Baby Dahm | Steubenville, OH

I always love photographing the Sacraments. The chance to document something so sacred is a joy and an honor and a totally humbling experience. It’s a whole mess of emotions on Sacrament days. This family is so close to my heart, and when Andrea asked me to snap a few photos of her newest daughter’s entrance into the Church, I was over the moon.

But when I got home after the baptism and scrolled through the photos, I was brought up short.

In a few of the images, at the beginning of the ceremony, there are these random spots of light on Andrea and her sweet baby girl. The technical photographer in me knows it’s just lens flare.

BUT. But.

This family has been through a lot in the past couple of years. There has been a lot of joy, but a lot of heartbreak, too. And maybe those little flares of light are reminders for us all. Maybe they’re reminders that there is light in the darkness, that there is hope, that there will be joy again.

Cheers to that light, friends.

C