The Story of You

When you think of a family photo session what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Is it the hope that your child will sit still long enough to look at the camera this time? Will your partner groan and complain the whole time and drag his feet getting ready? Because let’s face it, they’re worse than the kids sometimes. Or is it the agony of trying to decide where to go… the beach… the park… downtown? Or what about in that field of flowers that you keep seeing your friends posting? You’ve seen at least 10 posts so far of families standing in the middle of a yellow field, their profile pictures all looking the same as the next person.

What if I told you there was a way to have a family session without all the headaches and stress that goes into them? That you don’t have to spend hours coordinating family outfits and getting everyone out the door to spend hours at a less than unique location. A place that is not special and meaningful to your family.

It goes by many different names…documentary photography - storytelling sessions - day in the life…but they all mean the same thing: documenting your family just as they are: unscripted, non-posed and 100% real. There is no direction from the photographer at all. I won’t make you stand or sit awkwardly in a way that doesn’t feel natural to you. I won’t tell you to tilt your head slightly to the right or to ask your husband to try to relax and enjoy himself. I won’t be jumping up and down making silly sounds while clapping my hands to get your toddler to look at me just to get a smile. What I will do is follow you around as you go about your day, whether it be in your home or out doing everyday family activities. I will be there to not only capture the laughter and the love between your family, but all the moments that comes with being a family…the tears, the pouting and the frustration one has when they don’t get what they want. I will be there to capture it all.

Family documentary photography captures the little details of your life that one might take for granted now but cherish in the future. Like your three-year-old daughter’s messy hair after nap-time (or in my case every waking moment no matter what I do) every strand going into different directions. Or your son’s favorite superhero shirt that he insisted on wearing every day because it gave him super powers. Let’s imagine 10 years from now you are looking at those pictures of your children and you are instantly taken back to that moment, the feelings and emotions that happened that day. Now, let’s look at a picture of you and your family standing in a middle of a picturesque field all wearing the same matching outfits smiling forcefully at the camera with the sun setting behind you. Sure, it’s a beautiful, wall worthy shot, but does it capture the raw essence of who your family truly is? Lastly, let’s think about a memory from your childhood. How vivid is that memory? Do you have a picture of it?

Here is me at around 6 or 7. I’m sitting in the back of my dad’s pickup truck (those were the good ol ’ days) drinking a Pepsi© and sticking my tongue out. To an outside observer, they wouldn’t understand the significance behind this picture. They wouldn’t know the history or the importance of this event in my childhood. They wouldn’t know that this is what I use to do every time someone tried to take my picture. Okay, I confess I still do it! There are more pictures of me sticking my tongue out like this than there are pictures of me giving a “cheese” smile. There are so many memories and feelings I have when look at this picture. It’s like I’m instantly back in that truck, and I can feel the wind on my face and every single bump in that road. I can hear the other cars zooming past us. I can taste that Pepsi©. This is the childhood I remember.

So, the next time you’re thinking it’s time for another family portrait, I want you to take a moment and think about why you wanted them done in the first place. Is it because you want to remember what your family looked like when you were at this point in your life? Is it because you want to capture your family in real life and remember those moments as they were happening? Do you want to be in the pictures too?

To quote one of my favorite 80s movies: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”