Preserving your most important memories in a tangible way

Have you ever been at your mom's, or grandma's house, looked around and thought- "I always want to remember this".

These sessions are focused on the documentation of a person, or tradition. The people, the environment, and the feeling that is had there. It is truly the recording of your family's history. Nothing posed, or forced. It is the creating of a visual time capsule that will transport its viewers back to the way things used to be. Keeping you family's history is incredibly vital for the future generations in your family.

What is a Legacy Photo Session?

There are many ways you can go about a Legacy portrait session. Whether its a person in your family that you want to have photographed in their home, doing what they "always do", or it is a family (or friend) tradition that you would like to have captured (picture documenting your yearly canning day with Grandma, or your Dad working in his workshop). The key is that these sessions are unposed and purely documentary. The goal is for me (your photographer) to be a fly on the wall as the activities are taking place. Now, don't worry there will be some intentionality in how we go about the session. I am going to explain that using this session of Joan at home in her lakehouse.

The Planning Process

There are so many every day traditions that are a mainstay of what defines every family. There could also be a person whose very presence defines your family, and you want to document them in the most complete way. Whether you are wanting to document the making of your family's sauce recipe that's been handed down from generation to generation, your family's monthly pancake making get together, or your grandfather, aunt, or father in their home, or in their element doing what they are skilled at or love- a legacy session is the perfect avenue.

Joan's granddaughter commissioned me to travel out to Joan's upstate NY lake house. Their family has many memories taking trips there and it is where Joan still resides. The goal of this session was to document Joan and to document aspects of her home. This is a wonderful way to truly commemorate all the aspects of a person. The storytelling is amplified is a tangible way when you photograph someone in their home doing the things they do every day.

Some of the items on the "shot list" were- Joan sitting in the kitchen, drinking her coffee, sitting on the back deck reading, Joan in her craft room quilting, Joan by the lake, some great portrait shots of her that exude her personality. The shot list gave us structure for the session and allowed us to have a framework to go by. It also helped Joan to be prepared and know what we would be doing. Getting photos done can be a little nerve wracking, so helping my clients feel prepared and comfortable is vital to my process.

grandma sitting in her chair in her living room

Getting Comfortable

I arrived at my destination and met Joan for the first time. Her daughter and a few grandchildren were also there. I chatted with her while I unloaded my gear and then got a tour of the different areas of her home that I would be photographing.

A Conversational Approach

During the actual session I truly am genuinely interested in my client and anything that might be important to them. I often chat through my sessions (when I have one subject) hoping to put my clients at ease. This is the best way to get the genuinely authentic portraits I am always aiming for.

Staying Flexible

Though I have a shot list, we almost always will come across things that my client didn't think of ahead of time. I love when my client brings something to my attention, or decides that they would really like something documented.

What matters is what matters to YOU!

As we were moving around the house we came across Angus rotisserie that Joan has had for over 30 years. She uses it every time the family comes out and they make food together. This is a great memory of Joan that her family wanted to have visual representation of.