When I first started dabbling in family photography, I didn’t know much about what I was doing. My first ‘session’ was photographing friends, just following them along as they played on the beach. I didn’t know much about controlling the light or my settings, so I kept my camera close to automatic the entire time and focused on the moments as they unfolded before me. I walked away with lots and lots of imperfect photos, but some that I still loved just the same…authentic moments that seemed to truly capture the love and the playfulness of that sweet family. Without realizing it, I had just photographed my first storytelling family session.
As I began to get more serious about photography, I learned more about technique–I got the camera off of automatic mode, started using my meter and learned how to use the elements around me to help reign in the light. I learned to start posing people in more flattering ways. I started to actually achieve some of the visions I so often had had in my head but hadn’t known how to achieve. But along with this new knowledge of technique, I found myself sometimes losing a bit of the essence that had come naturally in the beginning…being able to observe and capture authentic moments as they unfolded before me.
And so I discovered that ebb and flow of my photography…sometimes it’s easy to get so caught in the moment that I forget technique. And sometimes it’s so easy to focus on the technical sides of things that I miss the moment. It’s a constant reigning in and refining of this art.
Through it all, I have discovered much about myself as a photographer. I have learned that capturing the picture perfect moments are never enough for me. It needs to be more. Families are constantly evolving, changing. One month from now, they may look and feel different than they do now. So it’s important to me to capture the essence of who they are, right at this very moment. I have found that the best approach to my family sessions is using a storytelling approach.
Capturing these moments for Joana was such a meaningful experience for me. Observing and documenting their beautiful family in this midst of change…as they currently are, but also looking forward to the anticipation of their growing family. Not quite knowing what that will look like months and years from now. It’s a beautiful time in a family’s life, and I feel so honored that I had the chance to document it, even for just a few moments.
At the end of the day, that is what I am really about. Of course I will always strive to capture the picture perfect moment for you. But even more than that, I will also try to go deeper, to see the beauty in the moments that are caught in between the poses, the moments that show who you really are when no one else is around.
If you would love to give this approach a chance, please be sure to get in touch. I would love to get to know your family more and start planning a customized storytelling family session with you today.
Christina Freeman is a family and child photographer based in Anna, TX, serving McKinney, Plano, Frisco, Wylie, Lucas, Celina and other Collin County communities. She seeks to photograph the fun and messy moments that connect us all in our ordinary lives, from the very beginning to the very end. If you have loved everything you have seen so far, be sure to check out my details page for an idea of my general pricing, and be sure to get in touch to start the process today!