Amanda and her girls at home
Everyone loves the casual images, the ones with real laughs and real affection. It’s hard to do that in a portrait session or a holiday mini session, because everyone needs time to relax, and let’s face it, most people want a posed, traditional photo for their holiday card. Everyone’s dressed up, the kids are prepped to behave and smile at the camera, and by the time everyone relaxes, the session is over.
When we do a Lifestyle Documentary Session, we’re going to start by hanging out at home and letting the day unfold.
Everyone’s relaxed at home around their favorite things. The music’s playing, you have your favorite snacks, you can take your shoes off.
I talk to the kids about what they’re into these days and hang out in their rooms looking at their favorite toys/games/collections. They may jump on the bed, show me their Legos or doll house or new lip gloss, or we’ll discuss their favorite doctor in Dr. Who (I’m partial to Christopher Eccleston). I take a few portraits in the window light, then we wander back to rejoin the family and see what everyone else is up to.
We do things like make pizza together or swim in the pool or give the dog a bath, play board games or make cookies or knit a sweater, toss a softball around or go for a walk in the neighborhood.
In the middle of it all, we’ll stop for portraits if I think the light is especially nice or the kids are especially giggly.
I delight in bare feet, smudged faces and wind-blown hair. I can handle shyness, melt-downs and sullen expressions – I’ve been living with it for the past 13 years 🙂
I want to give you a glimpse of what your family looks like and give you images that reflect your life as it is.