real life with ava & ryan | south florida family documentary photos

I have captured this family a few times already, usually during holiday mini-sessions, but this was our first Real-Life Session & at their home. Soon to be a family of 5, they chose a documentary session t0 capture what life was like as a family of 4. I'm going to guess that a typical Sunday morning is looking a little different these days for this crew with the new addition. At least for some of them... Ryan may still be playing Fortnite. We did a lot of hanging out, playing games, etc (and omg, the pot holder loom was instant nostalgia - I definitely weaved quite a few of those growing up) & of course got their pup, Biggie, involved, as well. I loved capturing the brother-sister relationship of these two & all of the facial expressions that came with it. Knowing that their relationship will be constantly changing as they grow up (and perhaps starting with when they became big siblings to their new baby sister), its something that adds to the "now" of these photos. I can't wait to come back in a year to document how their real life has changed!

real life with kathryn | davie documentary family photographer

Hanging out with Kathryn on a typical Saturday morning for this mini Day in the Life at their home was seriously so much fun. Her mother's intention for this documentary family session was to capture her 2.5 year old daughter's maximum curiosity at this age... to cherish the joy in their family's every day moments... and I think we succeeded.

One minute we we're having races in the front yard, the next we we're playing hide & seek and being served fake ice cream in exchange for fake money... (specifically, $2... everything was $2). Kathryn was only a little into helping her mom make muffins, until the chocolate chips came out & her excitement increased, proudly topping off each cup. She sure stayed busy all morning with one activity after another, but she was also perfectly content cuddled up next to her dad on the couch watching some college football. We also broke some documentary-family-session rules (I've always been a rule breaker) and squeezed in just a couple of directed photos of the three of them.

When little ones are involved, you don't need to have any specific activities planned for your documentary family session. If you let everything unfold naturally, it will not only make for a no-stress experience, but also result in much more honest & natural photos. A true glimpse into your current daily life (or in this case, morning).

real life with elena | documentary family photography

The first photo in this gallery was the instant reaction to pulling my camera out while playing with 4-year old Elena in her room.  I immediately realized that documenting truly candid photos of the day could be a difficult challenge for me.  She was clearly used to the camera & loved to give me her best hand-on-the-hip model pose & smile anytime I pointed it toward her.  However, in the end, the day was still completely unscripted.  Our at-home document session consisted of an introduction to all of her books & baby dolls, a game of tickle monster (with the greatest tickle-monster gloves ever), riding around the neighborhood in her sweet pink Corvette, a pillow fight & so much more... I'm not sure who had more fun in the process, Elena or me.  The photos that resulted capture so much natural emotion & laughter that would not have been easy to achieve in a boring studio... and the added bonus is that they are so much more personal & special having taken place in their home.[tg_grid_gallery gallery_id="8235" layout="wide" columns="4"]