what being a lifestyle photographer means to me!

I occasionally get asked what it means when I say I am a lifestyle photographer so I thought I could explain what it means to me and why I love it so much!

Essentially (and adapted from Wikipedia) lifestyle photography is about capturing people in real-life situations and events in an artistic way. The key for me here, is real-life.

For me, this means I like to keep my clients moving: laughing, hugging, cuddling, whispering dirty nothings, etc. I focus less on a pose recipe and more on what makes a couple, family or individual unique because I believe in capturing you as you are, beautiful, right now, today! I like to see how people default together and then move them accordingly to what makes them look their best but often their best is what makes them the most comfortable! Yes on a wedding day there are plenty of formals but there are also 100000 little moments that you are living and also those you will miss because you’re busy and that is what I love about capturing photos as a lifestyle photographer.

When it comes to family sessions, lifestyle photography means letting families, especially kids, be themselves. Nothing is worse than forcing kids to smile and parents who are stressed about it. I usually manage at least one shot with everyone looking and smiling perfectly but what i’m really capturing is the memories of your kids as they are now. Sweet and busy and all of it! I don’t bring props, I like to use whatever is in your home or wherever we are to tell the story of life as it is for you now.

I do still pose you, yes for sure! We all want the Fireplace Mantle photo or the one we can send to Grandma. But I also sit back and watch for the sweetness of real life. I love capturing memories in this way. I often put myself in your shoes and think about what I would want to remember about the moments we’re together. And now that I’ve been shooting this way for many years and feel comfortable in the chaos, it’s now more about making art of these moments beyond just capturing them!