“Mnemosyne, one must admit, has shown herself to be a very careless girl.” -Vladimir Nabokov, ‘Speak, Memory’

Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory in Greek mythology, traditionally appeared in the first few lines of many oral epic poems like the Iliad and the Odyssey, among others. In them, the speaker called upon her aid in remembering and performing the poem they were about to recite. Mnemosyne is thought to have been given the distinction of "Titan" because memory was so important and basic to the oral culture of the Greeks that they deemed her one of the essential building blocks of civilization in their creation myth. That’s right, memory is so important to humankind, the Greeks, with their gods of water, fire, the sun, and the wind, had their very own goddess for it.

But we all know that relying on memory alone is fleeting - she’s a fickle deity indeed - and it is only getting worse. Modern adults have so much to hold in our heads, we have apps for grocery lists because we can no longer be relied upon to remember a paper list AND our phones, let alone rely on memory alone to recall what we need at the store.

With all that there is to remember day-to-day, it is a losing battle to try freeze in your head alone what your family looked and, more importantly, felt like when your kids were any given age.

I don’t need a goddess to tell me that my work as a family photographer is important, in part because of how many of you have told me how much you value the work I’ve done for you; how much having had documented your family in a beautiful way has brought joy and comfort on days good and hard. It means the world to me to be a part of that.

But, stopping regularly to be photographed can prove difficult, and in the head-spin of day-to-day life, prioritizing professional family photos can be an easy thing to let slide.

I get it, but also, I really and truly do think that that’s a shame. Over the course of my career, I’ve had the privilege to work with a handful of families who’ve found a way to actually live that dream of having a shelf full of annual family albums, and I’ve seen firsthand the joy and pride it brings out in both parents and kids.

I’ve come to understand that just because life doesn’t always live up to the ideals and values that we set for ourselves doesn’t mean that we value those things any less… some days it’s just hard to keep up.

I HAVE SPENT MOST OF MY CAREER PONDERING HOW TO MAKE THIS EASIER FOR FAMILIES:
HOW DO I HELP MORE PEOPLE ACHIEVE THAT DREAM WHEN LIFE IS TRULY BUSY, AND IT IS HARD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER TO SCHEDULE THE VERY FAMILY PHOTOS THAT WILL REINFORCE OUR MEMORIES DOWN THE ROAD?
TURNS OUT, I HAD THE ANSWER ALL ALONG.

HERE IS WHAT I’VE COME UP WITH, AND HONESTLY, THE CREDIT GOES TO MY DAD WHO GAVE ME THE IDEA A DECADE AGO, BUT I WASN’T READY OR ABLE TO IMPLEMENT IT UNTIL NOW.

Personal finance experts will tell you that automating what is important to you is key to achieving the goals that align with your values without having to think about them over and over. Savings, charitable donations, pesky tasks like changing HVAC filters, are all easier when they’re automatic.

So I/my dad figured, why not create a way for my clients to do that with their annual family photos? Why not give people an easy way to schedule and pay for sessions that eliminates 95% of the hassle that gets in the way of this goal that so many people say they really want to achieve?

So that’s what I’ve done, and I’m super excited about it. Three years ago, I launched The Recollection Collective.

I designed the collective concept to make it easy and more affordable to plan for regular sessions. To give you a predictable, budget-able, reliable way to fill your shelves and walls with beautiful images that showcase your family over the years. To give your future grandchildren and great-grandchildren a treasure trove of family history.

To give future you the invaluable gift of preserved memories. To set in pixels and ink what would otherwise be pencil at risk of erasure.

DETAILS:

EACH YEAR, MEMBER FAMILIES AT BOTH SUBSCRIPTION LEVELS WILL RECEIVE

• a full-length Storytelling Session. (In case you’re unfamiliar, a family session is a custom, 2-ish hour photo session in your home or on location at some special or photogenic spot that we decide on beforehand.)

• a complete set of printable digital files from the session

• a $250 print credit to be used in the online gallery store on any product I offer (prints, frames, albums, etc.)

  OTHER PERKS INCLUDE

  • no separate session fee

  • no travel fees

  • priority scheduling

  • automatic monthly billing

  • an annually-updated guide on how to best prepare for your session

  • unlimited access to an online gallery containing all of your photos as we create them over the years (which makes for a beautiful, shareable, and fully backed-up digital family album). This is a huge benefit, as it serves as a free backup, cloud-based storage for your memories. No more gallery expirations or download deadlines when you’re in the Collective.

  • the option to renew your membership for the following year at the same, locked-in rate (this year’s prices are guaranteed to be the lowest I will offer).

IMPORTANT INFO

• I’m limiting the number of Recollection Collective memberships to keep my schedule manageable so that I can truly give members a premium experience.

• I’m keeping the enrollment period short so that I have a clear picture for the year of whether and how many additional one-off sessions I can accommodate. Enrollment will start on 1/27, and will remain available until 11:59pm on 1/31 (unless they sell out before that).

• The calendar will be self-scheduled by the members themselves on a first-come, first-served basis

  1. for both the fall/winter and the spring/summer calendars, I will guarantee that there is at least one slot open for each member (likely several more), such that in the unlikely case that every member wanted to schedule in a single season, there would still be room.

  2. in future years, existing members will have access to the fall/winter calendar the day before new member enrollment begins, making it beneficial to be an early joiner both in terms of price and scheduling priority.

• Rescheduling for reasons of bad weather, illness, etc. will be handled the same way it always is - we’ll look at the calendar and figure it out.

• Every year, members will be asked if they’d like to renew or terminate their membership prior to the new membership enrollment period. There is no commitment beyond the year, and there will be no surprise renewals. Continuous renewals lock in the monthly membership cost at the price at which you originally joined.

• If you choose to renew but would like to change your subscription level (up or down), you are welcome to do so without penalty, though offerings and pricing may change year to year.

FRAMED PRINTS

These beautiful frames will protect your prints from damage and help them look their very best in a spot for everyone to enjoy.

Frames come in your choice of white, black, walnut, natural, and barnwood hardwood with white mats, or acrylic (pictured) and arrive ready to hang with all necessary hardware included. Sizes below reflect the frame’s external measurement

8x10 // $130

11x14 // $180

12x18// $225

20x24// $275

LAY-FLAT ALBUMS

These premium albums are printed on high-end matte photo paper with thick, lay flat pages. Layout and design options are limited only by your imagination, and can be further customized with your choice of linen or leather covers and custom foiled letters.

10 spreads (20 pages) are included in the price below. Additional spreads (1 spread = 2 pages) can be added for $35 each.

8x8 // $500

10x10 // $650

12x12 // $800