part of what draws me to photograph humans is that i’m kind of a voyeur, in that i’m intrigued by other people’s lives and stories.
when i was a kid, i’d play barbies for hours on end. i loved dressing them, setting up their living situations, and creating their stories.
when i started to grow out of the barbie phase, my cousin introduced me to virtual barbies: The Sims. i played this game nonstop for hours, designing their homes, creating my characters, and building their lives.
sadly, at some point i grew out of this ‘playing’ phase and kinda had to start living my own life. and for the past 10+ years i’ve been playing real-life, decorating my living spaces, creating offspring, and shaping my story.
so when i think about it, its really not surprising that i love photographing real people in their homes living their lives. its just another form of this fascination i have with the human experience. drop me off in the middle of nowhere to make landscapes and i could find some value in it (and have), but put me in a place to witness human beings who are vulnerable with each other, vulnerable with me, and who are letting me get a glimpse of their stories, their lives, and their love? it is unmatched, you guys. UN. MATCHED.
we took these photos at megan’s apartment. she has made this place her home for the past few years, and in a few weeks she is giving it all up to move to california for work. i jumped at the chance to document this time in her life, with her boo, and her pupper at their home.
ya know that feeling when your perfect client randomly lands in your inbox and you’re all, HOW DID YOU FIND ME? and they’re all LETS GO and you end up bonding over the utah jazz and vinyl records and a mutual camera shyness? cause yeah. that’s pretty much drew and kait and i. also i am the only one who spells her nickname that way but i just think she’s way too one-of-a-kind to spell it “kate”. so sometimes i rename my clients, whatever.
anyways, i fell in love with these guys at their engagement shoot, and their wedding in no way disappointed. kaitlin was married in her grandmother’s wedding dress, complete with the same gorgeous fabric crown her grandmother was married in; her grandmother who sat in the front row of the ceremony.
kaitlin keeps herself busy selling what she creates on etsy (shoutout plainjane2424!) and pretty much every pretty thing you see at her wedding she made with her own hands. except for the amazing moon— her dad made that.
first things first: ME
okay now that we got that out of the way, ((hi!!)) we can get on with the real stars of this saturday morning: kaitlin and drewwww.
i love the way i can feel their love just looking at the pictures. i love the way i find myself smiling at my computer screen like an idiot while also trying to give my husband attitude about not wanting to make dinner / clean the house / watch the children bc i'm just so friggan excited about this collaboration. and i say collaboration because that's what this weird thing called making art for clients is all about. i bring me, they bring them, and we make stuff. and it's awesome.
I FREAKING LOVED this family session. mind you, the five year old was impressively against the idea of having his photo taken. he never wavered from his principles and i gotta say i was impressed. i threw everything i had at him to get him to just LOOK at me. every trick in my book. he was too smart. and that happens. and when that happens you gotta just cut your losses and make it work. i personally don't mind because i want people to be themselves, but this mama wanted just ONE photo of everyone looking happily at the camera. i get it. understandable! and not a crazy request, right? well.... that didn't happen. but hopefully she also wanted a bunch of rad documentation of her family, their authentic selves, and their love, which we more than got.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: is that even when your kid is 1000% uncooperative and avoids the camera at all costs, the session isn't a failure. i was there. emotions can run high when you're paying for family pictures and your kid has a meltdown. its hard for the parents to remain composed, the kids are sad, blah blah blah. that can make for some miserable looking photos.
but tell me, do any of the photos below look miserable? or can i make you look good even if you're frustrated with your kids? so what i see when i look at this set of images is two people who really love each other. who really love their kids. it shines through these images! even if sam wasn't happy about being bothered by a lady with a camera intruding on his outdoor exploration time. the goodness remains.
but i mean if all you want is your basic staged happy pose then i'm not the photographer for you anyways. i mean, really.
THE COLORS: the colors made me so happy. but then i changed some to black and white and then i fell in love with the images even more. so here is a happy mix of both. i know you were worried about that.
NEXT UP on the agenda is devising a way to get to portland so i can visit her AND invade her house for an in-home session.
enjoy!
