For those with teenagers, this is a great example of how a documentary photography session mainly based at home can work. Older children usually feel much more comfortable having their photograph taken unobtrusively like this, rather than being asked to smile or sit/stand in a certain way. As a parent of teenagers myself, I think as my children get older it’s become really important to preserve everyday memories of us being together as a family group at home. As the kids start to plan their own social lives and conversations start to include things like university and moving out, the time we have together at weekends and holidays becomes really precious. Also, I’ve noticed that as I’ve entered into my 40’s I’ve become even more nostalgic for the past, but also find it harder to remember things with clarity. Oh, the joys of getting older! One thing I do know is that photographs of my childhood, and now my own family, have never been more important to me, and their value only increases with time. The days we are living out each day now are the ones we’ll all want to remember in the future.
I loved photographing this family because they totally embraced documentary photography and they were very trusting in that they left it up to me to decide which things I felt important to photograph in order to tell their story. It really takes guts to do this, and I will never become complacent about being given the honor of telling authentic and honest stories for the wonderful families that I meet. To get a glimpse of the warmth and love that a family shares everyday in their own home is a privilege. There were so many moments of humor, honest loving connections, warmth and fun in this session, so I’ll let the images speak for themselves.
