10 Signs A Documentary Family Session Is For You

Lately I've been wondering what exactly why documentary-style family photography brings me so much joy. I know I would love to have photos like these of my own family someday, but why? And after some soul searching I thought I would write a list to help you figure out if documentary-style photographs are for you, too.

1. YOU WANT PHOTOGRAPHS OF REAL MOMENTS AND PHASES OF YOUR LIFE

Looking through traditional portraits, you may not get a lot of insight into what life was like at that point in a family's life. However, documentary photography will capture fleeting moments and turn them into memories that will never fade.

2. YOU WANT TO HAVE GENUINE JOY IN YOUR IMAGES

Bursts of laughter make for great memories, and those are rarely accomplished on command. In documentary photos, there's an opportunity to show what your child is laughing about, too, whether it is dad's shenanigans or the arrival of grandma.

3. YOU AREN'T SCARED OF THE NEGATIVES

Sometimes children are  cranky and throwing the biggest temper tantrum you've ever witnessed.  When that happens, you usually have your hands full.  A documentary photographer will capture these moments; both the tantrum and the comforting.

4. YOU WANT TO SHOWCASE EACH INDIVIDUAL IN YOUR FAMILY

Everyone can be captured as the unique and special person they are. Imagine pulling these photographs out when your kids bring home their first boyfriend or girlfriend... (When I brought high school boyfriends home, my dad would pull up a picture of me running around naked in the back yard as a kid, as the free spirit I was. He always had fun with that.)

5. YOU WANT TO SHOW YOUR KIDS WHAT YOU WERE LIKE AS A PARENT

We really don't remember much about our first few years in this world, so documentary photos will fill in some major gaps. And if you are the one taking photographs of your family, you are not in them.

6. YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR BACK IS TURNED

Kids get up to a lot of mis-chief while the parents are looking elsewhere.

7. YOU WANT YOUR KIDS TO LEARN HOW TO ACT NATURALLY IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA

Have you noticed how most photos of an event or trip are just selfies and group shots? I'd rather have photos of what actually took place that day.

8. YOU DON'T LIKE POSING FOR THE CAMERA

A few of my clients have told me that they don't look like themselves in their pictures. At first, I would get nervous; the whole point of my photos is that they are being themselves! So I had to ask for more details, and it turns out that they're just so used to seeing posed pictures of themselves that the documentary photos surprise them – in a good way.

9. YOU DON'T WANT THE HASSLE OF A TRADITIONAL PORTRAIT SESSION

You can just do your thing. There is no pressure or bribery involved to get the kids to do something specific for photographs; they are just happy to get to spend time with their parents. If you have a newborn, it's even easier! You just get to snuggle up and enjoy your baby, whether the baby is sleeping or awake.

10. YOU WANT TO CAPTURE THE DYNAMIC OF YOUR FAMILY, NOT JUST THE FACES

Photos that capture who you are as a family are just extremely important.