Telling stories, preserving memories, capturing life just as it is. That is the goal of documentary photography (also called storytelling photography, or family photojournalism).
This session, by the crazy talented Hannah Cross of Point Four Photography, was my family's very first documentary session.
For me, family photos has always meant lots of stress. Planning outfits for months, bribing kids, and crossing my fingers that my husband will be a good sport. Sound familiar?
Not this session. Not even kidding- I let my four year old choose her outfit, AND how she wanted her hair done. Crazy, right?
We wanted to document something that was meaningful to our family, so we went on a little outing to our favorite place- Wheeler Farm. We dressed basically how we always dress- except for I might have actually worn real clothes and done my hair instead of wearing yoga pants and a ponytail. ;) But I swore to myself I would not stress about this session. And I didn't!
Hannah came to our house and started taking pictures of us getting out the door (the hardest part), then just hung out and followed us while we had a normal night at the farm- feeding the ducks and having a picnic. We took about 5 minutes to do a posed shot- but the rest was 100% non directed.
You guys, these photos completely blew me away. These are some of THE most meaningful photos I have of my family because they so perfectly tell our story. Our personalities, the connection we share, the way we look everyday-- who we are right now.
Time fades memories. But now these precious memories are preserved in these photos. I've already printed them in a beautiful album, which will be treasured by my family for years and years.
And THIS is why documentary photography has my heart.