YAY! You’ve booked a documentary family session! I hope you’re SUPER excited.
Realistically, I’m guessing you’re feeling a little uncertain. It’s different, right? I’ll probably be in your home. I’m going to see all your mess. You’re probably worried about the state of your home and might be panicking and starting to clean.
Stop.
DO NOT WASTE TIME CLEANING YOUR HOUSE. It’s not about how clean/tidy/perfect your house is. I regularly work around clutter and don’t often feature it (except for the total chaos of kids’ playrooms). That’s the reality of life with kids. I don’t want you to waste time worrying about whether everything looks perfect. That’s not the point.
To help you get ready for your session, here are some simple things I need you to do:
- Talk to your kids (and your partner, where appropriate). Tell them I’m coming and that I’ll have my camera with me. Let them know that you’re going to spend some time together, that I’ll be there with my camera, and that you definitely do NOT need them to smile at the camera. They need to just be themselves and get involved in whatever activity that you’re doing.
- If I’m coming for a newborn session and it’s your first child, there are two things that are helpful to have ready for when I do baby’s solo portraits: a plain (or very lightly patterned) onesie and a plain receiving blanket. That’s all you need. You can count on this session being baby-led: you’ll feed when you need to, change your baby when you need to, spend lots of time cuddling and looking at your new child, and do anything else that needs to be done including laundry, reheating your coffee for the 17th time, burping your baby. If you are breastfeeding and do not want photos of this, it’s helpful to let me know beforehand or try to arrange feeding times so that they don’t happen while I’m there. If you’re unsure about breastfeeding photos or would prefer that they be modest, you can let me know this – I’m happy to shoot selectively and from a distance so that you can retain your privacy.
- Decide whether you want to include a specific activity or not. Some families choose to do a favourite activity while I’m there; others really just want their regular routine captured. You might choose to do something that you’ve always wanted to do but never made time for. If I’m with you for a documentary mini session, it would be a good idea to choose one activity that the whole family can get involved in so that you’re all together for at least a portion of the session. 90 minutes isn’t very long, so maximising your “together time” is really helpful when it comes to trying to capture relationships, since I won’t have time to watch those details slowly unravel the way they normally would over a longer session.
- Kids are smart. They can tell when something is contrived. Don’t choose an activity and direct it because you think it’ll look pretty. Your kids won’t likely buy into it (particularly if you’re busy directing instead of getting involved) and you won’t get the photos that you were hoping for. Keep it real and just choose something that your kids love to do on a regular day OR something that you’ve been wanting to do and just haven’t made time for.
- Decide whether you want to be at home or if you want to go somewhere for your session. Swimming lessons, dance class, a picnic in the park, camping, gymnastics, tae kwon do, out for lunch, to the beach – any of these options can be amazing! If you plan on being at a school or in an organised lesson, it would be a great idea to let the teacher know in advance that I’m going to be there and why. I’m perfectly happy to chat with other parents to let them know what I’m doing. We’re so lucky to have such a welcoming community; I’ve always been welcomed openly and haven’t ever faced any issues, particularly once I’ve explained that faces of other children will not be in photos unless I have express permission from their parents.
- If you’re planning to do any water-based activities, please let me know so that I can bring my bathing suit. The same goes for outdoor winter activities – I’ll dress accordingly. I’ll brief the kids on the rules about splashing the camera once we get to the water, but you can count on me being in the water with you for at least a portion of the time.
- Forget the wardrobe decisions. It doesn’t matter what you wear, whether your kids have on matching socks – or any pants, for that matter – or whether someone spilled juice on their shirt (I’m looking at you, Dad ;) ). Pyjamas are acceptable attire!
- Anticipate that I will follow your kids everywhere. The bathroom, the bathtub, the backyard, into the closet… Everywhere. HOWEVER. I’m not following them as a babysitter. If they’re going somewhere that you wouldn’t allow them to go alone, do not let them go with just me. I will keep your child from killing or seriously injuring themselves, but my job is to document the risks they take, the falls they have, and the permanent marker that may end up on your walls (while I giggle quietly in the background – sorrynotsorry), not to interfere with those things. Please don’t trust your kids any more or any less than you normally would, just because I’m around.
- RELAX. Be present with your family. Don’t worry about whether someone is doing the right thing (probably not), what happens if your child has a tantrum (they will) or if you have to discipline them in front of me (quite possibly). I will always a) laugh at how ridiculous tantrums are and b) support whatever you need to do in your role as a parent without any trace of judgement.
I’m Ang – a Cornwall, Ontario documentary family photographer with a passion for capturing light and photographing natural moments in life as they happen. My goal is to capture memories that you will cherish once your children are too grown up to curl into your lap for cuddles and the house seems oddly quiet at night. I love meeting new families in their natural environment and getting in amongst the bedlam so that I can document the perfectly imperfect realities of daily life. Please explore more of www.momentusstudio.com to see more examples from this Ontario documentary family photographer.
