How long is a documentary photo session?

A little backstory from a real family session: When L reached out to me about her family photos, she shared her goals feeling relaxed and showing her family doing real activities around their home. But, having never worked with a photographer before, she didn’t know how her 2.5-year-old would react to a new face, especially with a camera involved.  Furthermore, she was a little surprised to hear…

A “slice of Life” Session is about 2 hours long.

L was curious what we would do to fill that much time, and how I could hold her son’s attention for that long as a total stranger. But, after a quick 15-minute chat on the phone, L and I had worked out a plan together for what we would capture. She shared with me all the things her son loves – food, the lawnmower, picking strawberries, playing music, and going on walks with the dog. During the session, we weaved all the favorite activities artfully into the photos. From her son’s perspective, this wasn’t a photoshoot… this was a fun day doing his favorite things with his parents. I just happened to be there with a camera.

Like most kids, O was conditioned to look at the camera and say “cheeeeeese.” While that was cute, it was producing cheesy smiles and I knew that’s not how L wanted her son represented. So when I noticed this happening, I redirected his attention with a little game or task everyone could do together. The key to beautiful photographs is actually LESS of the photographer’s presence. I can give you guidance on what to do, but the interpretation is 100% up to you. That’s what gives your photos the “secret sauce.” It’s what makes them yours.

I’ve met a lot of happy kids in my years as a photographer, but this kid was especially happy for one very big reason: his parents didn’t finagle him or tell him where to look. With young kids, having a relaxed timeline is absolutely necessary, because as you know, they fall down or run away or we need to pivot and do something else. The slower pace of a documentary photos session offers the flexibility and comfort to make this happen, versus putting on the pressure to perform within a time constraint.

And yes, we still got the Christmas card photo of everyone smiling (because Grandma would be sooo sad if we didn’t get that one). But instead of making that the main event and trying to get it perfect, we snapped it when the timing felt right and everyone was totally relaxed.

While the 2-hour Slice of Life session is the most popular, I also offer a 1-hour “Short Story” and a 4-hour “Half Day in the Life” session. The session you choose ultimately depends on how much you want captured, and how deeply authentic you want the photos to be (longer session = more time for real emotions to unfold). No matter which session I show up for, you can almost always count on the first 15-20 minutes to be warm-up time.

Remember: I am a stranger to your kids. Some kids are quick to warm, and some aren’t, and that’s okay. Your favorite images are always going to happen after the warm-up period when everyone is 100% comfortable expressing themselves.