“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn’t it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Kindly Ones
I don’t pose my couples. Like, at all.
I want to get genuine reactions and real life. Most of my work (about 80%) is all documentary. I don’t direct. I don’t give prompts. I follow people around and take pictures. Kind of like your own personal paparazzi.
The other 20%? Well, I still don’t pose but I carry around little cards with fun prompts on them. I find the prompts help get good portraits with real emotions. Not a forced smile.
Laughter. One of the main components of love.
The couple photos for this session were done with those prompts. I am absolutely in love with her expression in this one. I have a color version but think the black and white really bring out the emotions in it. Her laughter is obvious and you can tell he’s trying not to laugh. You can tell these two enjoy each other’s company.
The prompt for this photo was to hum something in her ear. I don’t recall the exact song but it was something silly like I’ve been working on the railroad. She started cracking up and I started shooting.
I believe that photos should be representational of who we are and how we feel. Most times that means capturing laughter and love. Sometimes it means remembering the sadness. But for today, we focus on love. Laughter. Passion. Because somedays we need to look at those things and smile a bit.
Do you want to capture your life in photos?
Do you want to be able to look back in 20 or 30 years and smile at the memories? I know I do and that’s why I document for others. I want them to be able to have that same experience.
Interested in a documentary family session? Find out more.
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