A Jac Juc family celebrates its final weeks living on the Surf Coast with an analogue family photoshoot

And, the five questions I always, always get asked on a discovery call:

1. We love the beach, but we love our life at home. Should we do our photos at the beach or home?

(Answer: home. Home home home. I friggen love the beach too but home is where alllll the memories happen. Do one at home, then invite me back the following year and we can hit the beach).

2. We live in a rental, and we love it but it’s not completely ours. It’s not our dream home. Should we wait until we buy our own home to do family photos? Should we still do family photos at home if we live in a rental?

(Answer: a lived-in home is an interesting home. I have done sessions in tiny old rentals, and great big fancy homes. The best ones have always been the ones full of character and life. The worst ones have been houses so blank and new that it was basically a studio session. You want your kids to remember what their first home looked like, right? So let your home be your home, and I’ll find the corners of good light).

3. My partner totally dreads posed family photos. Are you going to make us act all shiny and happy and perfect?

(Answer: oh crikey no. I actually like emotional range in photos – a resting gaze, yelling, exertion from playing, fatigue. An all-smiling gallery is a boring gallery. That being said, I’ll give you some direction. I say I’m a documentary photographer but honestly I rely so much on improv so when I have an idea for a shot I’ll see if you’re up for trying something a bit different!).

4. What time of day should we do our home family photo session?

(Answer for home sessions: whatever time when your home has the most interesting light and fits in with nap schedules. Start noticing what time of day your favourite rooms get great sunshine).

5. What should we wear for our indoor family photos?

(Answer: whatever you dang well please. You do you, boo. Colour! Texture! Op shop finds! Band t-shirts from the 80s! Let your kids be comfy and please don’t ask a partner to dress up like they’re going to work. Dads in a nice t-shirt that fits well and blundstones is a great vibe. Just not matching plaid or everyone in white tshirts and jeans. Please.) (unless it’s ironic.) (maybe, I don’t think we are there yet).

Totally unrelated to these questions is this ace family. We decided on home for them because they’re moving to Tassie soon and it’s their final weeks living on the Surf Coast, in their lovely home full of kid art.

Curious what I mean by an ‘analogue film family session’? What this means is I bring over some 35mm and medium format film cameras and instead of taking 1000 frames on my digital camera, I slow right down and practice play and patience and enjoy spending lots of quality time with your family. The tones are richer, the moments are less perfect and ultimately feel much more like our memory of real life. Every family session I do comes with some film, and my clients have the option to upgrade to all-film. (Highly recommended). (I’m biased).

Thanks for reading! If you’re interested in learning about pricing and packages for family sessions, click here to learn more. Kristen xo