There are a lot of things people ask when I talk about my approach to family photography, but here I want to share the top 5 of the FAQ people ask me and, of course, the answers to those.
IS IT THE SAME AS LIFESTYLE PHOTOGRAPHY?
No, it’s not the same. In Lifestyle photography the photographer gives you directions. It’s still a curated version of life, an orquested session where everything is planned from clothes to light.
In a documentary photoshoot everything just happens in front of my camera and my work is to capture the day as it unfolds.
It’s normal life, that means, it’s real life: your real memories are preserved for you to keep them as a family treasure.
If you want to go deeper in what Documentary Family Photography is, you can click here.
SHOULD WE LOOK AT THE CAMERA? OR SHOULD WE ACT LIKE YOU’RE NOT HERE WITH US?
During the day, I expect you to act as you would normally do. I won’t give you directions and you shouldn’t look at the camera for the pictures.
But you don’t have to forget I’m there, ideally, what you should forget about is the camera.
The less you are paying attention or thinking about how the picture will result, the easier the day will be (especially for your children who will just enjoy your company) and the better the images will look.
CAN WE GET SOME FAMILY PORTRAITS DONE DURING THE SESSION?
Some people ask for those photos and yes, you can have one or two family portraits done during the day.
If it’s a small event, we can make a picture of the whole group too, of course.
CAN I GET ONLY DIGITAL FILES?
I believe photos should be on paper. I believe on them as a tangible way of preserving our stories.
That’s why all my packages include prints.
It’s part of my brand: I want you to feel the pleasure of unpackaging your images, I want you to touch them, to hold them in your hands, to sit with your children to look at them.
And I want your children, when they’re older, to find them, to feel amazed by rediscovering such sweet memories and to laugh or to cry of emotion while reviving those moments.
SHOULD WE PLAN AN ACTIVITY FOR THAT DAY?
For a DAY IN THE LIFE session you don’t need to plan anything.
Perhaps you can choose the most active day of the week (for example, if you go to the market on Saturdays as a family, that would be a great thing to photograph).
For shorter photoshoots the main thing I recomend is to avoid screen time. Those are the only boring photos you could get.
But if there’s an activity you know your children will enjoy like cooking together, painting or going to a playground, it could be something great to plan it for that day (this is very good idea when you have teenagers at home and you want them on the pictures too).
