j'adore le style

j'adore le style | compiled by kelly sauer

[kellysauer]

so i’m not sure what comes next this week after spending a lot of it delivering a super beautiful new shoot, but let’s try this favorite image, shot with my friend @lacygeary in charleston. i am so deeply grateful for the few real friendships i have found within the wedding industry over these last few years. it makes shots like these so much more beautiful to me. even if i’m not doing or achieving everything i think i want to be, moments like this remind me that i am truly very rich, sharing this beauty with others who feel it too. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #storyofbeing #portrait #friendship #fineartportraiture #charlestonportrait (at Charleston, South Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7bAoDNDA0A/?igshid=1l4ufvwibgx6m

[kellysauer]

my word for 2020 is “faith.” what’s yours?⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ i have this sense that this year i am going to need to move forward even if i can’t see the end, even if i can’t see the next step.⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ i am asking all the questions about everything this january, and in the middle of all i don’t know and can’t really answer, there are two things that i am certain about: one, love is the most important thing, and two, He is always worthy.⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ i don’t know exactly how this helps make anything better in my world (things rather blew up in my world here at the end of last year, and i feel like i am still drowning in the anger and grief and shock of it all), but i can’t get these words out of my head:⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ ___________⁣ How does a moment last forever?⁣ How does our happiness endure?⁣ Through the darkest of our troubles⁣ Love is beauty, love is pure⁣ Love pays no mind to desolation⁣ It flows like a river through the soul⁣ Protects, perceives, and perseveres⁣ And makes us whole⁣ Minutes turn to hours, days to years then gone⁣ But when all else has been forgotten⁣ Still our song lives on⁣ ____________⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ it’s been a slow start for me, this january. i don’t have much time for thinking and feeling right now. i want to squeeze my eyes shut until i’m really ready to be here - but faith won’t allow that perfectionism, so here i am. ⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ i’m not sure what to say about anything right now, but i know showing up is my next step, and being loved and holding onto Love and letting Him lead my way forward.⁣ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⁣ #bykellēsauer #faith #oneword #oneword2020 #storyofbeing #personal #sunrise #newyear #His https://www.instagram.com/p/B7V2uxfDgxo/?igshid=fzawvtlwogr1

[kellysauer]

here’s to fresh mornings and brand new days, and here’s to knowing what day you’re living in. (oh, and also to black-and-white sunrises - @lovedaphnemae - your preset!!! 😍), which surprised me happily this morning while i was thinking about what i wanted to post for my first post of 2020. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ i may become more coherent as the week moves forward, but for now, this recovering introvert is starting with the light. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ tell me a story about your new day? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #grapevinesunrise #kellēsauergoes #storyofbeing #daphnemaepresets #sunrise #morningslikethese #livemoremagic #theartofslowliving #introvert (at Grapevine, Ca.) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7BIPBcDeNK/?igshid=12dtp0tvu5rh8

[kellysauer]

when you get hit hard and knocked down by life (or by anything), you can choose to get up again. you do not have to be victimized or angry or bitter or hopeless. your worth isn’t defined by your trauma. it may take a while for your perspective to shift from pain and shock to strength again, but you are not broken because something tried to break you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ live anyway. you have never not been whole. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ (i am so grateful for this reminder from several incredible people who echoed each other in my real life yesterday.) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #christmaseve #bykellēsauer for @clairepettibone w/ @pagebeauty #storyofbeing #iamdragon #unbreakable #bridalfashion #photographer #contentdevelopment #confident (at Claire Pettibone) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6dQ4jMj9nF/?igshid=sis3bq79wd1

[kellysauer]

this is a thank you. to people who pray. who remind me who i am. who remember me and stop over, who listen and hold my heart for a moment. it’s a thank you to every voice who has spoken to make me laugh, to call me back to life, and to remind me i am loved. it’s still dark and raining outside, but my internal burden is lighter. thank you for courage, and for hope, and for beauty. you have my heart. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #grateful #storyofbeing #winterroses #wishicoulddomore #flora #roses (at Charleston House) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6bx9x3DKjQ/?igshid=k9qks317ermh

[kellysauer]

the winter solstice has come and gone, uncelebrated again in my home with me barely functional after an intense personal attack over a kindness i offered that was incredibly (and willfully) misunderstood. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ i am trying to put one foot in front of the other, to feel the holidays, to feel anything, to be with my family, to SMILE - i feel a need to prove that my life will go on after this evisceration of my character and my heart and a relationship i had hoped to continue - but it’s hard. i’m walking through the worst depression i have experienced in several years. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ i am saying it because i cannot pretend it’s not here. because what i do manage to experience this holiday will be both bittersweet and memorable, as i hold onto whatever hope i can find. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ i have walked into life through similar pain before. i know i have to go through it to be alive. but this darkest time of the year has turned into the darkest night my soul has experienced in a very long time, and while i may know the beast of hopelessness and erasure i am fighting, it is not an easy battle. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ it seems appropriate to me that it should be advent right now, that these dark weeks leading up to my christmas should be filled with such desperation for the light. i know it will come back, as the days pass, as the world turns and time and life moves on. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ be kind this week, my friends - to yourself and to your people. the holiday may not be what we hoped it might be; we may not feel it the way we wanted, but kindness will bring hope. gentleness won’t break us more. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #storyofbeing #iamdragon #hope #advent #power #iwillhavemyownback https://www.instagram.com/p/B6aqTT8jElN/?igshid=dvikgkdb3oaj

[kellysauer]

wandering back into italy for a minute because it was such a happy place for me when we went last year. i had dreams of italy before, but @cosmosgathering in tuscany with @lscarfiotti gave such a beautiful new perspective to those dreams, and to how much i have to bring into the world as an artist. it’s a trip i will never forget, not just for the fact i was in italy, but for how i grew while i was there, and for the strength and depth i uncovered in myself as @wasserzapfen and i experienced the place. i almost said no because of my fears; now i would do it again without hesitation. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #storyofbeing #kellēsauergoes #travel #tuscany (at Tuscany) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6S35ahDW4F/?igshid=bovx7y0moqcu

[kellysauer]

a note about why i am on instagram (and why the algorithm doesn’t really bring me down): ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ i believe that life lived well is art, and i like to tell - and to discover - stories about people making art out of their real lives. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ to say it simply: observing, photographing, and living this life-art heals a wound in my heart about not being able to live, and answers a deep question for me about the reasons anybody needs beauty. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ for me, instagram is almost a devotional, this daily collection of beauty that reminds me what it means to be in the world, even (and perhaps especially) on days when i am so much in the world that i don’t have time to make art. beauty might not be salvation, but it’s a tether to the holy, to the things that take my breath away and remind me that my life isn’t really limited, that *here* is not all there is. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ instagram is like a picture book that takes me places, offers me concrete ideas for doing beautiful things with my life, and lets me try being a part of it all. we dabble in hope and dreams here, and sometimes perfect and sometimes perfectly imperfect, but whatever we do here, it’s a privilege to contribute to this collection of images and words and hopes and dreams and wins and losses. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ i don’t need the algorithm to work for me; i’m not trying to sell anything. instagram is a way for me to be in the world with my art and my life, with other people who are in it too. i hope i can return as much beauty as i have found here. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer 📷 for @clairepettibone w/@pagebeauty #storyofbeing #neversettle #livemoremagic #instagramthoughts #bridalfashion #thartistsway #artistlife #artforlife #reallifefineart https://www.instagram.com/p/B6Qcpx2jcV7/?igshid=kjiztpk3ch1j

[kellysauer]

did you know magnolia pods explode to spread their seeds? you know, the more i reach for life - the more i invite it - the more violently i find i must enter into it. being alive requires more passion than gentleness, more fire than caution. you cannot gain your life without giving your life. i asked to live; i did not know i was asking to die. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ i know of someone who lived for his dream, won all the glory and success he could have asked, then turned around one day and sold everything, dropping off the radar to live his real life instead of his dream. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ sometimes dreams turn into nightmares. make sure you’re giving your life for a life, not for a dream. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #storyofbeing #sleepless #ididntreadtheemail #butiknowwhatitsaid #failure #lifestyle #iamdragon #flora #power #liveauthentic #iwillhavemyownback https://www.instagram.com/p/B6IDvB0jDfS/?igshid=mzgp4yrpy9ii

[kellysauer]

going gently... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ it’s been a while since i’ve been sick. it’s never a convenient time, is it? i might be fighting it well enough to function, but i miss the momentum i had been gaining. sigh. gotta love those post-thanksgiving germs from the kids’ schools! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer 📷 for @silkandwillow w/ @lacygeary #silkribbon #photography #livethelittlethings #sickday #holidayseason #storyofbeing (at Silk & Willow) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5-WbT_DdjQ/?igshid=1aw8i0942gtee

[kellysauer]

“everything she does is beautiful...” [ lifehouse ] ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ outtake from one of my favorite 2019 shoots - w/@rebekahpolo and @mystiquejewelers. i could live here... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #kellēsauerbts #kellēsaueridentities #portrait #storyportrait (at Greenhill Winery & Vineyards) https://www.instagram.com/p/B55EzABjyt1/?igshid=f068mcqin74a

[kellysauer]

charleston house at christmas. it feels a bit more like home here this year... (not pictured: all my website-building clutter on the family table to the left... 😂) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #kellēsauerbts #charlestonhouse #winter2019 #christmastime (at Charleston House) https://www.instagram.com/p/B50Doi7jIwk/?igshid=1cyxizesr2w92

[kellysauer]

a business update, for those who have been following... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ sooo... all the work i have done this year has led my business out of the photography industry. (don’t freak - i’m an artist and the camera is my tool, and i’m gonna keep taking pictures! i am keeping bits of my photography business open - my @peterandpiper.co pictures for the fall, and @exquisitrie for 2-3 intimate weddings per year, and pop-up portrait sessions when i travel, because that’s my fire 🔥). i am moving the main part of my business toward creating content in both words and pictures for people who are living their fire and looking for support in content creation. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ one of the beautiful things about being an entrepreneur and choosing the direction for your own business is that you don’t have to run things the way anybody else does, and you can pivot things to serve you, your people, and your business better. i have this brilliant knack for cocreation, and i love making beauty with other people for them to share with their people. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ i’m still chewing on a name for this pivot, but i am finally springing for a @tonicsiteshop website to customize after years of loving their work. i can honestly say i haven’t been this excited about a business move in a very long time. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ here’s hoping that 2020 will look a lot different for my business. i mean, it really could only look better from my fears that i needed to quit altogether, right? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer 📷 for @silkandwillow w/ @lacygeary #entrepreneur #kellēsauerbts #branding #contentcreation #storyofbeing #accidentalannouncement (at Silk & Willow) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5uzdBEjQQI/?igshid=q61qo31ah6ax

[kellysauer]

corners. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #light #boudoir #storyofbeing #morningslikethese (at Charleston House) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5skgvujvYK/?igshid=1krkjpbnj6k6g

[kellysauer]

sometimes my pragmatic side overrides my artistic side. don’t get me wrong when i say this isn’t always a good thing - i am really proud that as an artist, i know how to keep my feet on the ground - but sometimes things get out of balance, and i forget that there are reasons for making art, that beauty and imagination have value, and that i make art not to make money, but because i desperately need to believe that there is more to life than death, taxes, and carpools. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ so sometimes i have to rebalance and make art purely for art’s sake, do my hair and makeup because i need to remember how to see myself, take pictures because i come alive behind my camera, and get a bit caught up in pretty things because practicality can’t be the sum of my universe. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ (and the funny part of this is that i recognize that doing these things is my pragmatic side standing up for my artistic side, because sometimes art is a discipline, and this how i need to have my own back - but you have to turn the tables, you know? so you don’t just sink into the mundane, embracing survival without abundance and calling it a life.) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #storyofbeing #rambles #abundance #livethelittlethings #theartofslowloving #theartistsway #photographerlife #details #artforartssake 📷 for @silkandwillow w/ @lacygeary (at Charleston House) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5fewoQDhqh/?igshid=1u0wfhyg60lr8

[kellysauer]

Popping into Charleston this coming weekend with ONE session opening in Charleston on Sunday. Want it? DM me with your preferred time, and we’ll chat details. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #charlestonphotographer #charlestonportrait #fashionportrait #charleston #photographypopup #chs #charlestonportraitphotographer #charlestonbeachportrait #travelphotography #kellēsauergoes #chsphotography (at Charleston, South Carolina) https://www.instagram.com/p/B3UQruLD_6Z/?igshid=1mzqp8cayhxgm

[kellysauer]

“People leave traces of themselves where they feel most comfortable, most worthwhile.” [Haruki Murakami] ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #bykellēsauer #storyofbeing #quotes #water #skyscspe #sunrise https://www.instagram.com/p/B235lHaDWKt/?igshid=jut9se1iklaj