You think your family is too boring for an at home session?

Whether it be a 90-minute Family Storytelling Session or a full 8-hour Day in The Life Session, this is usually something that comes up in everyone's pre-session consultation.

"We don't really do anything."

"We're boring."

"We just sit around."

"What do we do?"

"Can you tell us what to do?"

I can tell you, with absolute certainty, you are not too boring for an at home session or Day in the Life Session.

a couple sitting together on the couch with arms intertwined together in virginia beach, virginia home

There is magic in the everyday.

There is a bit of magic in our everyday, if we just open ourselves up to see it. I think at the root of everything is love. Your days are filled with it, even the hard ones. You're prepping food for your family, you're grocery shopping for your family, you're doing chores, you're folding laundry (does it ever end?!), you're sitting on the couch reading a book to a little one, you're taking part in a game of make believe you don't really understand, you're kissing booboos, cleaning up cuts and scrapes, you're gently tussling their hair, you're giving the family pet a kiss on the head, you're making beds, praying with the children, you're doing bathtime and bedtime.

There are so many little moments of magic, love, and connection within the course of a 24 hour period. Even if you're just hanging out at home, there's still things you're doing, even if you're just relaxing.

Your life is worthy of being photographed.

Did you know that the government hired photographers during 1935-1944 to document everyday American life? It's true! They hired a handful of photographers to make a record of American life. They photographed both rural and urban communities and really homed in on the ongoings of individuals daily life. I'm sure you've even seen some of the photographs, maybe you just didn't know they were taken as a part of a government program.

Your life, even in it's perceived mundaneness, is worthy of being photographed. Art makes us human, it makes us feel something, it spans religion and culture and language. It connects us with strangers. So, how powerful is it then when our grown children can look back at a photographic record of their lives and are able to tangibly see what life was like when they were a child? To see the tender touches that often go unnoticed throughout the day? Or your grown daughter with a family of her own, to see that yes, her mother does in fact understand what she's going through, because she's been there too.

Even the "most boring" days have that everyday magic.

a mother laying on the couch with a newborn baby in portsmouth, virginia

So, what do you do?

The answer I give you here is simple, but vague. The truth is, I can't tell you what to do. It's what you want to do, it's what you normally do, it's what you want to be photographed. In our pre-session consultation, these are all things that we talk about. What is important to you? Whatever that answer is will lead us in the right direction for your session. Some families choose to photograph a day at home- kids playing in the backyard (or in the house), dinner being made, yard work being done, working on the family car, laundry being folded- just a normal day at home. Some families choose to go out on an adventure to the beach for a few hours and then come home. Some choose to go to a playground or a hike, whatever it is that your family would normally do on those days.

The beauty of an 8 hour Day in the Life Session, is that we have time to do a little bit of everything. There's no rush. It's as easy as it gets!


If you feel like this is something you'd like to do or even just talk more about, I'm happy to do that with you. You can book a no-obligation, totally free consultation with me and we can just see if something like this is right for you. And if it is, (and I hope it is!) we can go from there. Send me a message here or at the Contact tab above and let's get in touch!

"What you do (or don't do) within the 24 hour period of a day (or the 8 hours we dedicate to your session) is worthy of being seen and even, dare I say it, celebrated." - Jess