Breakfast at the Fetzlings

As many of you have picked up by now, I approach my family sessions from a documentary point of view, starting in your home where you & the kids are most comfortable and the images immediately have context and speak to who you are at this time in your lives.  While the majority of what I show on the blog is from the documentary side of things, I also make time for a few intentional ‘hey everyone look at the camera’ type shots.  Although many families come to expect those kind of images to put on their family holiday card, my favorites have always been the imperfect moments in between, that reveal the ins & outs of their daily lives.  I was curious what would happen if I didn’t do any intentional shots and relied solely on my PJ (photojournalist) skills for the entire session. Would the family be any less satisfied with the photos?   Would they find their one defining image? That’s where the Fetzlings came in.  I’ve photographed Ariel during pregnancy and the family after Tavi was born. They’re an offbeat bunch that trust my work and would give me the freedom to do anything I wanted.  I questioned their daily routines to see what an ideal time to shoot would be.  Ariel sent back a video of Tavi annihilating a stack of pancakes. Done!  I arrived sometime before 7am (ouch – I’m not a morning girl) and this was the result.  Funny thing is, I’m not sure my experiment was a success because we did end up doing something intentional at the end –  an image of them wearing custom Care Bear suits.  You just can’t say no to that.