What I love most about day in the life sessions is the amount of time I get to spend with families. The longer I am with your family the more comfortable everyone becomes with me, and before long, I am no longer a photographer, but “part of the family”. With a little time, the children forget about the click of my shutter. They stop asking me what I am doing and they stop performing, so to speak. Kids are trained to act a certain way when they see a camera. It is human nature. With documentary family photography, it is our job to help our subjects relax and to just be themselves. Day in the life sessions really help facilitate this. Once kids are comfortable, they forget about the camera, and that is when the magic happens.
This full day in the life session was no different. I met the family the night before, for dinner and playtime. During that time, I never got my camera out of my bag. I invested time getting to know the wee one, so come the next morning when I was ready to start photographing, she was already familiar with me.
I got up when the little one got up, and the session started with some father/daughter time. Next was homemade pancakes on the deck with plenty of time to explore, before we headed to the pool for a morning swim. (I love swimming during sessions!) In the afternoon we rode bikes and went out to lunch. Then we came home and everyone napped before we got up and played more. Bath time and dinner on the deck before bed finished off our day in the life session. Now, this family has these everyday moments captured forever. It is a time capsule for their family that they will always treasure.
What about you? What would you like to remember from your family life? Tell me about it in the comments below.
