It was a cold day in February, tucked just a few houses in from the roaring sea in Scituate, Massachusetts. But that didn’t stop the fun and chaos from unfolding at the D family’s house, and it certainly didn’t stop me from capturing the madness (and the abject adorableness) on camera from start to finish.
My time with the D’s was a lifestyle session, my favorite kind to shoot (by far!). For anyone not familiar with the difference is between a “lifestyle shoot” and regular portrait sessions, it’s this: in a lifestyle shoot, we eschew formal posing and “perfection” in favor of just capturing life as it unfolds. These sessions typically last longer and I act as more a fly-on-the-wall than an air-traffic controller. I may try to guide the flow or adjust the lighting, as needed, but try to keep my external manipulations to a minimum. It’s sometimes fun to set up an activity to root the action (think: a picnic, baking a cake, building a blanket fort, the sky’s the limit!), but the movements and the moments are real. These sessions are usually messier but they’re also infused with a certain authenticity that, for me, where I find my joy in photography. Getting that oh-so-sweet “in between” moment between, say, a mother helping her little girl put on her shoes, is what gets me out of bed in the morning. Even in my more traditional portrait sessions, my goal is always to get as many candid, interaction moments as I do set-up shots — a blend of both is definitely my sweet spot.
With all that said, let’s see what unfolded with these two little rockets, Nolan and Betsy, their parents never far behind:
Thank you, D Family! I always have a blast with you guys. Hopefully we can get back out there with my camera when the weather thaws out this spring!
