When I tell people that I am a documentary family photographer, they almost always have no idea what that is. I guarantee that you have seen photographs made in a documentary style, and you have probably fallen in love with some of them. So, let me formally introduce you to documentary family photography!
What?
Documentary family photography is a style of family photography that captures real, unscripted moments as they happen. There is no direction from the photographer. The photographer is there to capture life as it unfolds without any intervention. The images are not a product of the photographer’s ideas, instead they are a product of your actual life! The amazing thing about this approach is that no photographer could possibly create or stage the authenticity and the beauty that comes as a product of living in the present moment. Real laughter, real smiles, real tears, real connections, and real life!
Who?
If you are someone who is nostalgic, who feels that your children are growing up way to quickly, who has a longing for days gone by, or who notices the beauty in the mundane, then documentary photography may be for you. If you do not care about perfection, if you do not mind dirty hands and feet, if you love the quirkiness and craziness of your family and you want to hold onto that forever, then documentary photography is for you. If you feel overwhelmed at the thought of dressing your children in matching outfits and getting everyone to look at the camera, documentary photography could definitely be your thing!
Why?
As a mother of two grown children, I can tell you that I wish I had a visual record of more! Children grow up so quickly! I have boxes and boxes of photographs of my children, but I wish I could have slowed down for one day to capture what our every day was like. Hiding under the blankets watching cartoons before school, eating dinner together, struggling to learn how to tie shoes, playing outside with our dog, laughing hysterically over something that probably wasn’t even all that funny, quietly reading books together, and even simply lying down in bed at night with the soft fall off from a nightlight. This is where the magic is.
How?
As a documentary family photographer, my job is to tell your family’s story. Similar to photojournalism, documentary photography is a true storytelling form of photography. Through the study of composition and the use of light we will capture the subtle moments, the loud moments, and everything in between in the most compelling and timeless way.
