Hi, I'm Erica · the story between us

You are the storykeeper.
Let me teach you to see like one.

One-on-one mentoring for the people closest to the kids — parents, teachers, camp staff, daycare providers. I’ll give you the skills to photograph the everyday and keep the story — to name what you’ve always been.

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Click Pro Certified
15+ Years Behind the Camera
Mentoring Online, Anywhere
Parents · Teachers · Camps · Daycares
The proof

Fifteen years of showing up
with a camera

These are mine.
I'll teach you to make yours.
Teen in a suit taking a call in a warm-lit diner booth
Documentary · Character
Two children high-fiving through a trampoline net in golden light
Golden Hour · Connection
Baby lit by a window near the Christmas tree
Light · Wonder
Girl applying lipstick in a lit mirror
Light · Reflection
Two brothers in three-piece suits holding folders
Milestone · Brothers
Teen pumping gas, seen in a side mirror
Documentary · Story
How mentoring works

Real progress, one
conversation at a time

No lecture halls, no gear lists. We meet over video, look at your own photos of your own kids, and I show you exactly what to change next time you pick up the camera.

Step one

Tell me where you're stuck

Grab the free guide or book a session and send me a handful of your photos. I look at what you're already doing and where the story is getting lost.

Step two

We meet, we look, we fix

On a video call we go through your images together — light, angle, timing, intention. You leave with a short, specific plan for the very next shoot.

Step three

You practice, I stay close

You shoot with new eyes. Send the results, get feedback, keep going. Ongoing packages keep that loop running until it's second nature.

What we'll work on

Six simple habits that change
every photo you take

No fancy equipment. No photography jargon. Just your camera — whether it's a phone or a DSLR on auto — a little practice, and a new way of seeing the kids in front of you.

01

Get Low

Hold your camera at the child's eye level. On the floor? That's where you'll be too.

02

Back Up

Let the environment into the frame. The story isn't just your subject — it's where they are.

03

Rule of Thirds

Turn on your phone's grid and place your subject along those lines. Not dead center.

04

Find the Light

The most important element in any photo. Face your subject toward the brightest source.

05

Tweak It

Editing isn't cheating. Your camera doesn't see what you see. Bring the image back to what you remember.

06

Shoot a Lot

Digital is free. Use burst mode and capture every micro expression. You'll find the one.

The proof, in pictures

From here… to here

Same kid, fifteen years apart — and still with electronics glued to his hand (that’s a baby monitor he’s licking, not a bottle). The early one was a grainy, straight-to-flash snapshot. Growth isn't a gift you're born with — it's a habit you can learn. Here's mine.

ThenElectronics, straight to flash
NowMy self-appointed security detail

The distance between those two photos is exactly what I teach.

Why I do this

A picture is worth a thousand words. But which thousand? Choosing them is the whole art.

Head-on
Edge-on
From below

The past is a rendering. The present, a projection — even now, being filtered and analyzed. We are always the ones bending the light, with our experiences and our perspective.

Your story isn't fixed.
It's perspective.

How I keep a story

The photo is half.
The story is the rest.

Every image I keep gets a few words — the truth I saw in it. Here's one from two months ago. Same craft I'll teach you: notice the moment, then name it.

Spring 2026 Two teenage brothers in three-piece suits standing together
A storykeeper story

I don't open my own doors anymore

We go out and the boys fall into formation — one on the door, one scanning the room, both making sure I don't touch anything unnecessary or do anything strenuous. Here they are in the suits from their 8th-grade graduation, running my security detail like it's a paid position. I'm the client. The precious cargo. I have never been so managed, or so loved.

That's the craft. The photo is two boys in suits. The story is who they've decided to be to me — and no one else would ever read it from the frame alone.

Erica Smith
About me

Photographer, teacher,
multipotentialite

I picked up a camera to document the beautiful chaos of raising three kids. I didn't want to forget a single moment. I also wanted receipts — because parenthood is nothing like the books I devoured. Nothing.

I taught myself exposure, white balance, and focus the hard way — years of muscle memory so I could be fast enough to catch the fleeting stuff. The micro expressions. The messes that become memories. Today you don't have to do any of that. Modern cameras — even your phone on auto — handle the technical side. What they can't do is see the story. That's the part I teach.

Now I mentor the people who are around kids the most — parents, teachers, camp counselors, daycare providers — anyone with a good reason to photograph them. My whole story is the proof: you don't need to become a professional. You just need someone to show you how to see.

15+
Years
Click
Pro Certified
1:1
Online Mentoring
Free download

Start tonight:
5 Steps to Better Photos

A jargon-free guide with practice assignments you can try today — no special equipment, just any camera and 15 minutes. The fastest way to see what mentoring feels like before you book.

The guide is being finished now — drop your email and you'll be first to get it.

A free guide by Erica Smith
5 Steps to Take Better Pictures of the Kids in Your Care
Using just your phone
1 Get Low
2 Back Up, Then Back Up Again
3 Use the Rule of Thirds
4 Look for the Light
5 Tweaking Is Not Cheating
Ways to work together

Mentoring for every
step of the journey

Start small with a single session or a photo review, go deeper with ongoing mentorship, or learn at your own pace. Every option is built for people photographing the kids in their care.

Try it out

Photo Review

Send a set of your photos and get an honest, encouraging video critique you can rewatch any time.
  • Up to 15 photos reviewed
  • 10–15 min recorded video critique
  • Three things to try next
$45 / review
Book a review
Most popular

1:1 Mentoring Session

A live video call built entirely around your photos, your camera, and the kids you shoot.
  • 60-minute live video call
  • Screen-share of your own images
  • Personalized shoot plan to keep
  • One follow-up review included
$95 / session
Book a session
Go deeper

Ongoing Mentorship

A multi-session package for real, lasting change — with feedback between every call.
  • Four 60-min sessions over 8 weeks
  • Unlimited photo feedback between calls
  • Custom practice assignments
  • Best value per session
$340 / package
Start mentorship

Also available: self-paced video course (in progress) and small-group workshops & cohorts for teams, camps & daycares. Ask about group rates →

Let's begin

Ready to take photos you'll
actually want to keep?

Book a session, request a photo review, or ask about group workshops for your camp, classroom, or daycare. The free guide is the easiest place to start.

Get the Free Guide Email Erica
Email  [email protected]
Based in  Austin, Texas
Mentoring  online, anywhere