10 Oct Seattle Day In The Life Family Photographer | A Case For The Day-In-The-Life Session
I know what you’re thinking. Not because I can read minds (how great would that be?!) but because I’ve had the same thought: why on earth would I want a photographer to come to my home, photograph the mess, capture me with my hair sticking up in twelve different directions while my kids run circles around me? Why would anyone want those pictures instead of the beautiful photo where everyone looks their best in front of the setting sun in a field of wheat?
I can frame the smiling photo. I can put that up and proudly display it on my wall where all my friends and family can ohh and ahh over its stunning perfection. Who cares that my kids will never wear those outfits again? Who cares that I had to bribe them with copious amounts of sugar just to get through that session (come on, we’ve all been there)? Who cares that it took me 4 hours of prep time to get “camera ready” and that I’m still slightly bugged by the misplaced hair on my husband’s head? That smiling picture is beautiful.
You’re right.
That smiling picture of your perfect family in the perfect light in the perfect setting is…perfect. But, I guarantee, its not YOU. Not because you are not perfect, but because it doesn’t capture that wonderful perfect person that you and your family really are. It doesn’t have your soul or tell your story. It is just a pretty picture of what you all looked like when you tried really really hard.
Day In The Life Photos are not the photos that you frame on your wall as soon as you get them. I mean you can, and believe me, I do, but those photos are not really for this month. Or even this year.
Day In The Life Photos are the photos you want in 20 years.
They are the photos you want to pour over and savor every detail of when your kids are grown. Remembering the way your daughter would take off her pants and tattoo herself with marker the moment your back was turned. The way your son always managed to miss the toilet when he peed. The ratty tee shirt your husband wore every single Sunday even though you hated it at the time. Even your greasy hair that you hadn’t had time to wash because you were too busy trying to keep everyone fed and clean and where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there.
These are the photos that you look back on and treasure because they bring back those beautiful memories of sloppy kisses, sticky floors and truth. Your truth. Your family’s truth.
Truth is Beautiful. This is so important. Truth is Beautiful.
Long after the smiling picture at sunset has been shoved into storage, your Day-In-The-Life photos will be treasured. They are the photos you will grab if your house is burning down because those memories – those stories of your life – can never be replaced.
So, take the smiling photos (they have a place) but don’t forget to make the time to take the Day-In-The-Life photos, because trust me, those images are so much more important than any image you will get at sunset in a field of wheat.
Seattle Day In The Life Family Photographer | Lena Eivy is a Seattle photographer who specializes in capturing real moments.