Relaxed and real life - what is documentary family photography?
There are plenty of motivations for wanting family photographs.
Some families book because they want that polished photo for the annual Christmas card.
Some are seeking a gorgeous portrait to hang in the entryway that shows everyone looking nice, and that represents the best version of their family: tidy, smiling, and together.
Other times the motive is predictability - they want to know what they can expect - or perhaps they saw beautiful photos on social media and wanted that for themselves: pretty location, matching outfits, golden light.
None of these motives are bad or wrong, of course - I’ve had photos made for some of these reasons, too.
We can YES, AND in this space - we can appreciate and enjoy all kinds of things here. ✨
The photos that I cherish the most though, and the ones I want to see every day, are the ones that take me back to some place REAL.
See, photographs can be pretty AND they can be more than that: that they can remind you of something deep and meaningful.
I know not everyone cares for photos that contain deep feelings.
Probably not everyone walks through the living room, sees the stunning, poster sized photo of their well dressed family frolicking on the beach, and is disappointed to realise it makes them feel nothing.
But for those of us who CAN relate, there is an alternative.
Documentary, or ‘real life’ photography removes the posing, the scripting, and the agonising over outfits, and prioritises making a record of who your family are, so that the goal is not so much *creating* moments, but catching them: like the way your toddler climbs into your lap while you’re trying to drink your coffee, or how the morning light falls across the kitchen table.
All the messy energy and love of your ordinary every day, tangled up together.
Right now we’re living in an unprecedented time of curation, styling, and a performative existence that comes with a whole lot of pressure, but there’s also a counter-movement that leans the whole other way, and at the heart of this alternative is truth-telling.
The goal is to show yourself and your children that you’re okay, exactly as you are.
That in fact, that beautiful ordinary honest existence is more than just okay: it’s sacred.
When I step into your home for a documentary session, I’m there to see you - to quietly observe and artfully record the rhythms of your family life.
Those imperfections are your story, and the photos we make will mean everything in twenty years time, because they’ll bring you right back to how it felt to live inside this room.
If you’ve ever looked around and thought, this is our life, and I love it, and want to remember it, just as it is right now documentary family photography is for you.
It’s for families who - in their heart of hearts - know they’re enough, and want to be reminded, still.
♡
These highlights from a 3 hour family storytelling photography session with a crew who lives in the wider Geelong region. ♡
If you’re interested in having a day in your life documented, click here - let’s connect!