Most of us parents have (not so fond) memories of family photos during our own childhood. A photographer saying “smile big for the camera!” as the entire family stands in rigid posing looking directly at the lens. As a kid, I remember feeling the dread of performing. I was all energy, wanting to run and play and throw rocks! I, at age 4, recall being tasked to hold an apple and stand smiling at the camera while my sister, who had already performed her duties, got to lick a lollipop out of frame. Spoiler alert: An image of me crying miserably while holding an apple hangs in my mother’s house to this day. A lifestyle family photography approach may have prevented this unsavory memory.

I’m not here to say that posed photography isn’t beautiful or even that I don’t pose my subjects! The need for a return to authenticity is what shifts many parents to seek out a more emotive photography experience. When I look at images of my family in 20 years, I don’t care if my daughter is smiling at the camera. Why? Because that isn’t who she is at this age. She doesn’t feel compliant. She feels unbridled, assertive, a bit wild, and deeply passionate about the world around her. So how can you preserve THAT? How can we put personality, emotion, and youthful energy into a time capsule? To answer that, I’ll first define lifestyle family photography as well as other forms of family photography.

Three types of family photography exist. All have merit and beauty and it’s up to you to decide what is best for your family.

Traditional Posed Family Photography: A Picture Perfect Memory to Look Back on

This is what most of us current parents grew up with. It’s a beautiful and idyllic depiction of our family. Carefully arranged and engineered to show us as a happy and beautiful unit. These are your Christmas card photos. The ones that grandma will hang on her fridge to show off the beauty of her family’s smiling faces. Usually the photographer will carefully arrange the poses and location to put everything at its very best. Aesthetically these images can, indeed, be quite beautiful! These are images that place family life on a pedestal. Mom is almost always beautifully dressed and holding smiling children. There is very little evidence of the wildness of childhood.

Documentary Style Family Photography: Frozen Time in Its Most Authentic Form

On the other end of the spectrum we have documentary style photography. This style focuses on capturing life just as it is with no embellishments or alterations. There is no posing. The camera exists as a hidden fixture temporarily allowed in to document exactly how family life looks. Messy floors, scraped knees, and all the rest. You could say that this is the most authentic of the 3 styles of photography. It captures all the parts of parenthood, both good and bad. But, here’s the thing… not everybody wants the messy parts of their family to be equally featured. Mom does not want to hang the image of her in a coffee stained shirt with her crying child. Thankfully, our third option offers a middle ground.

Lifestyle Family Photography: Preserving the Connection and Emotion in a Way that Feels Natural

If we don’t want to look like something we’re NOT and we don’t want to be exactly as we ARE, what do we want? I think to answer this we have to dig into what is most important about this moment in time. What makes our family precious to us? Cheesy answer time: it’s the LOVE we feel when we’re in the company of our family. It’s the happiness that bubbles up when a young child belly laughs as we blow raspberries on their cheek. It’s the laughter that bursts out when a son gives a devious smile right before jumping in a deep puddle.

So what is lifestyle family photography? The goal of lifestyle photography is to engineer a session that pulls out these emotions and connections in authentic ways. The FEELING is captured forever. Lifestyle family photography focuses on the best parts of family in a way that still offers genuine and authentic emotion. It is a polished version of the truth. The presentation is polished in terms of styling, location, and what’s present in the image, but the emotion remains true.

So what gets romanticized and what remains genuine?

The Setting: Romanticized at Least a Bit

Generally for lifestyle family photography (like my Wild and Free Family Sessions and my In-Home Storybook Sessions), there is an effort to show emotion in a setting where it thrives. For outdoor sessions, this might mean finding a scenic lake, a beautiful park, or a quaint old town street. These might not be places that are in your family’s usual rotation of outings and that’s okay! The setting is simply a canvas to paint the emotion on.

Orchestrating the setting

If you opt for a family lifestyle session in your home, the photographer will pay attention to items that should be omitted from the frame. I pass through a home before starting each session and move any clutter from the areas that offer the best scenery. I’ll unplug and tuck away cords, put brightly colored toys out of frame if they don’t contribute to the story, and will even edit out distracting outlets or small objects from your images.

The photo below is of my two daughters. They’re in a field that’s located on our shared family farm that we visit in Texas from time to time. Just beyond this frame my Uncle was still cleaning up fishing tackle from the day’s adventures. And, although it was sunset and this is a real sky, it’s edited intentionally to bring out colors that feel idealistic and beautiful. My children also do not regularly twirl in these fields. They get muddy, chase cows, climb trees, and ride tractors. But I wanted to capture our family farm, the one that I experienced as a young child, as the beautiful place of exploration that my memory has assigned to it. Is this a typical farm day? Absolutely not. But does it capture that feeling of closeness and play I remember with my cousins and siblings when we were young? Absolutely.

The Posing: Romanticized with the Purpose of Seeing True Emotion

People love to describe Lifestyle Family Photography as “candid” as if families regularly frolic around in mountain landscapes holding hands. The truth: everything about your session is planned and orchestrated by your photographer. Will you be posed? Yes. But, your posing will be less rigid and more emotive. To create an image where your family’s connection and personality shows, you have to be in close proximity. In VERY close proximity.

I often layer families to be on each others laps with their faces touching. Why? Because emotion slips through the open spaces. If you have distance from your child, you loose the closeness of the bond in the photo. So, traditional photography is usually posed. Lifestyle is both posed AND prompted. In the photo below, I set the family up. Dad in the corner sitting comfortably (a natural pose). But then, instead of sitting mom next to him or in front, I had her lay on top of his lap and added the daughter in last by piling her into the mix. There is no space at all between them and they are not looking at the camera. I prompted them from this position to interact. “Dad, nuzzle into her cheek. Mom, grab her hand and sing her a favorite song”. I created an atmosphere and genuine emotion followed.

The Emotion and Love: Absolutely 100% Genuine

This is why I adore lifestyle family photography and what it is. The thing that I want to remember and that I know YOU about this moment in time is the love. The adoration you have for your young child. The love you and your spouse feel towards each other as you navigate parenthood and its challenges. THAT’S the memory. That’s what I want to frame. Lifestyle family photography carefully plans your posing and locations to be an experience that brings out the best in you. I want to spark emotion. Whether that emotion is quiet love or unbridled chaos and adventure, I am here to photograph it so that the emotion can be framed on your wall for years to come. I’m not photographing how you look. I’m photographing how you feel.

Do You Want to Capture how this Moment Feels in Frame?

Hey, Mama. I see you there. You have your phone absolutely filled with pictures of your child. But I also know that the heart wants to capture the emotion of motherhood and childhood more than the specific milestones. If you want to book a Lifestyle Family Photography session in Seattle, Bellevue, or surrounding areas, I invite you to visit my website. Whether it’s in studio or out at scenic locations around Washington, I am passionate about capturing the feeling of motherhood and the family bond.

Sessions can be booked though my Booking Link. If you have questions or want to talk through a concept, you can message me on facebook, instagram, or reach out to me through my contact page.