A documentary session is designed to tell your family story with as little direction from me as possible. I'll show up about 5 minutes before the start-time, we'll say hi and meet if we haven't before, I'll put my cameras on and that's it. We get right into it by your family carrying on with whatever you were doing before I arrived. 

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These sessions usually flow super easily from one activity to the next. I am always mindful of the time and how long I'm with your family, so sometimes I might make a suggestion to do something new if I feel like we need to move onto the next thing. 

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1. LET THE MOMENTS UNFOLD NATURALLY

The goal of a documentary session is to create truly authentic images and the way for this to happen is by allowing the moments to unfold naturally. What does this mean? It means you don't have to tell your kids to do anything specific.

Does your son always come up to you and give you a squeeze around your neck and kiss on your cheek without you asking? Or does your daughter do a silly little dance when she's in a good mood? Or do your kids have a funny sibling handshake they do together? By letting the kids be, the chances of them doing these things on their own during the session are super high especially because of the amount of time I am with you. BUT if you tell them to do these things they rarely happen the way you want them to.

When you let kids do things on their own time, they do it. If you want a photo of them doing the little quirks they do day to day, just let them be and trust that I am going to capture that moment when it happens naturally.

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2. ENJOY YOURSELF

A documentary session takes anywhere between 2-8 hours, and you may feel like you need to be “on” the whole time. You don’t. I promise. At some point most of my clients forget that I’m there, but if you feel like you need to retreat to a quiet room and take some time for yourself during the shoot, I’ll focus on something else. While it can sometimes feel like the session is perhaps boring or a total gong show, I am creating beautiful and memorable images. My biggest piece of advice to make your documentary session as amazing as possible is to enjoy yourself. Be in the moment with your family, with your kids and with your pet. Be there, go about your day, let the moments happen and TRUST in me and my ability that I am doing what you hired me to do.

Because this is a documentary session and I am documenting natural moments as they unfold, there is no need to remind your kids over and over to, 'look at the camera.' Just let them be. Reminding them of the camera will change the energy of the session. They will look at the camera on their own.

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3. PLAN SIMPLE, UNPLUGGED ACTIVITIES... OR NOTHING AT ALL.

My goal is to capture whatever is normally going on at your house and in your family life. It may be as simple as eating lunch or something like a craft project, basketball or an errand (yes, I can follow you to the grocery store). It might be ballet practice or homework. It might be you on your computer while your partner picks up toys and your kids argue over the last apple juice. The idea is that it’s what you normally do. If you have something to do, you are more likely to act more naturally in front of the camera, and so are your kids. Some parents like to play the day by ear while others like to plan each day’s activities in advance. During your session, either approach is 100% okay. When in doubt, let your kids choose at least one activity.

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4. LOCATION, LOCATION

I shoot both in-home and on-location, but regardless of the “where”, the more important question is – will this place be meaningful to your family? Think of places that your family visits as part of your normal routine. The connection between people is important, but if the environment can add to the story, it will be even more meaningful!

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