http://www.makaylamadden.com/contactmakayla

Makayla Madden Photography, Meridian, ID (2026)

03/04/2026

“Dear Lord,
It’s the 1st of March-
Not yet Spring-
And all around me
Buds are blooming
And birds are singing.
But I’m weeping
Because the world is burning
And even the earth seems bewildered by this madness.

Bombs are dropping
Bodies are bleeding,
Babies are crying,
Yet branches & blooms keep reaching
Like a child’s arms begging,
“Please God, save us from the evil of Men.”

-M.M.
———
I havent been online much lately. Part of that is just navigating postpartum w/ a baby & a toddler, but another was that I felt like I was tuning in to a horror show every day, telling Satan to take my most precious currency - my time- & flooding my mind w/ images & words & heartache that didn’t have much place to go.

During my prayer time a few weeks ago, God clearly told me to turn it off. I had a vision if I were to walk in on Finn watching/scrolling through some of the horrors & heaviness that’s been on socials & newsfeeds lately & how appalled I would be, regardless if his intentions were “good.” He’s too young to carry that all himself. I know as God’s children, He has to feel the same.

The lie I was telling myself was that “staying on socials” & “tuning in” was making me a better person. The reality was that I was giving evil a platform & worshipping it more than I was worshipping Christ.

So I stepped back. Not to check out, but so I can tune in w/ the world in a REAL way. So I can be present with my family & community around me w/o being crippled.

That said, I’ve found a comforting solace in writing as I’ve stepped away. I’m no longer so heavy I cannot stand, but the ache is still there… in the trees blooming too early, in the grocery store where I reach for extra canned goods “just in case”, in the blue sky I look at with gratitude while I’m painfully aware other skies are filled with smoke.

While this poem may sound a bit bleak, I’d like to leave you with the reminder of God’s hope found in Revelations that contrasts it beautifully-

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” -Rev 21

03/04/2026

“Dear Lord,
It’s the 1st of March-
Not yet Spring-
And all around me
Buds are blooming
And birds are singing.
But I’m weeping
Because the world is burning
And even the earth seems bewildered by this madness.

Bombs are dropping
Bodies are bleeding,
Babies are crying,
Yet branches & blooms keep reaching
Like a child’s arms begging,
“Please God, save us from the evil of Men.”

-M.M.
———
I havent been online much lately. Part of that is just navigating postpartum w/ a baby & a toddler, but another was that I felt like I was tuning in to a horror show every day, telling Satan to take my most precious currency - my time- & flooding my mind w/ images & words & heartache that didn’t have much place to go.

During my prayer time a few weeks ago, God clearly told me to turn it off. I had a vision if I were to walk in on Finn watching/scrolling through some of the horrors & heaviness that’s been on socials & newsfeeds lately & how appalled I would be, regardless if his intentions were “good.” He’s too young to carry that all himself. I know as God’s children, He has to feel the same.

The lie I was telling myself was that “staying on socials” & “tuning in” was making me a better person. The reality was that I was giving evil a platform & worshipping it more than I was worshipping Christ.

So I stepped back. Not to check out, but so I can tune in w/ the world in a REAL way. So I can be present with my family & community around me w/o being crippled.

That said, I’ve found a comforting solace in writing as I’ve stepped away. I’m no longer so heavy I cannot stand, but the ache is still there… in the trees blooming too early, in the grocery store where I reach for extra canned goods “just in case”, in the blue sky I look at with gratitude while I’m painfully aware other skies are filled with smoke.

While this poem may sound a bit bleak, I’d like to leave you with the reminder of God’s hope found in Revelations that contrasts it beautifully-

“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” -Rev 21

02/13/2026

Happy love month from our family to yours! ❤️ (Though let’s be real, very month is love month!) Can’t believe 4 years ago I was celebrating the arrival of our firstborn at my baby shower and today I get to love and smooch on not one, but TWO sweet babies 😭🫶🏼 I feel so incredibly blessed for my two handsome boys and my sweet baby girl! My Valentine’s forever!!

Thank you to for capturing our family during one of my favorite seasons! Hazel has been rocking little vintage Valentine’s onesies for a month now and deserved at least one on camera 😂🫶🏼

01/25/2026

How uncomfortable does it make you to come across a single photo on instagram? When you can’t scroll through a whole photo dump or carousel of images?

If I really wanted to stir things up I could have chosen not to include any audio… 🫣

Isn’t it a little sad… to think our brains have gotten so trained for this constant stimulation? That IG may not even push this on your feed cause it won’t “engage people long enough”?

When did the world get so hurried?

I think when our socials trained us to move move move.

✊🏼 So here’s my petition to make IG a slow, purposeful art museum again instead of some crazy content race. Here’s one single, simple, intimate photo.

You can scroll away if your brain is hell bent on seeing more more more, now now now.

Or, you can choose to let your brain SIT.
Rest.
Soak it up.
Stare a little longer—
Before you move on.

“Let Us Linger”
-M.M.

01/19/2026

Senior photos or bridal portraits? makes it hard to tell the difference 🤯😍🫶🏼

12/25/2025

The greatest Christmas gift of all 👶🏼 (& no it’s actually not my children, but they come close 🤎). Something about having a little Christmas baby this year makes me extra thankful & in awe of the gift of our savior, Jesus, and the marvelous way he chose to redeem this world. 🌎

Just think about it for a moment…
He could have come riding in like a mighty warrior with chariots of fire…
He could have been a great king seated on a worldly throne with a large crown around his head.
He could have chosen so many other ways to save us….

Instead, he chose the most humble beginnings so that he would fully know humanity and our suffering for himself.

He chose to become an infant baby,
Born in a smelly old manger surrounded by barn animals.

He couldn’t talk or walk or care for himself.
He was fully dependent on his parents.
He was small, and fragile, and wonderful, and miraculous,
And he grew up inside this human body-
Stumbling, tripping, learning, just like the rest of us-
into the grown man that eventually quietly walked to Calvary’s Hill
As innocent as the day he was born.
He was fully God and fully man.
And when he was nailed to the cross he could have stopped every person who crucified him,
But instead he felt every pain, every weakness, every consequence of our sinful actions- everything difficult we would experience ourselves in this life,
So that you and I wouldn’t have to carry the pain and weight of it anymore.

As I hold our baby girl under the tree this year and look into her sweet, not yet seeing eyes,
All I can think of is lyrics-

“And the first time that You opened Your eyes
Did You realize that You would be my Savior?
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever?

And I,
I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life
Pray for You to save my life
Pray for You to save my life.”

Merry Christmas, friend. If the story of Jesus is unfamiliar to you… or perhaps has always been just that- a “story”- I would love to share more on why Christmas is so near and dear to our family’s hearts. Jesus came to earth for YOU. Never forget it. 🫶🏼

12/24/2025

And at 30, God stripped me of everything I thought I wanted & left me w/ only what I needed. 🫶🏼

What a humbling year it’s been. On paper you may only see the losses, setbacks, “failures”, & griefs. But in my heart I see where God was leading me to through all of this surrendering:

The Cross.
& a deeper understanding of how necessary death is so we can find even greater life.

I truly feel like God allowed me to live through my own “It’s A Wonderful Life” this year. I started off the year lost & so depressed, feeling like I’d thrown away something important but unsure how to get it back. Like our house during all our renovations, my heart felt cluttered, messy, & in shambles. Despite this picture perfect life we’d been building, I could only see chaos & I didn’t know how to fix it.

But God knew where I was & what He was doing. And while we renovated our home, he was renovating my heart. He literally let me build my dreams from the last 10 years, then asked me to surrender them several months later. “Do you love me more than your dreams?” And while it broke me, it also freed me & made me lighter.

So while I could remember this year as the year we lost $70k, sold our dreamy 1/2 acre to move back to our cookie cutter home in suburbia, or the year I sold my backyard studio…

Instead I’ll remember this was the year God helped me SURRENDER. 🤲🏼

He helped me let go of dreams that were weighing me down so my hands would be free for even greater blessings. 👶

He allowed me to trade picture perfect views for peace of mind. 🙏🏼

He helped me pack up an old version of myself to make room for a new woman. 📦

He pruned away old leaves so new blooms could grow. 🌸

He threw away things that were making me strive & forced me to rest in him. 🗑️

And He gave me courage to be cut open so I could be healed. 🩹

So here I sit, a new babe on my chest, grateful & content.

Im so happy w/ the woman I see in the mirror today. Not because of her accomplishments, but because she was willing to let go of them even when it hurt. She is happier & lighter, & yes, still scared to let go of even more of herself. But Lord, give me courage to do so when you ask.

To 30. 🤎

12/17/2025

Remembering when this beautiful BA kicked cancer’s butt and did a bo***ir session to celebrate 💪🏼 is the epitome of RADIANT. Even when she went through the toughest battle, she never let this light of hers dim. ✨

💄
📸 ***irbykayla

12/14/2025

Sundays in bed ☕️

You’ll always find me most at home with cozy, intimate, warmth filled images. I love exploring and adventuring but my work is most authentically “me” when it’s just me a client snuggled up in a studio or quietly walking outdoors and pondering life. Taking deep breaths, smelling the coffee or the leaves- inhaling the goodness in front of us and exhaling whatever pain or untruths we’ve been keeping inside.

Grateful for every human who lets me into their bubble to document the deepest parts of who they are. 🫶🏼

📸 ***irbykayla
📍

12/02/2025

Hazel Grace Madden • 11.21.25 •

Our little 4 lb 13 oz angel made it earthside safe and sound last week, and to say we are obsessed is an understatement. For those who followed my stories this month, you know this tiny but mighty girl gave us quite a run for our money this pregnancy. 😅 But she’s here, she’s utterly perfect, and she is everything I dreamt of. 🕊️

She is my little moon child, my angel from above, and I shudder in awe when I think of the ways she will rock this world. 🌎 If it’s as hard as she kicked my belly, then she won’t leave footprints—

She will leave craters. 🌖
—————
We have enjoyed this last week in our little postpartum bubble, even though I had a brief ER / pre e scare a few days ago. My BP has stabilized and I do believe we are out of the woods for health scares. Finn is obsessed with his little baby sister and doing so well at being a big brother and helper! My mama heart is so happy knowing our family is complete. 🤎

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and provision and encouragement the last month. I don’t know how we would have done this without our community 😭🫶🏼

11/21/2025

Friday the 21st.
It’s your birthday, little girl. 🎂

Today your daddy and I will meet you in the OR room. As if to confirm this was always going to be your birthday, I woke this morning to more bleeding. You’re ready, and my body is done. And my gut says despite all the anxiety and uncertainty leading up to this day, you’ll come into this world kicking and screaming like the lioness you are.

I am anxious, excited, nervous, and filled with joy all at once. 🤎

Your brother’s pregnancy was easy, but labor was a long, hard, exhausting battle.

On the flip side, your pregnancy was my battle. There were many days, just like in labor, I wanted to give up. When I found myself sobbing and wondering how I’d ever make it to the end.

But today I can say we’ve made it. And I’m so, so, so relieved. Your pregnancy up until these final hours has kept me on my toes, and I have so much empathy for fellow high risk mamas. There will be no words to describe how I’ll feel when you’re finally in my arms.

While I may not experience contractions like I did with your brother, don’t be mistaken- Always know how much I labored and fought to bring you earthside safely throughout these last 8 months. 🫶🏼

Of course I don’t know exactly how your birth will go. I pray it will be peaceful, but I have my nerves and fears. But I am confident that when I go back on that table and they finish stitching me up- this time, by choice- there will be that final piece of my heart that broke 3.5 years ago healed and made whole.

I love you sweet girl. Hold on just a little longer! I can’t wait for you to meet your daddy and your big brother. I can’t wait to see your face that I’ve pictured in my dreams. I can’t wait to hold you, smell you, nurse you, and have you in my arms. 🫶🏼

Makayla Madden Photography

03/04/2026

03/04/2026

02/13/2026

01/25/2026

01/19/2026

12/25/2025

12/24/2025

12/17/2025

12/14/2025

12/02/2025

11/21/2025

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