Ready to retire your shot list for family photo sessions? Documentary family photography just might be for you! Here’s how to get started.
Before shooting a family session, most photographers complete a pre-session checklist that includes:
- emailing your clients suggestions for what to wear
- discussing location options to fit the client’s vision for the session
- mentally cataloguing a list of predictable expressions and poses we want to capture
But what if there was a completely different approach to family photos? One that didn’t require posing, planning, and “perfect” pictures?
That’s where documentary-style family pictures come in!
This style takes everything you know about a “typical” photo session and turns it upside down – in a good way.
What is Documentary Family Photography?
Here are some words you’ll find associated with this style of photographing:
- unposed
- photojournalistic
- natural
- real life
- storytelling
- candid
- moment-driven
Instead of managing every aspect of an image, documentary family photographers don’t influence or direct in any way. They are merely flies on the wall, chronicling genuine connections as they unfold.
That means being ready to snap away at any point during the session with your clients, not only when they’re perfectly posed and smiling at the camera!
Moment-driven photography requires that you anticipate moments before they happen and frame them beautifully, without taking full creative control of the scene. It’s rooted in photojournalism, where the goal is to give context to the moment without staging.
The Foundations of Photography Still Apply
This doesn’t mean that everything you’ve learned about what makes a good photo goes out the window. You’re not recklessly pressing the shutter, just hopeful that you catch a “worthy” moment.
As the session unfolds, your knowledge of proper camera settings, exposure and composition still applies, magically organizing the spontaneity of life. This “hands-off” approach even extends into post-production as the images are only lightly edited.
No Shot List Required!
Now, if you find comfort in directing poses to check off a shot list, this approach might be outside your comfort zone.
The most challenging aspect of documentarist photography is the lack of influence you have over the outcome. We’re so used to controlling sessions to fit our artistic vision – and there’s certainly nothing wrong with that! You just have to train yourself to tell a family’s story without any manipulation on your part.
What Makes Documentary Family Sessions Awesome
Here’s how this could look during a session: You might follow a mom & dad along as they take their children on a hike. Perhaps you hang back a bit, snapping away as the mom helps her child navigate a narrow, rocky path.
Instead of prompting the family to look back and smile at you, you’d focus on how mom carefully and patiently guides her child along – without you giving any direction at all.
Or, you could move ahead of your clients, capturing them as they take in beautiful scenes along the way. Frame the family with nearby tree branches. Highlight the easy connection between mom & dad and how the light falls softly in front of them.
With this approach, you work with what you’ve given as life happens.
Documentary Vs. Lifestyle Photography
This might sound similar to lifestyle photography, but there are some differences. Instead of documentarist sessions where you curate nothing, the lifestyle approach is photographer-guided.
Lifestyle sessions involve preparation beforehand. For example, you might send clients a what-to-wear guide and suggest suitable locations. Gentle posing direction and working with the best light available takes the place of simply recording an event as it happens.
Lifestyle photography is very popular for in-home newborn sessions because it offers parents an opportunity to connect naturally with their baby, with occasional input from the photographer.
These sessions still capture everyday life like unposed photography does, but with more forethought given to what the photos should look like.
How to Get Started as a Documentary Photographer
If shooting in a hands-off style is brand new to you, it might take time to get comfortable and learn to effectively tell a story without giving direction.
Start with situations that are already familiar: maybe that’s photographing as your kids eat breakfast in the morning, complete with mis-matched pajamas and bedhead.
At first, you might struggle with the urge to direct your clients and place them in a tidy spot with perfect light. That discomfort will fade as you learn to see beauty in the spontaneous. You might even find that you like exerting a little less influence over your personal images – especially with your own family!
Real Life is Moment-Driven & Unscripted
Once you’ve experimented with unscripted photography, you just might see that real life isn’t captured in portraits where every shot is planned and purposeful. It’s often when families don’t expect you to press the shutter, that you see who people truly are. When you capture the hilarious, unique and endearing personalities that make up a family, you’re truly making the story about them.
That’s what this photojournalistic style is all about: the genuine moments that go beyond traditional, classic family photographs.
Who is Your Ideal Client?
It’s time to take the leap into offering photojournalistic family sessions to clients when photographing without directing feels natural to you.
Obviously this style won’t be a fit for everyone. If you start with identifying your ideal client, you won’t have to “sell” this kind of creative storytelling! So, what kind of person falls in love with unposed photos?
Clients Who Embrace the Moment
These sessions appeal to clients who are attracted to unstructured photo sessions. They’re more likely to value artistic expression and the unhurried, hands-off experience above all else.
This client wants to remember life exactly as it is now; they’re comfortable with the radical shift from what a “normal” posed photo session is like. Keep in mind that a lot of people aren’t comfortable in front of a camera and want you to tell them what to do; your ideal client, however, will appreciate your “fly-on-the-wall” storytelling style.
They will 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 you captured.
She will embrace the idea of letting her kids be kids, without the constant request for smiles or poses; she’s not expecting a traditional posed portrait to hang above the fireplace. This kind of person is looking for you to capture the beauty in chaos.
Emotions can be Messy (and That’s Okay)
It’s worth noting that organic moments, especially with families, may include laughter and joy, along with frustration and maybe even sadness. Unlike traditional posed sessions, you won’t prompt your clients to do anything to foster a particular outcome; instead, you’ll have to be comfortable photographing a wide range of emotions.
Identifying your ideal client will make it much easier to book this kind of session and feel comfortable shooting in this way.
How to Shoot Your Own Unposed Session
Many documentarist photographers offer “day in the life” sessions where they capture a family’s daily routine. Sometimes this means spending several hours with your client, photographing the happenings that make up their day: preparing breakfast, dressing children, running errands and playing outside.
The beauty of these sessions is that you really get to know the families with whom you’re working. They’re inviting you into their lives, unfiltered and imperfect.
Settle on Your Style
You certainly aren’t limited to only photographing families as a documentarist photographer! You could also adopt this approach for birth, wedding ceremonies or concerts, as well as for nature or street photography.
Maybe there are particular situations where a more natural style of photography appeals to you, but you’re not sure if it’s a fit for every client, every time.
That’s perfectly ok! The exact structure of these sessions varies from person to person, as with every kind of art.
A great place to start for inspiration is with Kirsten Lewis’s work. She’s an award-winning documentary family photographer based in Washington, D.C. who has photographed these kinds of sessions all over the world.
Embrace the Adventure
Through totally organic and unposed images, you can tell a powerful story as a family photojournalist; for some, these kinds of photos are even more compelling than portraits because they are free of outside influence and often showcase big, bold emotion.
The unposed approach might even awaken a renewed passion for photography in you; you’ll likely find an irresistible adventure awaits as you experiment with purely unscripted moments!
Share your own tips in the comments below!
Written by KRISTAL BEAN | Photographs by NIENKE KOEDIJK (also on INSTAGRAM)
Kristal Bean is a maternity and newborn photographer based in The Woodlands, Texas. Her passion is helping women celebrate the beauty of motherhood with a luxury photography experience. Kristal is married with three young daughters and one goofy golden retriever.
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