Where does the photo session take place?

The backbone of family documentary is around activity/interaction. For that reason, the location should be somewhere conducive to those. Every family will feel differently about the amount of access given to their photographer, and the viewers of their photographs. Ideal locations are: backayard, home, a park that you frequent, your favorite fishing dock, and others of the same nature.

What should we wear?

I encourage you—and the whole family—to wear comfortable clothes. When someone is uncomfortable in their clothes, it shows. Children in particular can have a hard time feeling relaxed if they are wearing foreign clothes.

Do you direct or pose the shots?

I do so minimally. I make suggestions like: look that way; both of you walk in that direction; and stop right there. I refrain from suggesting where to put your hands, how to stand, or to stop making a silly face.

As you know, children change incredibly fast. The month of October they might be in the stage of making the fakest biggest smile for every photograph; November they will cover their face; December they will frown. I want to capture that. My goal is that one day you will say: "remember when our child used to do that?". 

Is the whole session candid?

This will be your choice. I prefer to do about 70% candidly and 30% with everyone looking at the camera, and with their eyes open. I do value those more formal shots and encourage them in some instances. I will gladly increase the ratio by a bit; but I am not your ideal photographer if your preference is for only posed shots.

Will these photos be online?

That is 100% up to you. I am reluctantly part of online culture. I am not a photographer to be celebrated or liked. I do this to document your family for posterity. It is my hope that these photos will have a significance to your family beyond their social media attention.

Do you edit your photographs?

Yes. All photography is edited—whether done by the camera, or done in post-production. 

After years of following trendy looks of photography, I have departed (for good) from that. I don't want you to look at your photographs in 10 years and think: that is so 2020. There is a certain aesthetic that will not go out of fashion: I aim for that.

Do you retouch people?

When I can tell that something is temporal (bug bite, fever blister, bruise, etc.), I will take it out if it is your preference. I do not reshape folks.

Can my whole session be done in Black & White?

Absolutely. I love Black & White. When you strip out the distraction of color, sometimes it is easier to focus on what is most important: you. Black and White Photography also has the power of making things cohesive. The photos that you take today in black and white, will look like part of the same set that you take 10 years from now.