Hey, I’m Maria!
Photographer. Mama. Storyteller. Professional child wrangler for parents who embrace the chaos.
I grew up around the arts. My grandpa was a musician, artist and photographer. A lot of my memories of him revolve around the piano, his painting table or photographs he took.
Photography has been a hobby of mine for as long as I can remember. I was the one in high school who was clicking and winding my disposable camera at every social event.
When I became a mom of two beautiful girls, they became my favorite subject to photograph. Soon, I starting taking photos of friends and their kids. It brought me so much joy to photograph special moments of my friends and their kids. I loved being able to give them that experience and realized that this could be more than just a hobby for me.
In 2016, I started my photography business professionally. I was photographing families, weddings, newborn, maternity — everything.
In 2020, the stress of Covid made me question what I really wanted for my business. My heart was telling me that I didn’t want to photograph weddings anymore. I wanted my weekend and summers back with my girls and to get back to my roots of photographing families. As a busy mom myself, I know how hard it can be to make time for taking and printing family photos.
I renamed my business to The Framed Narrative and opened a studio space in Milwaukee. The Framed Narrative exists to make capturing and documenting fleeting childhood moments easy for busy parents and fun for the whole family.
I feel so lucky to be able to do what I love every day. It’s truly my honor to be trusted with telling family stories and I hope to photograph your beautiful family.
Our Approach
Find joy in the in-between moments is what life’s all about and it’s what I do best. Families who embrace what’s real over perfection are my kind of people. For the kiddo who just wants to run around, I see you. To the mom who wants just one good photo, I’ve got you. Even though I thrive on watching real moments unfold between loved ones, I won’t throw you to the wolves. I will give you plenty of direction during all the right moments, we will play games, run around and I will do my best to make you forget that I am there-in the best way possible. You won’t feel awkward and you will have fun! I promise.
Our Core Values
Family First
We believe in always putting family first. In our own lives, and our clients’ lives. To us, this means giving grace to embrace the unexpected, let go of perfection, and lean into the season of life we’re in, even if it’s messy.
Real
We’re not interested in a romanticized view of life and parenthood. We seek to capture snapshots of real life – authentic smiles, genuine connections, and candid moments.
Supportive
Our clients are busy. It’s our job to make their photoshoot and printing experience as easy and carefree as possible. At every turn we try and evoke a calming and supportive presence.
Generous
We are mindful of supporting our local community and businesses as much as possible. Each month we donate a portion of our revenue to local and national organizations we believe in.
