Lifestyle vs. Documentary

Being an artist among so many others in Southern California is tough with stiff competition. You may be familiar with the popular Lifestyle photography style. Many of my photoshoots have been considered Lifestyle over the years. With this style the photographer stages the scene by asking questions or prompts their subjects to do a certain thing that would look great on camera and can capture emotion based on what they envision in their heads.

LIFESTYLE

About 6 years ago I discovered a different style of photography. It has many names: documentary style, photojournalistic, organic, etc. This style is used to chronicle events or environments both significant and relevant to history and historical events as well as everyday life. And because I am interested in working with families and couples, I want to focus on documenting everyday life as well as the big stuff. I believe that the chaos of everyday life is just as beautiful and meaningful to the subjects as the big important moments.


DOCUMENTARY

Some examples of BIG moments that can be documented in this style: nesting, birth of a child, birthday celebration, baptism, graduation, wedding, anniversary, family reunion, celebrating sobriety, celebrating remission, spending time with loved ones in their last days, funeral/celebration of life, etc.

Some examples of every day life moments: morning routine, bath time, bedtime routine, breastfeeding/bottle feeding, playing in the living room or child's room, play dates in the park, doing chores together, swim lessons, pool parties, picking a Christmas tree and decorating it, carving pumpkins, holiday decorating, hiking adventure, going out for ice cream/a treat, baking cookies, cooking and eating a meal together, arts & crafts, taking your kid to school while you still can, girl scout/boy scout/other community group gatherings/events, family camping trip, getting a tattoo/cover up, meeting up with friends, Disneyland Days, trips to the farmer's market, block parties, etc. So many memories waiting to be frozen in time.

I want to be there to capture memories, not create memories.

This style has captured my heart in a big way and I have recently decided to exclusively shoot in this style moving forward.

So I found my niche and want to share it with all of you and the world!

Day-In-The-Life sessions are the best way to shoot in this style. In these sessions I spend several hours (3-4+) with my clients either in their home or out and about (or both) capturing their normal routine. The Lynns were the first clients of mine to indulge me in this style and it was perfect! The Evans family was fantastic as well! Learning about a family, their dynamics, personalities, and capturing that with my camera is what makes me come alive.

These sessions can include video or be video only. With these sessions I have prints and products you can purchase to give the photos life after the session. Things like a box of mounted prints, to large artwork for your walls, and coffee table books you can flip through for years to come. If this is something you would be interested in booking, you can download and fill out this questionnaire and email it to me or we can chat on the phone!

Hope to see you and your loved ones in front of my camera soon!