Your alarm goes off at 6am. You need to start your day. Jane is whining for cereal. Jack is snoring away not wanting to get up for school. The dog is barking, he wants to go out. There’s no coffee. It’s raining. And cold. And crap, there’s no wine either. It’s one of those days you just don’t want to be bothered. You groggily get out of bed, pour cereal into a bowl for Jane, yell for Jack to get up, let the dog out, making sure he’s not out too long because, again, it’s pouring. You drink tea. You hate tea. But while drinking that cup of Lipton, you look over and see Jane happily eating away at her cereal giggling as she starts sticking Cherrios on her chin cracking up as they fall off. You start to smile, because this is life, and those giggles and those moments in your everyday mean something. That giggle from your 4 year old made you smile. The fact Jack still won’t get up is comical and you can only imagine how he will be as a teenager and damn, you forgot about the dog who is now soaked but wagging his tail like crazy as you let him in and dry off his paws.
Not everyday is full of rainbows and gold. Wait is any day filled with that? But this is life and this is your family and those moments that may seem silly or not important in that moment, really are. Whether it be morning breakfast, baseball practice, or coloring with your daughter, each moment is somewhat of a memory.
My son is turing 7 next month. SEVEN! Ugh. I look back at all those small moments I kind of forgot about. Trips to the park when he just started walking, his first soccer game, Sunday dinners with playtime outside, when he first learned to ride a bike and then when he finally learned how to ride a bike with no training wheels. No moment is too small and I didn’t capture any of that on camera they way I wish it was documented.
I have gotten so caught up, that I forget about the everyday. After attending Click Away, it was game changing. I had to get back into capturing everyday moments. Memories. And I have done better. But, I want to be able to do that for other families too.
When I do family sessions, I always do those “posey pose” shots first and the last part of the session is for playtime and me just sitting back capturing that family in the moment. And you know what? When I deliver my clients gallery, they always rave about the candid shots and how happy they are to have them.
Enter lifestyle sessions. What is a lifestyle photography? Lifestyle photography is capturing everyday moments in its natural form and natural environment. Unstructured. Unposed. From giggles to meltdowns. The raw and spontaneous.
I love raw footage. The love & emotion and I love a good story to back it up.
A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a Sunday morning with a very sweet, willing family doing their normal Sunday routine.
Little backstory about this session….
Dad played tennis in high school and won a scholarship to college for tennis. Mom and Dad play together and started taking their kids out to the court when their oldest was 4 to get her started. They go Sunday mornings after church or sometimes earlier. Its become a way for Dad to share his passion with the kids, get exercise, and finish their weekend off as a family and simply have a good time. Seriously. I love it. And let me just say you can totally tell these kids have been playing for a while. Tennis is a hard sport and they hit that ball good, it was impressive to see.
It was really awesome to capture this for them as I am sure in time this will be a huge memory for them, if it isn’t already now. Thank you so much to the Bueno family for letting me in on your normal Sunday morning.
What’s your family’s story? What’s special to you? Check the end of the blog for a special on my new Lifestyle Sessions. In the meantime……
Here’s their story…
Interested in a lifestyle session? Contact me to book your session and to capture your everyday. Nothing is off limits. Mention this blog and receive $100 off your lifestyle session to the first 3 people who book.
love.