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Shooting a Day in the Life of a family is one of the most rewarding experiences I have had as a photographer. You immerse yourself in their family dynamic and capture not only what their everyday life looks like, but their family connections as well. Each day is unique to the family I am documenting, even when we end up doing “similar” activities like a trip to the park or eating at their favorite restaurant. What does a Day in Your Life look like?
Original Post
Last week I had a guest post on Light Inspired’s Tutorial Tuesday where I covered how I shoot a day in the life personally. I thought I would expand this on how you can use some of the same principles to shoot strangers or clients.
So a quick recap. The Light Inspired blog post covered the following items for personal shooting.
1) What do you have planned for the day?
2) How will you get IN the pictures?
3) What things are important at this point in your life?
4) What will you use to capture the day? (yes using your iPhone is okay)
5) When will you take pictures?
6) How will you process them?
So let’s talk about what is different for shooting strangers.
What do THEY have planned for the day? Yes you should still have a plan. I send a questionnaire asking clients to tell me about a typical Saturday or Sunday. I find that scheduling a storytelling session on a weekend is usually best for getting families in their everyday moments. If one or both of the parents work outside the home scheduling this kind of shoot for a weekday (unless it is a newborn shoot) is just too hectic. Older children are in school, parents are coming home from work, and there is just typically a rush to get through it all before bedtime during the week. I am not saying you can’t do a “day in the life” session on a weekday, I just personally don’t. You could also offer an abbreviated version of “a day in the life” highlighting the most important parts to the client, I do several of these that last 2-4 hours instead of a full day.
***I really really really like to be there for food. Even if it is not a full meal can we bake something? I happen to love oatmeal raisin cookies 😉
How will you get IN the pictures… LOL this is obviously not a client question.
What things are important at this point in THEIR life? In the questionnaire I also ask questions to get to know a little about every member of the family that will be present at the shoot. I want to know their favorite foods, TV shows, toys, and family activities. I also want to know any important milestones that have just happened or are coming soon. Did someone lose a tooth recently? Learn to crawl or walk? Recently eating solid foods? Learning to ride a bike? All of these play an important part in who the clients are at this point in their lives and I want to document as much of it as possible.
What will you use to capture the day? For clients let’s modify this because obviously you won’t be conducting the session with your iPhone 🙂 For me I make decisions on what to capture in video clips and what to capture in stills. I am pushing towards more Fusion videos so I am constantly considering whether to record in video or still mode as well as what lenses to use. For indoor shoots you are going to want a lens wide enough to get some different perspectives and not limit yourself. I would never shoot an indoor session primarily with a 50mm because on my crop it is simply too tight. I am finding I use my 16-50mm more and more but if I had to use a prime it would be my 30mm or 35mm.
When will you take pictures? The answer for this is definitely different than the personal one because you won’t be shooting just a few frames at the top of the hour! I think the important highlight here is to get the story as it unfolds. Each activity from beginning to end including characters and details for each scene. In a typical storytelling session I usually capture a meal, the preparation of that meal, some playtime, and a routine like homework or getting dressed/ready for bed. If you can a combination of indoor and outdoor shots will help give the session variety and a balanced approach to a day in their lives.
How will you process them? Same response as for personal pictures except you will need an adequate timeframe to have them ready and know the minimum number of pictures you can deliver in a session so the client is not disappointed. Always under-promise and over-deliver!
Must-haves for clients
Just some items I try to remember when shooting in client homes.
1) Be sure you take a picture of the main rooms of the house. These make nice transition photos for fusion videos but later in life children will enjoy remembering what their childhood rooms looked like.
2) Get at least one portrait photograph of each member of the family. They don’t need to be the only one in the frame but the focus should be on each member using depth of field or connection with the camera in at least one image.
3) Document the everyday details. If the kids make messes while you are there, get the shot. After the food is prepared get a shot of the table setup before they eat and the mess left in the kitchen after.
4) Get the connections. Be sure to get the family interacting with each other as many times as you can. Hugs & kisses are a must but also get the kids fighting over a toy, mom helping cut up a little one’s food, dad pulling out a chair for mom, or mom/dad playing with the kids. The connections are a little different for newborns: feeding the baby, changing the baby’s diaper, or rocking the baby to sleep.
Thanks for reading and happy shooting!!!
Want to know what a day in the life session looks like? Find out more here.
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