Somehow after six years of offering Day in the Life Experiences, not that many parents seem to know about them still. Maybe it started in the Photography community, Photographers wanting more out of their family photo experience. Maybe a photojournalist started offering family sessions and decided to keep in their Photojournalistic style. I honestly have no idea how it started, but I’m glad it did because I love these sessions more than anything.
A Day in the Life Experience is a 4 hour (half day) or 8 hour (full day) family session that is completely unposed. It’s pretty much a normal day in your life except for the fact that I’m there documenting it.
Maybe the question should be Why a Day in the Life Experience?
Because you have these children you are raising and they are growing up super fast. The family photos on the beach, photo studio or in the park serve a purpose for sure, but they aren’t real. I understand why families love these happy, all dressed up, smiley snapshots but these images are mostly staged and they aren’t real memories. In fact, what was the mood on the way to your last family session? Were you all happy and smiling in the car? Or were you running late, fighting with your spouse, screaming at the kids and then having to bribe them the entire session?
Imagine not having to ask your kiddos to smile every five minutes or make sure their outfits are perfect. Let the kids be little. Embrace the mess, the runny noses and the imperfection.
A Day in the Life Experience is going to be a book of photos of real moments that are unfolding in a normal day. Connections between parents, between siblings, with pets. It’s going to have laughter, maybe some tears and tantrums, some quirky habits. These photos will encapsulate the stage of life you’re in and help you remember what life was like at that moment. These images are going to take you back to how a day in your life actually felt, what it looked like and what you went through. These are the memories that can’t be manufactured in a 1 hour beach session.
You can absolutely schedule errands or fun things to do during your Day in the Life Experience. From Farmers Markets to the Library or even a quick trip to Target, I will tag along and document little moments as they are happening. These experiences can be whatever you want them to be.
Start at breakfast or waking up the kiddos and just kind of have their day mapped out with activities and maybe a fun outing or errand. It can be low key or it can be a total adventure day, I’m just happy to be along for the ride and documenting the mundane or the chaos.
I’m not sugar coating anything nor am I posing or creating scenes. I will photograph anything and everything as it’s happening throughout your day. From meltdowns to baby vomit to dirty diapers to bath time. I’m there to document it all.
I cannot speak for my clients, but I think these sessions are validating. They in a way prove how hard you show up for your family when you’re feeling kind of invisible.
These sessions are honestly so laid back and a great way to spend a summer day.
Let them be little. Let them make messes. Let me be there to photograph it.
The biggest fear I think most families have about booking these sessions is being boring. Call me crazy but I think even documenting the littles brush their teeth, eat their breakfast, play with their toys, jump on the bed, play with the dog. It is all fascinating to be honest. These are the memories you will cherish someday. Not the fake smiles on the beach or the photoshopped perfect family portraits.
Some families wonder if having older children wouldn’t be worth photographing. While the littles definitely give more content, I think the tweens and teens deserve to be photographed this way as well. Definitely plan something to do or they might just sit on their phones or play video games the entire day.
You might not even love these photos right when you get your gallery back. I promise you in 5 years, 10 years and 20 years. These pictures will be EVERYTHING to you. Your kids will be more grown up, your connection with them will be totally different and life will look completely different.
If you’re interested in booking a Day in the Life Experience, here’s a link to my website that has a contact form. Even if you don’t choose me to document your family in this beautiful way, I hope you hire a Documentary Family Photographer at least once in your life just so you have these types of photos.
