A Travel Day in the Life Session in Tainan & What a Day in the Life Session Really Is | Taipei Family Photographer
I am always harping on about how more time and access equals a richer, more complete story when it comes to photography. A part of me hates to do this because I know how it sounds. Of course the photographer wants people to book longer sessions—this way they’ll get more money! But believe me when I say this isn’t the case. In fact, I discount my longer sessions as much as possible because I want to nudge people in that direction. The more time people allow me to spend with them, the better the value for them. Why do I do this? Because I’m a storyteller. What I want, above all, is to communicate a rich story about family connection, place, and what love looks like in a variety of contexts.
I recently had the chance to do just that when I traveled with a family on their annual Lunar New Year visit to their ancestral home and a variety of other locations in Tainan, Taiwan. Joining them for the entire day and traveling with them allowed me to not only capture the whole story, from the rush to the HSR station to falling asleep in the car on the way back and all of the easy-to-miss moments of connection in between. The story of an entire day has a variety of tempos, from energetic play to tender hugs, and the only way to capture this range plus all of the important details that will help people recall their beloved people and places is time. Time to notice patterns, time to know and anticipate behaviors, and time to artfully capture relationships and connection. In other words, time to learn a family’s story.
Some things I noticed and loved about this family’s story: a connection with each other and the place they came from; a respect for tradition; and a shared past that provided lots of opportunity for reminiscing and laughter.
I realize that a full Day in the Life session (from morning till night) sounds pretty hardcore and exhausting. Here are a few things that I like to point out so that people will feel a bit more comfortable trying this if it’s what their heart wants:
Day in the Life does not mean photographing every second of the day. I am joining your family for a day, which will feel more like a friend hanging out with a camera. We chat, we take breaks, I am there to photograph the parts that should be photographed. I am not creepily spying on you from a corner or continuously holding my finger on the shutter button. Also, I won’t follow you into the bathroom.
You may be thinking of how tiring past photography sessions were with posing and having to dress up nice, and then you think doing that for an entire day sounds like torture. This is not what this is! Documentary photography means you just live your normal life, and I am there to capture the story of that and turn it into art.
I’ve been told I’m a good hang and can also read the room and know when to give people space.
If you’re interested in capturing the story of a day in your family’s life right now—whether it involves travel or not—take a look at the details for my Day in the Life sessions here. Feel free to reach out with any questions!
