Family Documentary Photography: What sort of images will remind you what parenting felt like in decades to come? Posed Sofa group shots? Maybe not.
This is an actual question I ask the majority of my clients: what images will you be looking at in decades to come that will remind you what parenting felt like… and therefore which image will be proof of how hard you worked at it? Ones of you all sitting on a sofa, smiling and looking at the camera in unison? No, I don’t think so.
Yes for sure, posed sofa group images have their place and there is nothing wrong with having those around. But if I am honest, now that my father has passed on, when I go back to look at images of us, father and daughter, the ones that I love the most are the ones that take me back to how it felt like to be his daughter. Now that I look back at some images of my own step children who are now in their mid twenties, my favourite images are the ones of us doing stuff together. Not all posing for a group shot.
This is why when I am working and visiting a family I spend a lot of my time finding those 100% candid moments that show the dynamics of your family. The images that will mean the most to you in 20 years, once the kids have left the nest, will be the images like those below. The ones that show you the sheer hard work of parenting, the ones that remind you what you used to do as a family unit, the ones that are proof that you did absolutely everything you could for them. Because that’s what I am confronted with families when I visit them. Everyone is involved. Everyone works hard at being a unit. Everyone plays a part. Below mum is teaching Harris how to ride a bike whilst dad looks after baby Angus. Those are the moments.
If you can, try to change your mindset of what a family photo should look like. Nowadays, a sofa group shot can be captured on a phone and by a member of your family or a friend. Hiring a documentary photographer enables you to obtain images that really capture the essence of family life. We use our eye to freeze moments that “say it all” or that celebrate your family unit in unusual and creative ways.
A massive thank you to all the families that I work with who open their doors wide and share their lives AND pay me to celebrate it, exactly as it is, for them. It’s such a privilege to witness it all.
