I haven't blogged in awhile. I've been busy shooting, and enjoying the beautiful spring weather in the Bay Area. But it's 'bout time to show a bit of what I've been up to. To start, I am so excited to share a lifestyle session I recently shot for a gorgeous family that I'm also lucky enough to call my friends.
People often ask me what I mean when I say that I shoot lifestyle photography. Since it's not the normal "everybody look over here and say 'cheese'" type of session, it's kind of hard to imagine what actually happens during session that isn't posed. In a nutshell, it goes like this: the family chooses a location that is comfortable and familiar to them, whether it be their home or an outside venue that they frequent often, and they get down to the business of having fun while I shoot away. We usually talk beforehand about some of the activities they like to do in that setting and we make sure we have everything we need for those activities on hand during the shoot. And while they are engaged in that play, the magic happens. The magic is real, authentic emotion- belly laughs, big smiles, contemplative stares, movement, and even tears and hurt feelings.
Rather than trying to verbally explain, it's often easiest to show images from a lifestyle session. My recent session with the C Family was the quintessential lifestyle session- relaxed, FUN, and casual. From the moment they inquired about a session, it was clear we were all on the same page about how we envisioned our time together. Joey, the children's mother, wanted me to photograph their children playing outside in the grassy area that it just outside their front door. It's where they spend much of their time together playing sports and having fun. In advance of our time tougher, we talked about some of the activities they like to do out there. Our tentative plan was that they'd blow some bubbles, read some stories together, maybe have picnic, and play a little ball. We got a chance to do a couple of those activities and I'm really we had those plans in our back pocket, but the real magic (there's that word again) happened in the in between movements when the kids were running, having an impromptu dance party, tickling, climbing, and simply relaxing.
It was an honor and a joy for me to photograph this beautiful family.
