Taking My Time with Family Photography

Documentary photographers value story above all else. Sure, we want our photos to look beautiful and technical skills are necessary for operating the camera, but telling a story is what we live for. It’s impossible to tell a proper story without time, which is why the shortest sessions I offer are usually two hours. Time allows us to notice patterns of behavior such as the way your daughter arranges her stuffed animals in the bed before she goes to sleep (something she won’t do anymore a few months from now) and also allows us to build trust with the people we’re photographing.

I love to see how defenses fall and behavior becomes more uninhibited the more time I spend with a family. There’s a good chance a child will end up jumping on the bed naked, and yes, I will photograph it for you.

Families who sign up for one of my Year in the Life plans get lots of time, and I love what a complete story I’m able to tell with that amount of access to their lives. I get to photograph them over an entire year, through different seasons and life events. I consider it a privilege to bear witness to their story as it unfolds.

I’ve been documenting Vivian and her family for almost half a year now, and I’ve seen Mei Mei go from barely cruising to holding her own at the park with her two rambunctious brothers (and dad) running around. These photos from a documentary session at a riverside park in Taipei capture her spark.