for, or watching the sunset in your hometown.  

Being the highly sentimental soul that I am, I’ve always tried to take note when these moments happen—to really feel them and make them last.

Interpreting Everyday Magic / By Ashlyn Nuss

A year or so ago, I was out to lunch with my friend and talented photographer, Myra (@myraelle, she’s amazing!).  As we talked about photography and life, she shared something that really struck me. She spoke about these magical moments, but pushed the idea a step further for me as a photographer.  She said, when you experience these moments personally, take notes!

What is it that is making this moment magical?  Is it the way the light is hitting your daughter’s curls just right?  Or is it the way your toddler’s chubby toes curl just right under the barstool?  She taught me that internalizing these moments for myself and calling those thoughts forward not only deepens your personal experience, but it also sharpens your ability to recognize and capture that for your clients – to help them to see their own everyday magic.

That idea resonated so deeply with me!  My strong sense of nostalgia, and its accompanying desire to pause time in those moments of magic, is such a big part of what led me to be a photographer.  I’ve documented my life through photography for as long as I can remember- partly as my effort to not let those moments slip through my fingers, and also to try to capture them in a way that helps me preserve the magic of the fleeting moment. 

Now, as a professional photographer, my goal is to use my technical knowledge of photography- lighting, composition, camera settings- with that emotional awareness to show others the beauty in their own lives.  In my own way, I want to help them to see their own everyday magic, and allow them to see, feel, and remember what would otherwise may have remained in their subconscious.

With this fresh take in mind, I now pause more intentionally when I feel that spark of magic in my own life.  When I’m in my favorite reading spot in my house and get that feeling, I stop and try to bring my subconscious thoughts forward.  I suddenly notice that my large windows in that room bathe the space with a lot of direct, warm light in the afternoon (coincidentally, my favorite time to be there), complete with the shadows of the window panes.  I notice that the sunlight filters just right through the trees in my front yard so that there is a light shadow casting of leaves dancing on my open page. 

For me, this has helped me realize how much light and shadow specifically communicate the magic I’m looking for in my images.  I also watch when my oldest daughter inevitably comes to join me; I adore the way she kicks her feet up on the chair as she opens her own book!  As I think about how I would capture what I’m experiencing, I know that using a wide aperture with a focus on the way she kicks up her feet- while standing further back in the room to tell the rest of the story in the background- helps to tell that story of her in this moment.  When my son looks at me in the way I know only his 6 year old self ever could, I internalize the moment and think about the elements that make it so special.  Then, as a photographer, I steer my clients in a way that helps them to interact naturally, in a setting that I know has great lighting, with thoughtful composition to help tell their story.

When I’m in the hospital room with a freshly postpartum mom, I remember the way it felt when my own baby’s breath warmed my neck as we snuggled and I inhaled their newborn scent.  Prompts like, “just soak this moment in”, allow me to capture that in a way that is deeply authentic to each client.  As she holds that baby, I remember how those squishy thighs felt in my own hands, and can take a moment to zoom in so she, too, can see the magic she is feeling.  I’ve learned that as I call those moments forward for myself and continue to refine my technical photography skills and editing choices, then my thoughts, sense of nostalgia, and photography skills can join forces to provide a map to capture those moments in a way that helps my clients see and experience their own everyday magic.

It’s no wonder that being a photographer can be such an emotional job!  Our own lives create the pathway that helps us create those emotive images that keep families’ stories alive for them.  It was never just about the exposure triangle, or owning the latest equipment, or having the right number of followers on instagram.  So many of those things have a place, and certainly can allow you to tell that story in the best way possible.  But, learning to understand the magic of everyday moments, for me, has been the secret sauce to allowing my clients to see what was there all along- their own magic in their own story that they can now keep forever.

Interpreting Everyday Magic / By Ashlyn Nuss

Hi! I’m Ashlyn—a wife, mom of four, and a California girl at heart who now calls Utah home. My journey has taken a few turns, from studying Political Science and interning at a law firm and the Utah State Capitol, to dreaming of becoming a labor and delivery nurse after the birth of my first child. Though my fear of needles kept me from that path, it led me back to photography—a passion sparked by my dad and my first DSLR gifted at graduation. I’ve dabbled in photography for years, from capturing political moments to gifting friends hospital sessions, and in 2023, I finally took the leap to start my own business. Now, I document all kinds of love stories while navigating the beautiful chaos of motherhood.

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