While I was overseas in July, I had the opportunity to do a number of photo shoots with families of different ages and sizes. One thing that remained the same throughout almost all of the sessions was that the parents weren’t looking for posed photos; almost every session was what’s known as a “lifestyle” shoot – a session that revolves around documenting a family being a family, rather than sitting and posing (regardless of how loosely my portraits are usually posed) for photos. While I have long been a fan of candids, it seems that the more I work with young families, the greater my appreciation for this kind of session. The results are invariably heart warming, honest, and touching. I still love family photo sessions, but there’s something about tagging along with an 18-month old while she spends an afternoon discovering a new-found fear of worms and a love of cardboard boxes; or being with a five-month old and seeing her joy at being in her Jolly Jumper; or witnessing a two-year old’s excitement over, well, ANYTHING; or playing with two sisters who both LOVE bubbles.
If you’re interested in finding out more about lifestyle sessions, talk to your local photographer about what types of activities your family enjoys and what your options might be for a shoot – you might be very pleasantly surprised by the results! Lifestyle shoots can be organized to mark a special event (pregnancy, new baby, birthday, anniversary), but they don’t have to be. Sometimes, the little, unforeseen, memorable moments that unravel in front of the camera are reasons in and of themselves. As my slogan says: it’s your life – make it a momentous (and Moment.us!) occasion.
Rather than create individual pages for each of these sessions, I’ve put them together as a (mostly) photojournalistic highlight reel. I hope you fall in love with these kids and their families as much as I did. :)
