The question is often asked, “why choose documentary family photography?” You’ve got that perfect portrait for your holiday card that undoubtedly earns lots of compliments. What it may not do the best at is show the joy, personality and GENUINE FUN your family has together. Once you’ve tackled getting that perfect shot for your family, there was a completely different approach to family photos: one that doesn’t require posing, planning, and “perfect” pictures. This is where documentary family photography comes in! This takes everything you know about a “typical” family photo session and turns it upside down.
What is documentary family photography?
Documentary family photography preserves your family’s unique life story. There’s no need to stand still for a bunch of directed poses. These popular documentary family photography sessions showcase honest expressions and moments. Whatever mundane thing occurs, we let that happen. Your professional photographer is an observer with a camera ready. While documentary photography still follows some elements of portrait photography, it focuses more on storytelling. As a result, your final pictures depict your sweet family in intimate, original scenes that are only for you.
Here are some words you’ll find associated with documentary family photography:
- photojournalistic
- natural
- moment-driven
- real life
- storytelling
- unposed
- candid
Documentary family photos sessions are longer than a typical Chicago family mini session. They are far more moment-driven. The good news is, these relaxed sessions help you remember how life felt in the moment it was captured. We give more time to truly allow for natural interactions to unfold. When you work with Bubble+Spark Chicago Family Photographers for your documentary family photography session, we anticipate moments before they happen and frame them beautifully. We aren’t looking to take full creative control of the scene. These more-relaxed family photo sessions are rooted in photojournalism, where the goal is to give context to the moment without too much staging.
The beauty of documentary family photography is that you don’t always have to perfect composition, colors, or other elements. We know that real-life moments are not perfect. This little girl grabbed onto an imperfect bridge structure and swung from side to side. She wanted to take a break from cooperating with her parents and it was such a cute little moment!
Why choose documentary family photography?
Seeing the Spontaneity
Life is messy and complicated. It may not look the way you imagine it to be. The same goes for documentary family photography. While the images may not appear as perfect as staged photos, you can capture fleeting emotions and more meaningful stories.
Undeniably, your family receives holiday cards each year, many of them with perfectly posed children in clothing that may not tell the story of who they truly are. We create many of these photos. When these families reflect back on themselves decades later though, these scripted holiday pictures don’t have much of a story to remember what your family was like at that age.
With a Chicago documentary family photography session, your photographer is not guiding you to appear a certain way. You are encouraged to be able to do things your way, at the moment you want – let life unfold in a natural way.
Families who seek out Chicago documentary family photographers are more likely to value artistic expression and the unhurried, hands-off experience above all else. These families wish to remember life exactly as it is now and love the freedom of wearing whatever they’d like instead of perfectly coordinated outfits. Years down the road, when they look at these photos, they likely won’t focus on how they looked on a particular day; instead, they’ll remember how life felt in the moment it was captured.
