Think back to the last time you opened up a family album (or shoebox like mine!) from your childhood. What images made you stop and investigate? Which photos do you love the most?
Personally, I have found that photographs containing action and environment elicit the most conversation. It’s these images that bring back memories and show the love of the family.
One of my favorite images is one that captures some of my first steps.
There is something about this photograph that pulls me into my family at that time: my Dad’s hands keeping me from falling and my facial expression, focusing hard. I can just picture my Mom behind the camera smiling proudly in the small living room in our trailer in Savannah, Georgia. I don’t even remember the moment this picture was taken but it elicits emotion. It takes me back to real life at that time.
As I improve my photography skill, I am finding my style develop. Over the last year, my love of lifestyle photography has emerged as a strong focus. Lifestyle photography focuses on capturing families as they are. It documents details, relationships and love. It’s real, natural, relaxed. An awesome family portrait is valuable, as it documents a family’s growth, but I want to capture more. I want images to start conversations, to bring back memories, to help families recall their love years into the future. This means capturing personality, environment, and details.
So expect to see more images from me that show REAL families at their current stage. Life is beautiful and I strive to capture the beauty in the crazy, hectic days that surround newborns, babies, toddlers and families.
