7 Reasons to Book a Holiday Documentary Family Photo Session

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Maybe you missed all the fall mini sessions or maybe you put off getting family photos all year. Well, it might not be too late. Here’s why you should book a holiday family photo session.

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1. Your home, your memories.

Your photos should not just be about your people, but they should be about your places as well. The environment is the setting in your family story, and what better time to capture that environment than the holidays. The details that make your house your home are what will cling to your memory and take you right back to that time and place in your family history years from now. Close your eyes and think about what your home looked like decorated for the holidays as a child. What details do you remember?

2. Think of all the fun things you can do.

The holidays inspire fun family activities, and there are endless possibilities for photos. From baking cookies, to decorating gingerbread houses. From cutting down a tree, to drinking hot chocolate. There are tons of ways to make memories worth capturing. And if you find yourself playing some reindeer games, I’ll be happy to photograph those too.

3. Cause traditions.

Traditions are an important part of family history. They get passed down from generation to generation or started anew. They are what make your family yours. They say, “This is what we do as a family during the holidays.” Traditions are what the kids look forward to year after year, and they are what you work so hard to make happen because it wouldn’t be the holidays without them. Your traditions are worth capturing and remembering for you, for your kids, and for your kids’ kids. 

4. It’s time you get to spend and celebrate with your family.

One of the best parts of having documentary family photos is that it’s time you get to spend being present with your family. It’s not another thing that you have to go do or check off a list. Instead, it’s your life that you get to live for the day with just the intention of being together as a family. Plus, there’s no pressure to pick up your phone and photograph the experience, you get to just be in the moment as your baby explores how a pine tree feels for the first time or as you enjoy the muffins and hot cocoa you all just made together.

5. You can include the extended family as well.

The holidays are all about family and often not just your immediate family. Why not document a big family gathering? Including cousins, and grandparents, and aunts and uncles is a gift that will become even more meaningful in the years to come.

6. There are every day routine moments that happen as well.

Real life doesn’t pause for the holidays. It’s still a documentary family photo session, so it’s still unposed and unscripted even though you may know what activities you want to do. With the documentary approach, you are going about your life as your fun holiday selves, and I get to capture whatever moments unfold before me. Those include the moments in between the activities as well, the moments of you doing the hard work of parenting like washing hands or letting them know they need to stop eating the muffin batter or pulling on the dog’s tail.

7. And we can still get that portrait for the Christmas card or for Grandma if you want.

Even if you’re not into posed portraits, it’s always nice to have a photo of everyone together. We will do the portraits quickly, so you can get on with the fun day you have planned. If you want Anna to be in the picture too, it’s totally fine with me. Anna will add context to the time and place of the portrait in later years. Personally, I like portraits when they are loaded with personality and full of feeling. If you are looking for that perfect portrait though, I’m probably not the photographer for you…or maybe you need to just, “Let it go.” Sorry. I had to.

A Day in the Life of the Clark Family, Atlanta Family Photographer

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Summer Days

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There’s something extra nostalgic about summer, of long, hot days of bandaids and pool trips that end in relaxed evenings of puzzles and books. These are the days where memories are made. I got to spend the day with one of my favorite families this summer. I’ve photographed them many times before, but I have never photographed them for a whole day. For me, spending the whole day with a family is the perfect recipe of time and trust that is required to show you that I see you and to hold space for this time in your family’s life in artistic, honest photographs. Here’s what Tanya had to say about the experience:

“Atlanta's recent weather seems to have given us a sneak peek into the fall season and I cannot wait. This past summer was an especially hot one. Shorter days, cooler nights and the anticipation and promise of all the holidays are just around the corner and make me giddy with excitement. All that to say this past summer was also an especially memorable one. We don't typically send the kids to camp when school lets out for no other reason than that we either miss the deadline to sign them up or we don't even put it on our radar because we didn't grow up going to summer camp.

Some of my favorite memories of my own childhood summers are the ones where we didn't do anything planned. I grew up in Florida and had the privilege of having our own pool at home, as most Floridians do. The days were lazy and would be spent swimming, reading, running errands with my mom and watching far too much television. My siblings and I would complain about being bored while also eating an unlimited amount of Fruit Loops for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In short, summers were the time when most of the regimented schedules of the school year were tossed aside. And we loved it.

For the last four years, Kaleen has been a fly on the wall in our home starting with the first week of Akira's life. She's met extended families from both sides, been a part of birthdays and comes over to document holiday visits. I consider her to be one of my closest friends here in Atlanta and am so grateful for her eyes that capture all of the in-between spaces that we often overlook. I knew she did "Day in the Life" sessions and while I always admired them from afar, I admittedly was nervous about the idea of someone, even a close friend, being privy to all the ins and outs of our daily life. An entire day, from sun-up to sun-down was intimidating. Would my kids act out and then have a meltdown because they were tired of "performing" for the camera? Would they be too intensely aware they were being watched? Could I be vulnerable enough to show how tired I am? How frustrated I could be? But the most important question I had was: is our real life as beautiful as I want to believe it is?

Enter: Kaleen and her magical camera. Groceries needed to be done, laundry needed to be folded, kids needed to be napped, meals needed to be made. But I also wanted to spend the day at the pool to find respite from the heat and possibly get some ice cream. So that is exactly what we did. With Kaleen in tow, we drove around town, ate sushi to-go and took Lego Spiderman to the pool. Our dog never warmed up to the camera and we couldn't really have a proper sit-down family dinner because that's life and sometimes, you're feeding children and standing around the kitchen island picking at their leftovers. Even though she spent the whole day with us, I couldn't be sure what perspective she was having into our nuclear life. But I never once felt like I was under a microscope. It's strange, isn't it? To be documented but not feel like I'm being watched. Instead, I felt like I had spent the day with a friend (because that's what I did!) who happened to take photos at seemingly random moments. She always engaged with the kids and throughout the day, we had our own conversations on life and our respective families and experiences. And isn't that the whole point?

As humans, we are constantly searching for connections with each other. We all want to be able to relate to one another, to empathize and be understood. Most importantly, I think we all want to be seen. We want to be acknowledged and validated in the work we do, whether that's by getting a promotion at work or even having someone simply tell you you're doing a good job when you feel like you're too overwhelmed or tired or invisible. Kaleen saw what I often times forget to see: we are all doing our best. Even when our best seems so ordinary, to the ones we love, our best is nothing short of extraordinary.”

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Click on the slideshow above or check out the photos below.

A morning with the Bolton family, Atlanta Family Photographer

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On breathing

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When Colleen and Derek’s twins were born, I offered to come photograph their family whenever they were ready. I spent a morning with them soon after Dylan got to come home, and I am still breathing in the gratitude and love that I got to experience in their home that day. I’m always amazed by the families I photograph, and this family taught me more than they will know. One of the first things I noticed when I was hanging out in the kitchen was the Mommy Sticker Chart hanging on the fridge that serves as a reminder to take a deep breath. It reminded me of these words Colleen had recently shared.

“Two hundred seventy-one days is a long time to hold your breath. If you do the math that’s June 19th. I tried to hit the brakes but it was too late. My water, Dylan’s protection and lifeline, broke. A stupid, minor, avoidable collision that changed the course of my life and almost took my sons from me. For days I was inconsolable. Then I felt God tell me to chill out. Literally, what I heard in my heart was “chill out.” So I did. But I held my breath. People would say, “Twins!! Are you excited?” How do you answer that? I can’t explain to every person who asks about my pregnancy that I have no idea if I will ever get to brings these boys home. So I smiled and said, “I’m so excited!” And I held my breath.

September 26 I went into labor. My body, my boys, had held on as long as we could. Dylan had been growing without amniotic fluid for 3 months. They pulled Dylan out first. He made no sound. He couldn’t breathe. The doctor resuscitated him and got him on a ventilator. The ventilator was breathing for him but his lungs were so fragile that one of them tore. Can you imagine? Your lungs being so fragile that just inhaling air rips a hole in one of them. They switched him to an oscillator which allowed him to take fast shallow breaths. On the oscillator his body wasn’t getting rid of the CO2. His lungs collapsed multiple times. Somehow, the doctors, nurses, and respiratory therapists found the right combination of support to allow his fragile, tiny lungs to do the job they were created to do and to keep my son alive. But I still held my breath.

I do not understand prayer. My village prayed, fasted and negotiated with God to let my sons live. I begged Him not to take my boys from me. Did we pray harder or more faithfully than anyone else would have under similar circumstances? Certainly not. I do not know why God chose to let my boys live. But I do know the choice was His. The grace was His. The mercy, the healing- His.

Today, for the first time in a very long time, I can breathe. And with every breath I will be grateful. With every breath I will work to extend the grace and mercy that was bestowed on me. With every inhale and exhale I will love. I will love.

When I think about how close to death Dylan came and how close to unimaginable grief I came I have to remind myself to breathe. But I can breathe. Today, I can hold my son in my arms with his dad and siblings nearby. And I can breathe.” —Colleen Bolton

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Click on the slideshow to see images from the session or scroll down for more.

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