Multigenerational Documentary Family Photography in Taipei
I often get requests to include grandparents in a documentary family photography session, which I’m happy to do! I don’t charge extra for sessions that include more people because I consider my only job to be to photograph the story that’s unfolding in that particular time and place. More bodies thrown into the mix may change what that looks like, but my objective is the same: tell the story. I don’t consider it my job to get a beautiful, flawless portrait of each individual. If I did, then yes, maybe I’d have a different pricing structure. However, as a documentarian and storyteller for families, I live by this motto: moments matter most.
Getting back to grandparents, I do find that the older generation needs to have documentary-style family photography explained to them a bit more. I don’t blame them at all—the idea of someone hanging out with you and photographing everyday life seems weird when all your past photography experiences have been directed or posed. People have told me that they didn’t think their everyday life was interesting enough to photograph in a photojournalistic style. In their minds, this type of photography is more for breaking news or people doing history-making things.
Family stories are history-making stories, though. The moments that make up a family legacy may not be of interest to the world at large, but they’re everything to the people who are touched by that story. Time marches on and memories fade, and when people look at the raw materials that make up their life, they realize: moments matter most.
Moments that include grandparents are especially precious. The breadth of knowledge and experience that’s present in a multigenerational photography session is exciting to capture in photos, but more importantly, I like telling the story of the relationship grandparents have with their grandchildren. Here are some photos from a recent session with a beloved Year in the Life family. M’s grandmother was so playful—I envy her energy!
It’s also nice to see that blanket forts are a thing for all children in all generations in all countries.
And of course, I couldn’t end this post without one of my favorite multigenerational photos from another Year in the Life family.
