Family
HELLO BEAUTIFUL HUMANS, LET’S MAKE SOME MEMORIES TOGETHER
Welcoming a photographer to document your being can be intimidating. So let’s address that up-front. Are you intimidated because you want to look a certain way? Do you want your makeup done and your hair perfectly combed? Are you expecting an image where you’re all sitting still and smiling for the camera? Are you trying to copy the way another family’s photos looked? If you answered yes, that’s OK but I will send you to another photographer who is fabulous at that sort of thing. Here’s what I can do for you…
Are you ready to be seen for who you are? At this moment in time. Can you welcome this version of yourself (stretch marks, crows feet, baby’s crocodile tears, or bruises on your elbow) to be loved. Let’s slow down and make some pancakes together. Don’t wipe the syrup off of your son’s hands, let the dog lick off the sticky sugar. After that, an outfit change is OK, I’m happy to changing baby’s clothes too. Can you ignore the camera and pay attention to the people in front of you? Doesn’t it sound nice to just exist?
So! Let’s delete the intimidating ideas of being perfect for the camera. I promise it’ll feel so freeing, like a therapy session, you are being heard and seen. I promise.
I will fall in love with the little things because that’s just me. I’m inspired by the unique and quirky. Mundane is precious. Let’s be that together.
WHERE AND WHEN TO TAKE PHOTOS?
Camera’s need light and moments need comfort. These two things should be considered. The light could be in the morning when the eastern sun is beaming through your windows. The comfort is obviously your own home. Maybe tracing shadows with chalk on the sidewalk while eating ice cream has light and comfort? Or a sunny day at the pool. Do you like to make dinner together and then digest with a family walk around the neighborhood? Or maybe pack dinner to-go for a picnic at the park as the sun is setting? Whatever brings you light and comfort, that’s what I want to photograph.
ADJUSTMENTS DURING CREATION
Hot tip: Don’t tell your kids this is a photoshoot. Tell them we’re doing said activity with your friend, Emily. Emily just likes taking photos. As we’re making these photos, they might be curious about my camera, as kids are, and that curiosity is totally fine. Let’s gently acknowledge their curiosity and then continue to engage in the activity at hand. I think they’ll become obsessed with the camera if we are, meaning, we’re orchestrating poses and giving too much direction. I will do my best to be totally hands-off, just an observer taking note of little moments, maybe telling you to move into some pretty light from time to time. I may engage a little in your activity just to gain the kid’s trust. We’ll keep my role at a minimum, leaving you with more authentic moments. In summary, let go of any expectations and just exist.
FILM DISCLAIMER
I will only be using film. No digital. With that comes errors sometimes. I move slower and so some moments may be missed. That’s the deal you make when being creative. You don’t just make the thing and it’s perfect every time. Let the moments be where they are and the camera to find it’s way to them. Let yourself be surprised when we get the scans back.
RECEIVING YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS
I’ve been through the process before; I get ready to be photographed, I get photographed, I receive the photos online, it’s exciting to look at, maybe I upload a photo or two to my Instagram and then that’s it. I forget about them. Months go by, I’ve lost the online link and forget what hard drive I put them on. Digital dust. It’s more important than ever to print your photos. We’ve fallen complacent to the ease of a computer. Well, let me do the meaningful work for you.
You’ll receive an online gallery, sure. But that’ll be the very last thing you’ll receive out of our experience together. I want to invite you to a forgotten experience, receiving the photographs in your hands. This process isn’t instant but the reward is so much greater. A month after our time together, you should expect the photos in your hands— after rolls of film have been shipped, developed, the strands of film are cut and scanned, then sent back to me for curating, then made into a book for printing. This book will be sent to you and you’ll look at it together, tangible, as a family.
I’m inspired by the photographs I look at my parents when they were kids. Every single one of those exists as film, printed, in a book, in my own hands. This is how I formed a deeper relationship with my parents, even myself. This is how an heirloom actually lives on.
