My nontraditional route to documentary family photography
Even though I call this a nontraditional route, I have to mention that documentary family photography has not been around as a known concept for a long time – so "traditional" is maybe not the right way to put it.
Nevertheless, it seems that there are two main routes to becoming a documentary family photographer. Some got into the field through a background in photojournalism combined with the desire to work with families instead of newspapers. Others were introduced to photography because of a desire to document their own children.
To me, neither of these fit.
I loved the art of photography first
I knew I wanted to make photographs, but it took me a while to figure out what kind of photographs I wanted to make. I tried to do posed newborn sessions as well as happy lifestyle sessions – but I didn't feel right doing them. They didn't fulfill me, they didn't excite me, and they didn't feel comfortable.
As a result, I wasn't able to make kids feel comfortable with portrait sessions, either. It's like they could smell that it wasn't my style to act silly and try to make this a fun experience.
This leads me to my next point...
I want to work on kids' terms
I've noticed that the more kids are bribed to cooperate, the less cooperative they will be. They will get stuck being upset that they don't have their bribes already. This is why I like to do family sessions on kids' terms.
Street photography inspired me
I didn't know about the term documentary family photography when I started figuring out that I was loving the in-between moments more than the posed pictures.
It's a form of therapy
As I've been doing this for about two and a half years now, I'm noticing that I'm drawn to some types of pictures more than others. Something I pay a lot of attention to is touches and connections between family members – and I'm sure this is because I didn't used to be a touchy-feely person. As I've gotten older I realize how much I need – CRAVE – these connections with the people who are closest to me, and I think this is why I hunt for connected moments for my photographs in addition to funny, peaceful or emotional moments.
It's what I would want for my own family
When I look back at pictures from my childhood I find that the ones that interest me the most are the ones where you can see what our every day was like – not the posed pictures that are more about what we looked like than about who we were or what we were like.
So my route to documentary newborn and family photography was not the usual one, but it's been a really amazing one.