Photographing a Unique Birthday Party in Taipei

The other day, I was photographing a child’s birthday party, and someone asked me if I photograph events like this often. The truth is I don’t consider myself an event photographer, and I don’t go out of my way to seek out these opportunities. I do, however, want to go deep with a family and document their story over time, capturing the highs and lows. The quiet moments and the moments of celebration. If an event such as a birthday party (or a Thanksgiving dinner, or a vacation, or a funeral) is a part of this story, then I want to photograph it. The family story has many textures and layers; leaving one of these out robs us of its richness.

All of the birthday parties that I’ve photographed, so far, are for Year in the Life families. These are families who bring me on board to document their story for an entire year, across all four seasons. A child’s birthday party is naturally a high point of this year-long story.

The photos below are from a 9th birthday party for a beloved Year in the Life family (we’re going on three years now). The different activity stations at this birthday party were so unique and included customizing a Trader Joe’s tote bag, getting drawings done by an artist, a beading station, and a picture-frame-making station. As happens in many kids’ birthday parties, eventually the kids ended up making weird concoctions with natural elements outside and trying to feed them to people.

Interested in having me document a year of your family’s story? More information is available here. I am constantly toying with the idea of only making my shorter 2-hour sessions available to Year in the Life families (they do many 2-hour sessions spread out over the course of a year) because I believe in the power of long-form documentary storytelling so strongly. A Year in the Life project is a great way to do this in more bite-sized chunks.