Backyard family photography session in Asheville
Lifestyle family photography includes creative environmental portraiture.
Yesterday, I returned to my client’s home in the countryside outside of Asheville and we finished what we started! Remember, a few posts back, I wrote about calling a photo session early because we lost the sunlight? And then, on the drive home, the sun came out and a rainbow spread across the sky in my rear view mirror, absolutely taunting my decision? Well that happened. But I will say- every time I have called a photo shoot early, or made the tenuous call to reschedule because of unreliable weather or other factors beyond my control- I have never once regretted doing that. Every single time I return to a house for round two of the same photo session, I am so grateful that I did. And yesterday evening was no exception.
Here is something that occurs to me every time I have such a successful and easy-breezy photo session like this one: people become so daunted by the prospect of an unposed, or even lightly-posted family photo shoot. I’m not sure entirely why. Do they worry their kids will misbehave? Because in ten years of being a family photographer and in seven years of being a documentary family photographer, I have never had to stop a session because the kids were acting terribly. I have never driven away from a home thinking, yikes- that was one poorly behaved kid! Ever! Not even close!
First of all, I have children of my own, and, being their ‘safe space’ and all that, they throw all sorts of moods and attitude my way. I expect that from kids! It’s perfectly normal, in fact, it could be indictative of something sinister when kids do NOT feel safe to express the emotions we label as negative. Having said that, I’m certainly grateful at times that there are no witnesses to my kid’s perfectly normal outbursts, mainly because of my often ungraceful responses. But that’s just the thing- kids generally wait to really let lose on their parents when there is no company present. When a stranger shows up at their door (me, with a camera) they may be a little shy to begin with, but they’re far from exhibiting their worst behavior.
I understand, to some extent, why people might raise their eyebrows at the idea of an unposed family photo session. On the surface, it’s unconventional. People have mentioned to me that when they see the images I make during a DFP session and think well it just wouldn’t work out with my family. But the truth is, there is nothing special about the families you see in these photos! Well, aside from the fact that I love them and I think they’re beautiful and interesting and charming. But they’re not more special than your family- they don’t have a -something- that your family doesn’t have.
I shoot families who live in city apartment buildings, log cabins, caravans, section 8 based housing, row houses and homes in the suburbs. I myself live in a habitat for humanity house, meaning it is literally built out of pieces of material that nobody else wanted. But when I make pictures of my living room around 6pm when the western facing light is streaming in, gilding everything in a fresh coat of gold, you’d think I live in a gorgeous Vermont farmhouse. That is the power of photography. That’s the alchemy of the lens.
I wish I had a dedicated videographer with me for evenings like this. I wish I could show families how simple and fun and flowing this type of family photography can be. If you’re in Asheville, reach out for a Classic Family Session or even a Day in the Life! If you live beyond Asheville, I do travel for long form sessions!