Keep the Fire Going: Life, Loss, and Legacy with Caryn Dodson

⚠️ This is an episode that reflects an earlier season of my work.

I’ve kept it in the archive because it reflects a tender moment in time — one shaped by motherhood, meaning-making, and honoring what matters through everyday documentation.

⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes mention of postpartum depression and stillbirth. Please listen with care, or skip this one, if you're in a tender season. 

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What began as a conversation about shifting from portrait sessions to documentary photography quickly unfolded into something deeper: how grief, postpartum depression, and radical life change led Caryn Dodson to create her family’s memory-keeping platform, Firekeepers Memories.

We explore how photography became a lifeline through dark seasons, why she chose to homeschool and sell most of her belongings, and what she hopes clients feel decades after their sessions.

Topics Included:

• Navigating client education and transitioning to full documentary work
• The quiet strategy Caryn used to introduce documentary sessions in her community
• How postpartum depression transformed her perspective on what matters
• Honoring family through documentation after stillbirth and loss
• The family story behind Firekeepers Memories and how it works
• Why she shoots every session like it might be the last
• Homeschooling, entrepreneurship, and life on the road
• A powerful phone-free challenge to help you notice more in your everyday life

Connect with Caryn + access the archived episode resources here: → dangerouslygoodstories.com/intentional-documentary-podcast-archive