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Category Archives: Documentary family

Beth, Chris & N | Philadelphia documentary family photographer

Beth, Chris and N were kind enough to invite me up to Philadelphia to photograph them in the neighborhood where Beth grew up. It’s a really cool area, where we couldn’t go more than half a block without running into someone Beth knows. I met this rad family at another client’s wedding and it was great to see them again. And always exciting when folks are looking for that documentary angle to their family pictures (because I really don’t do any other kind of family sessions).

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Beth grew up walking around these woods.

zipping up her daughter in the woods playing with her daughter during a family session moody documentary family photography

I think this might have been when N said Jamie was “too slow” to play tag.

grandma laughing during family session philadelphia documentary family photography

It’s possibly never going to snow again in DC, but they had a good bit on the ground in Philadelphia that day.

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Thanks again Beth, Chris, N and Jamie!

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Angel, Mike & four more | Documentary family photography

Angel photographed George and me more than a year ago and it took us all this time to round up her fam and find a time when we both could do a shoot. On top of that, I’m crap at getting a bunch of kids to smile for the camera (even really well-versed kids like Angels’), so I insisted we do a documentary family session – where I would photograph them doing some activity, pretty much how they would be doing it anyway. The trip to get the Christmas tree was born!

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It was so cold. But they had one of those stick-your-face-in-the-slot things and I just love those.

kids being kids during family session getting on the hay ride during a documentary family portrait session walking through the christmas trees during family photo shoot family photo session at christmas tree farm teenagers at christmas tree farm walking through the christmas trees during documentary family shoot

I’m one of the tribe, so I had never witnessed this Christmas tree thing before.  Sure, I’ve seen them in peoples’ houses and decorated a mini tree or two in my sacrilegious abode, but never saw the living-tree-to-decoration process.  It is involved. Jeesh you people make it hard on yourselves!  Mike had to saw the tree down.

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Megan, Pritpal & Jack | Documentary family photography

You may remember Megan and Pritpal from their gorgeous Sikh wedding, or maybe from their engagement session.  Well they’re back!  And I’m so excited to share this documentary family session.  I’m always trying to make my work (and by necessity, my subjects) more personal, more intimate, more narrative.  And this wonderful family gave me the opportunity last week when I photographed them moving into their absolutely stunning new home.

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We started at their comparatively small apartment in Clarendon, cleaning up a bit and packing some last boxes.

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Then we rolled on out to Maryland to show them moving into their beautiful new home.  But first, the Hulk came out.

hulk mask during family photography session move-in fish

This chalk wall was already in the house when they bought it.  How cool is that!?

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There was a temporary break in festivities.  Wolverine is a solitary figure.

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