A Day In The Life Session (or a DITL Session) is a journalistic photography session that documents raw, real, unposed, and unaltered moments. In essence, it is just as the name sounds. A normal day in your life, except that it will be photographed.
The days are long but the years are short, am I right? As life is whizzing past us, it’s easy to forget all the tiny moments: holding hands as you cross the street, making coffee with half-open eyes and babies on your hip, cuddling pets, quiet moments of nursing our babies, kissing ouchies and wiping tears. All of these are the tiny, precious threads that make up the tapestry of our life; and these secret, special details of our life are exactly what we miss after the years have flown by.
That’s why the Day in the Life Sessions are so magical. They will transform your everyday details into art that you can keep forever. Posed portraits are beautiful, but what we often miss in them is the human nature of our families: sisters hugging, pillow forts, rough housing, cartwheels in the backyard, stolen kisses from your partner, pouty lips from pouty toddlers, chasing the dog. All of these moments on their own are just the background noise of your day, but in the Day of the Life Session I can capture the story of your life during this season.
So how does this work, you ask? I will join you for just a day; typically 6 hours, but we can go wherever you want and you can do whatever you usually do.
If you are worried about being uncomfortable having a camera follow you, please don’t be. Your job is to come as you are, my job is to blend into your scene. We will chat and be friendly, but mostly you can just carry on with your day as usual with me in the background. I want to see tears and laughter, hugs and kisses, silliness and nap times. I want to see everything YOU see in your beautiful everyday life, so that I can help capture it for you to keep forever. I’ve got my own kids and animals, so I can fold into just about any environment with complete comfort.
How long is a DITL session?
My DITL sessions start at 3 hours and average at 6 hours but can be as long as 48 hours.
I want you to be with us to capture those special moments in our morning routine, would you spend the night or come early in the morning?
I can come the night before and sleep over, or come early in the morning. I do ask that if I’m coming in the morning that I can meet your family a few days before and be introduced as your friend rather than “a photographer who is going to take pictures” of you. Both of these help the little ones really warm up to me.
Can we split the DITL session?
Yes. I can stay for the full 3-48 hours or we can split the hours into shifts if you book a minimum of 6 hours.
Example 1: I arrive at 6:00am before anyone wakes up and shoot till we drop the kids off at school, then I come back for school pick up from 2:00pm-8:00pm.
Example 2: I arrive at 6am before anyone wakes up and shoot until everyone goes to sleep.
Example 3: I arrive at 6pm the night before and shoot until the children are asleep, then I either sleep at my home or yours (depending on space and location), and start shooting again as the family wakes up.
What do we wear?
Whatever you and your family wants. I am not going to control or make any suggestions on what to wear. This is real life so if your kids wake up in yesterday’s outfit’s, so be it. If they wear pjs to the grocery store, perfect. Wear what makes you and your loved ones feel good.
Sometimes our house can be very dark. Will you use flash or change the lighting in a room?
I don’t want to adjust anything in the making of these images. I won’t be changing the light, opening or closing doors or drawers, or picking up and moving anything.
What if you are documenting my kids and they start acting up in front of you?
I don’t alter or change anything in the environment and definitely not in certain situations. I am there simply to document. I am a mother but that does not mean I will babysit, reprimand, or redirect your children. The only times I will step in is if a child or pet’s life is at risk.
So...will you be a fly on the wall?
No. I will definitely be interacting and conversing with you and your family, but I will pass up on joining in on double dutch because I’ve got to capture y’all doing it.
But my house is a mess and sometimes I yell at my kids...
Parenting is hard. I am going to go ahead and say that parenting is the hardest job on the planet. I want to capture the day to day stuff, your routine, your relationships. We all parent differently, and I want to see the rawness of every moment. I will absolutely not judge if you have dishes in the sink, toys spread across the floor, or laundry piled ceiling high. I will not critique how you raise your children and most definitely not make any suggestions. I am simply there to capture your family as you are.
What if we go out in public, will you keep shooting?
If we go out somewhere (grocery store, school, doctors, coffee shop etc) and I’m documenting your day, I’m going to walk in there like I’m supposed to be shooting there. Heaven forbid we end up in the emergency room and medical staff asks me to stop shooting, I will have a private chat with you about it and if you want me to continue shooting, I’ll be doing my best to be sneaky about it. You are my client after all.
How available are you for special events?
I am available if you have a vacation planned that you would like me to document. I know I can get distracted when vacationing with my own family and can forget to pick up my camera for all those little and big moments. Even more so, I know I rarely get to be in front of the camera for the vacation. I would be honored to document your vacation. Travel fees depend on location and time of year.