About your family life documentary photography session

I’m so excited for you guys. I hope this day is going to be so relaxing, fun, and just a great excuse to hang out at home as a family. But you might be wondering how to prepare for a session like this?

Preparing for your Session

What should we wear?

These sessions are about remembering your every day self. So I think you should dress as your every day self.

Where will the session take place?

You may choose where to have your session. Documentary sessions aka “day in the life” sessions often take place at your home. Your home is the special place where your family feels comfortable and relaxed. Plus, your home will also be captured as well. It’s a pretty important part of your family’s life together.

There are other places that you might want to capture like your favorite park, a favorite hang out place, or a child’s activity like dance or soccer. And you can choose to have your session at multiple locations within the session'.

About your in home photography sessions

I want to make a note that just like you don’t need to dress up, there’s no need to anything special to prepare your home. These images are about your every day home. That’s really what you want these to look like! You want them to be representative of your family life together during this period. One day, they will be your time machine to reminisce over these days. And just remember you’ll be able to see your images before they are shown anywhere else. You’ll be able to ask me not to show something if it feels too private or uncomfortable. You are trusting me to come into your home, and I will respect your wishes if something seems too personal for me to show. I got ya!

What should we do during our session?

I think it’s most important to reflect on the family activities that are the most meaningful to you. The things you do together that you will look back on in years and cherish.

Here are some examples to help get you thinking:

Playing in the backyard with bubbles, balls, or chalk
Tending a backyard garden
Riding bikes and scooters around the neighborhood
Playing hide and seek
Reading favorite books together
Playing Candyland
Playing chef in the pretend kitchen and serving mom a tasty plate of waffles and pickles. Yummm.
Baking cookies in the real kitchen

Some examples for the park might be:

Swinging at the park
Climbing and sliding on the playground
Picnicking at the park
Playing soccer or frisbee together or maybe a game of family freeze tag
A mini hike through the park

Think about the things you enjoy doing together with your children and write out a list. Then, think about what would fit best into the place, day, and time we have together.

One other thing to consider is what your children enjoy doing on their own. The sessions don’t need to be nonstop interaction as a family. If you bring out your children’s favorite toys then I can capture these moments of their play time

Who is welcome at these sessions?

Everyone! Anyone who is important to your family is completely welcome to participate in your session. The more the merrier for documentary photography sessions.

During your session

I’ll arrive at your house. We will meet each other and jump right in. I will completely follow your lead and hang back and observe. I won’t be suggesting any activities or interactions - these are all up to you. By allowing you to control all of this, I am capturing your family at its most genuine. This will bring about images filled with the most authentic emotion and interactions that are true to your family.

You don’t ever need to worry about entertaining me during a session. I am comfortable simply observing and taking images. This could feel awkward though for some, and in that case, I am also totally happy to chat. We’ll figure out what feels right. Children are usually curious at first when I arrive, and they may want to see my camera and ask questions. That’s great. Eventually they will forget about me and play as they usually would.

After your session

When our time together is complete, we’ll say our goodbyes. I’ll head back to the shop, and let my little elves go to work on selecting and processing the best images to tell your family’s story. I will load your images into a gallery online with a private link and password for your family to view. If there are any images that you feel uncomfortable with then I can take these down at that time. Once you have seen the images then I will begin creating a slideshow video set to music with the best storytelling images from the day. I will make this available in a private location for you to download. If you have ordered a book then I will continue on to create your book for you. Books typically take around 2-3 weeks additional time to create and ship to you.

I hope you love your session and images as much as I do. I hope to be here and available to document your family as you grow together. I’d love to return and capture your next stage of life or next important family event.