Creating Cathy Mores Photography

One last history lesson and then I swear we’ll get to more interesting things. But I feel it’s important to know where I’m coming from to fully understand where I’m going.

Cathy Mores Photography was born out of a love for creating beautiful images. For years, and years, and years, I photographed still subjects. Spent hours (and days) in the darkroom smelling of developer and making magic from light captured on film. After our nearly three-year-old son was born, I discovered there’s so much more emotion to capture. Now I use the process not only as a historical medium—because in fifty years, we’ll all want to remember those pudgy cheeks and gap-toothed smile—but to use the lens to tell the story of how young lives change, grow, and awaken to the world around them.

There are lots of photographers out there. So many who ooze perfection in a studio setting where all the elements are controlled. But real life happens in between; where kids are running around, exploring, discovering, being themselves, wearing halloween costumes on hot summer days. And those are the moments we remember most. But it’s not just children, babies and families that I photograph—there are beautiful stories to share among milestone moments, too—the transition from high school to college, or the journey of becoming an engaged couple to marriage.

And in keeping with the P39 philosophy of using the details to tell the story, I often use details in my portraiture to piece together the story of the people I photograph—the places and things that they enjoy most, games they play together, hobbies that enrich their lives. Knowing who a person is, as much as what they look like, freezes a moment in time that is forever remembered and treasured.