For family photos, there are a variety of different styles of photography, especially within the family photographer category. What you see on social media is more often traditional, posed, and lifestyle focused. I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with different styles of photography, but the one I found myself landing on and coming back to the most was candid family photography. When I had my son seven years ago, I was not able to find this style of family photography online. When I searched for Seattle family photographer, all I found were posed and somewhat formal looking photos – so not us as a family.
The photos I was seeing online didn’t feel like us as a family. My family felt spontaneous, loving, funny, adventure-seeking, silly, and unpredictable – and there was beauty and laughter in all of it. These were family moments that I desperately wanted to capture. It was really about documenting the essence and feeling of who we are as a family unit. And then I realized that the photos that I’ve admired the most over the years were all documentary, candid, and completely effortless. I wanted to see us reflected back in those quiet family moments at home snuggling and caring for our new baby. I wanted to remember how we held him. What we looked like when he smiled back at us for the first time. How we played together outside and seeing his giggly face laughing and having fun. It was just like the old Super-8 films my uncle used to take of us as kids. We would sit back in his living room and watch ourselves back; the tears, the funny moments, the silliness. I wanted to capture that effortless mood for family photos and change the idea of what a family portrait session could look like.
Candid style family photography is a style of photography in which the people and the scene are not staged or posed. They can be taken anywhere: a grocery store, your home, an outside environment, or in a photography studio setting. This is exactly what I like to call my specialty. It’s an area of family photography that I specialize in and also advocate for when including children in a family photo session. Children are naturally unfiltered and candid, and this is especially true for my child. It’s how I began with family photography taking photos of him at home and in our backyard when he wasn’t paying attention. All his little quirky, adorable movements were fast moving, so that’s where I learned all about shutter speed and moving quickly, but also being patient in anticipating moments that I knew were inevitably going to happen.
If this is a style of family photography that you connect with and want to see yourself in, then I guarantee you that we are going to work really well together. There are so many reasons to hire a professional family photographer to document the everyday moments with your family. The biggest reason that I can give you is that selfies are hard. I know because I’ve tried when I’m out and about with my own family. It’s always the right time to get in the frame with your kids and your loved ones. You don’t need a special occasion or to wait for a milestone to schedule your family photo session. I promise you that you won’t regret a single moment of it. Send me an inquiry online when you’re ready.
