Family of three photoshoot in Yorkshire | Day-in-the-life Session | London Documentary Family Photographer
Earlier this year, I was in West Yorkshire visiting my friend Sarah (of Sarah Mason Photography) while I was attending her photography retreat. Her wife Suzi and their 7-month-old baby girl had also joined in the weekend retreat, where in-between Sarah teaching her course, I got to observe the quieter moments of their family together. Sarah had spoken at times how the arrival of their daughter, Olive, had magically transformed their lives. No longer were there just the two of them, her and Suzi, but now there was Olive expanding theirs to a family of three. It’s a fresh new chapter of their family story to document.
Documenting the everyday
Working as family photographers, we had various conversations about our approaches to family photography. We talked about the importance of having a family heirloom of photographs to look back on. All three of us were lucky to have grown up with lots of photographs of ourselves — stored in tins or drawers, or in my case, neatly placed into photo albums — that recorded memories of our childhood and growing up with our families and long-gone loved ones. These were photographs of the everyday to hold, feel and to share. Photographs printed out to be enjoyed now and for our children of tomorrow. Without exception, Sarah has started documenting their life with Olive so she could have photographs of her childhood too.
The everyday moments
With family photography being important to both Sarah and Suzi, they are keenly aware that family photographs are not just for the big milestones or events. Time goes so fast and there are so many moments that goes on in our everyday that are valued and worth documenting too. However, as is often the case for family photographers, we don’t often get to be in our own photographs sharing intimate moments with our family, while taking the pictures as well.
So during my stay, I photographed her family and capture for them the ordinary moments that make their family theirs. Things like bath time and putting a tired sleepy baby to bed (and the struggles of getting them dressed when they’re keen to be on the move!). I also captured them in one of their favourite cafes and walking along the river, as they showed me around Hebden Bridge one day. If you ever visit this pretty market town, there are several lovely cafes to visit.
You can see a small selection of the photographs shared below. Some were freelensed with the dreamy, artistic feel too.
All that is left for me to say is how thankful I am to Sarah, Suzi and Olive for letting me spend a normal family life with them and documenting their everyday moments in a documentary family photoshoot. I already know that these photographs have added to their visual story, moments that they could see in the early part of their life connecting as a family of three, which will be lovingly enjoyed and felt in years to come.
