Lifestyle photographer| Clovis|My take on lifestyle photography
What I love about photography and lead me into pursuing it as a career. Is that there is no right or wrong way of doing photography. With that being said there is different styles in photography. Each style is commonly used for a particular reason also different styles are molded into what the photographer interprets it to be. For example, there is journalistic photography, there is studio portrait photography, documentary photography, product photography, and the list goes on. Each style has a specific look to it, depending on the photographer, that style gets tweaked around and interpreted by how and what that style means and looks like to the photographer as an artist. That means that for example, a documentary style photographer will look slightly different when shot then two different photographers. That is because although there are rules that make up that style of photography, at the end of the day art has no rules and it completely depends on the artist and how they decide to interpret what they are creating.
What is lifestyle photography
My photography style is called lifestyle photography. What lifestyle photography means is a photography style that captures real life situations, candid moments that are photographed in an artistic way. So it definitely looks nothing like sitting in front of a camera looking directly at the camera completely posed. Imagine living your life and having a photographer capture those moments. Like having a family picnic or walking in the park. This style could easily be confused with a documentary style photography. The difference between both is that lifestyle is a little more artistic versus documentary is straight to the point. Documentary tells you what’s in the photograph. Lifestyle is more of what are the emotions being shown between people, what are the connections of the subjects in the photo and what stories been told. Each look is very different.
My take on lifestyle
How I interpret lifestyle photography is a little different than what other photographers might interpret it as. My main focus when I do photography in that style is looking for connections and genuine moments. So even though this is what I’m looking for when I photograph. I do use a technique I like to call loose posing. I love the genuine storytelling about lifestyle photography and I like to create opportunities where I guide my subjects into poses that help create these moments. For example, I like to tell them to sit a specific way and have a conversation about something and pretend I’m not there. For some subjects this is easy, for others it’s a little more harder so it’s all about knowing how to approach the situation and how to create these moments. I mentioned how I love the storytelling aspect of this style. I also do love when my subject makes connection with the camera. So I will often ask my client to look up at the camera. This is not what we do the entire session but I like to create those opportunities as well. This is not the traditional way of doing lifestyle photography but it’s how I connect with it. When I photograph children, getting them to be in the moment seems to never be a problem because the easy going of lifestyle photography takes off pressure. It is just going with the flow, so the sessions especially when it comes to children are laid-back and give of a feeling that its ok being yourself and just going with the flow looks better on camera. I found that this helps parents feel comfortable and enjoy the session.
Why Lifestyle photography
I think there are many factors on why I connected with lifestyle photography. I actually loved every single style of photography but I always found documentary photography so special. Coming from a film background and having been an Assistant Director of short films, storytelling has always been something I gravitate towards. So documentary photography seemed like an obvious first option for me. Though I always felt like I needed more emotion and a more easygoingness and that’s when lifestyle photography came in and became my style. Of course me adding my own twist to it definitely solidified it even more. It’s just beautiful to me that in lifestyle a maternity session isn’t a typical maternity session. It has a different energy. It is me helping tell the story of that mother whether it be me helping her showcase her personality or helping her feel a certain way. I carry this mindset with me when I photograph families, weddings and every and each client/subject.
My unique take on the style
Why I believe my take on lifestyle photography is unique it’s because I allow each session to be a little different. I know so many photographers that have a specific set ritual to how they carry out their session. They even do the exact same thing with every client. And although this may make things easier for them I find it harder to let moments just happen and most important letting them be genuine. I often do use similar poses with every client but I have them be adapted to each individual. For example, if I tell them to pose sitting down I always tell them find what feels comfortable to you and if something doesn’t look right or awkward I kinda just tweak that instead of telling them exactly how to sit. I feel like when you do this you’re the one who is creating the emotion in the moment instead of letting them kind of feel what they need to feel. This also allows the client to feel more comfortable with you and trust you. So I find my clients let go and connect with each other easier this way then by having a set structure during the session. Also allowing my client to look at me and into the camera and breaking that wall down is something I do differently in this style of photography. If the moment is right I always like to ask my client to look at the camera. The connection can be gold and I believe it shouldn’t be a wasted opportunity just because it’s not what this photography style is according to the definition. I love how I just let my clients be them selves and not force a narrative onto them. At the end of the day by doing this I feel like we both contribute to the final outcome and it’s just not all me it’s part of them in the photograph.
Plans for the future.
I think where I wanna take my style of photography in the future is limitless. Definitely I think overall showcasing genuine emotion and connections will always be a priority in my style. So I think maybe digging deeper into finding a way to be better at showcasing these connections. I think there is always room for growth and this is some thing I truly want to master.
