What is documentary family photography?

If I tell someone I am a portrait photographer,
I'll get nods and comments like "oooh - nice".

But when I tell people I do documentary family sessions,
I'll get heads cocked to the side followed by "Uh, what's that?"

I usually have to follow up with 30 seconds explaining what I do exactly. It's understandable. Documentary photography has been around for a long time, but pairing it with family photography is a new concept. 

Now that I'm running a promo for Mother's Day which essentially combines the two genres (see below), I'm getting all the questions. So today I'm doing a bit of an explainer about what it all means.

You might have these same questions, but if you have a question I didn't answer,  just hit reply and send it my way—I’d love to help!”

Putting a Documentary Spin on Family

Documentary photography simply means capturing moments with no involvement from the photographer. No guiding, no posing, no re-dos.

Is that how I do it? No, not completely, but I'll get into that later. 

But what most people would call "candid", I call documentary. When someone asks for candid pictures, what they really want is natural images that show the beauty of the moment. And that's what I give them.

It's as if the photographer is eavesdropping on the moment and snuck in the pictures. 

There will surely be smiles.
There may be tantrums.
There will often be giggles.
And that’s the beauty of life.

But deeper than that, documentary strips away the frills and tells a story. And in the case with documentary family, it's the story of your family.

The Takeaway: Imagine having the best day with your family, never once bringing out your phone to take a picture but knowing that a personal paparazzi is capturing it all for you. When it's all over you are gifted a gallery of gorgeous images that ooze with the emotion of how that entire day felt.

That's what I do.

So how does it work?

Lest you think that documentary family sessions are all about winging it, let me assure you they aren't.  Sure I could just parachute in, but in order to truly tell your family's story, I need to know your family. 

So few weeks beforehand, I ask you about your family's favourite things to do, each person's personality, whether they like having their picture taken or not, whether I should expect anything interesting.

Then together we plan out a great day for you to experience while I capture. The extent of excursions we can capture depends on the length of session you choose. FYI - I offer sessions from 2 hours to 8 hours.  

The Takeaway: We chat. We dream. We plan. Your family has fun. I shoot the whole thing. It's that simple.

What kind of images can I expect?

If you do a quick search for documentary family photography, you'll find a handful of photographers who offer this kind of session. What you will probably notice is that the images they produce can often feel very raw and gritty. 

I don't shoot that way because this is not my style. I shoot honest images but I balance that with also wanting to make sure you look beautiful. 

Die hard documentary photographers will say I am not a true documentarian because I will guide you a bit during our shoot. I'll tell you to turn towards the light if its better. I'll prompt you to do something fun with your kids when I see an opportunity. In this way I mix in a bit of lifestyle direction too. 

The Takeaway: I want to shoot your family like I shoot my own. Beautifully, full of emotion and connection. 

What should we do during our session?

The truth is ANYTHING you LOVE doing is a great backdrop to documentary family. 

Are you a hiking family? Amazing, let's hit up Dundas Valley at sunset.
Are you a skater family? Perfect, let's go to a skate park. 
Are you an artsy family? That's great - lets do a backyard paint party. 
Love hanging out at home? Let's do boardgames and a campfire. 

Your shoot is totally up to you and your family to create. I just get to tag along.

If this is a gift you'd love to give your family, let's talk!