What is Lifestyle Photography?

When you think “family photos,” what comes to mind? Is it matching outfits? Awkward poses? How about bribing your kids with candy so that they sit still for the picture? A lot of times when people think of family photos, they think of heading to a mall or their local photography studio to tell their family to sit down and smile for at least a minute to get a couple of good photos. Sometimes these photos can be pretty uncomfortable and awkward – trust me, I know all about that.

Yeah, that’s me with the librarian glasses. That day, the power went out so to pass the time we went to the mall to get some matching outfits and take some family photos. The photographer had us pose awkwardly and smile until our cheeks hurt – I would have rather spent the day at Build-a-Bear or the park. I definitely didn’t like posing for photos, and I’m going to bet that your kids don’t want to do that either. So instead of making you “stand over there and smile,” I give space for kids to be themselves, and that’s what lifestyle photography is all about.

Lifestyle Photography vs. Traditional Photography

Lifestyle photography at its core can be explained as “real life” photography. Usually, it’s a bit more natural than portrait photos, but with a little more direction than documentary photos – it can be anywhere in between. It’s important to know how your photographer describes it because it’s a pretty broad spectrum. Some photographers lean more towards portrait photography where they do a bit more posing and direction, but some lean more towards the hands-off approach of documentary photography.

Traditional Portrait Photography

Traditional portrait photographers create a much more controlled environment for their sessions. They do things like choose the colors you wear, place props in the background, use artificial lighting to make it perfect, and pose the families to make sure everyone looks nice and put together for the photos – even down to the placement of their hands (notice our meticulously placed hands in my own family portrait above). Traditional portrait photography can be great if that’s your vibe. Get your family together, head down to JC Penny’s to sit in front of a photographer for half an hour, then head to the food court for that pretzel you promised to your toddler if they smiled big for the camera. Maybe you got out with minimal tears – yay! However, these photos don’t usually show your family’s true personality.

Lifestyle Photography

When you see your little baby every day, they certainly aren’t sitting down and smiling right at you – they’re probably running around the living room roaring like a lion or twirling in their favorite princess dress that you can’t wash because that would mean that they have to take it off for a couple of hours. That’s where lifestyle photography comes in. It can capture all those moments where your kid can be a kid – like they do every day. While every lifestyle photographer is a little different, we all capture every moment that makes your family unique.

What a Lifestyle Session with me Looks lIke

You’ve got a squirmy toddler or a baby who is skeptical of anyone new – a family photo session seems out of the question. As a lifestyle photographer, it’s my job to make sure everyone is feeling comfortable and happy. I’ll show your shy toddler how to take a picture with the fancy camera and give your crying baby some time to warm up and let them scope out the situation. If your 3 year old can’t sit still for more than one minute, we’ll go with it. I know that when working with kids, you have to be ready for anything.

Be Ready for Anything

I was a nanny for a long time, so I know that kids can be all over the place. One minute they want to play trains, but then their little sister starts playing with the Legos, so of course, they would rather do that instead, and sharing just isn’t an option. I really loved getting to know the kids I worked with, and watching them grow up through the pictures I took of them is something special. Sometimes you forget how little they were, so looking back and seeing how much they’ve changed can be so amazing. Sure, it’s nice to have a few photos of them looking at you and smiling, but the photos of them catching bubbles or watching a butterfly were much more meaningful for their parents to see.

Let It Flow

Sometimes families don’t know what they want to do, so I’ll give everyone a little game to play or an activity to do, and let them be as they are. Some direction can be helpful – like “Hey, what’s your favorite book? Do you want to read it with mom and dad?” or “Do you like playing with cars? Can you show me some of them?” I’ll show you where the best lighting is, or tell you where to put your hands, but for the most part, you do you.

Typically, the kids will “lead” the session by telling us what THEY want to do – because it is all about them! If they want to play hide and seek, let them play! Capturing the look on their face the second you find them is the sweetest thing – I mean, look how happy he is!

Where can we take lifestyle photos?

Truthfully, you can take lifestyle photos anywhere you want! Think about what kind of you and your family like to do together. If you spend your weekends at the park, maybe you want your photographer to tag along and get pictures of your kids on the swings or playing with the trucks in the sandbox. Maybe your toddler is OBSESSED with trains and can’t get enough of them so you spend your days at home building – and rebuilding – that wooden train track, so they can keep their train going all day long.

If your family loves to go out on a rainy day to jump in mud puddles or catch raindrops in your mouth, let’s go splash around!

Choose somewhere that you’ll always remember as a place that means something to your family – not one that you’ll remember as the one time you went to this park to take photos. Whether it’s your home, your favorite beach, or the playground down the street, make sure it’s a place that you spend your time together as a family.

Interested in LIfestyle Photography?

Lifestyle photography captures your family in this messy, fun, emotional, challenging time in your life that you’ll never forget. Seeing your kids as they are in this moment right now – because life moves fast and one day the only tag that you’ll play together is phone tag.

Some of my favorite memories I have from my childhood are riding my barbie car down to the “green park” by my house or picking blackberries on the trail nearby. Those photos mean so much more to me than the silly posed one at the mall, so if you’re looking for lifestyle photos I’m your gal.

Hi There!

I’m Malia – an elopement photographer with a passion for exploring with my dog, doing crafts, and going to concerts.

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Hi, I'm Malia Mui

A Washington Elopement Photographer