I love a good year-in-review! An Ultimate Favorite Photos List makes me think back to my start. As a teenager, I coveted a creative career and I wanted to do something fun and interesting. My go to was National Geographic Photographer but college was not in my cards, and I started making my way through life.
Once I started dabbling in photography again, I realized that I love people as my subjects. Portraits felt very meaningful. This was back in the aughts before the whole selfie thing, but I would argue that a well crafted portrait is still quite meaningful.
Today
Now, here I am with over 10 years of my career as a portrait photography and still loving it. January is the perfect time to look back and examine what was great and what was well, not-so-great. Here and now we are focusing on my favorite photos that I took in 2022. So basically a best-of. Most of them are my professional work but there are some personal things peppered in. This is my first best of since 2019 which you can see here. Of course best of is subjective but I find that my favorite photos from a session are occasionally not my clients’ favorite. Sometimes I love a photo because the light is gorgeous and sometimes it’s because of what the photo makes me feel.
My Faves
Here it is. A collection of my ultimate favorite images from 2022. It was not easy to pick but it was fun. This process made me pretty nostalgic. The years are passing by so quickly but I have my photography to lead me back through the good times. What a blessing this is.
If we haven’t met yet, hi helloooo I’m Leslie 🤍
I’ve been behind the camera for 13+ years, and I’ve learned this the hard way your clients don’t need to be “photogenic”… they need to be directed.
Most photographers think posing is about telling someone where to put their hands. It’s not.
It’s about making people feel something natural enough that the pose disappears.
My clients don’t walk in as models.
They’re everyday people who feel awkward, stiff, and unsure what to do with their bodies.
But with the right posing framework, they leave looking like the best version of themselves.
Here’s what I teach photographers after 13 years of trial, error, and thousands of shoots:
As a photographer, your job is to
– never say “just be natural” (they won’t)
– guide micro movements (chin, shoulders, hands matter)
– create motion instead of stiffness (movement beats posing)
– build trust so expressions become real, not forced
Because great photos aren’t about perfect angles…
They’re about making your client feel seen, comfortable, and confident in front of your lens.
Posing is a skill. Direction is an art.
And once you understand both, everything about your photography changes.
💬DM “POSE” if you want my exact client directing prompts I use on every shoot
POV: you let it happen.
You stopped worrying about the perfect pose, the perfect smile, or what you were supposed to do with your hands.
You just showed up and let the moment be what it was.
And somehow, that’s always when the photos feel the most like you🤍
The real laughs.
The little looks.
The soft moments you didn’t even realize were happening.
That’s the kind of beauty I’m always looking for.
If you want photos that feel natural and easy, without all the pressure to perform for the camera, I’d love to capture that for you📸
Imagine if your photographer sent you photos like this.
The kind you open and instantly feel something.
Not because everyone is posed perfectly, but because it feels familiar.
Like your family, your love, your little world, captured exactly as it is.
✨The soft smiles.
✨The tiny details.
✨The way your kids look at you.
✨The moments that feel simple now, but will mean so much later.
That’s the beauty of photos like these, they don’t just show what everyone looked like, they bring you back to how it all felt.
If this is the kind of feeling you want in your photos, I’d love to help you create it📸
“They’re just photos.”
But really, they’re the little things you’ll always want to remember.
The way they smile at you.
The tiny hands.
The messy laughs.
The cuddles, the chaos, the love.
The season your family is in right now🤍
Photos have a way of making the everyday feel special, even the moments that seemed so simple while they were happening.
And that’s what I love capturing most: the real, sweet, in-between pieces of your life.
If you’ve been wanting photos that feel warm, natural, and full of the people you love, I’d love to help you capture this season exactly as it feels.📸
POV: you wanted photos that feel like love in the movies, so you hired me.
But not just the big, dramatic kind of love.
The everyday kind.
The tiny hands wrapped around yours.
The giggles you wish you could save forever.
The way your people look at each other when they forget anyone is watching.
That’s what I want to capture: the real feeling of it all.🤍
If you want photos that feel like your kind of love, comment “PHOTO” and let’s create something you’ll want to keep forever📸
