An afternoon with Genya's Family, Altanta Family Photographer

This time last year

older girl holds cat on her shoulder while a dog jumps up and puts his paws on her

This time last year Genya was celebrating a birthday, and I got to photograph her family at their home in the afternoon.

They had a tea party on the porch.

The kids made a delightfully tasty mess with frosting and sprinkles on a birthday cake.

The family took to the street with bikes and scooters and skateboards. They raced. They laughed. They cried.

They played hide and seek. They played tag.

They played in the backyard.

They dribbled sand on Hotwheels and dominated a plastic playhouse.

They climbed trees. There were pranks and teases and teens.

They picked fights. They picked flowers.

This time last year, this is what life looked like for them. This is what life felt like for them.

Time is sneaky in the way it shifts forward, and photos of your family that capture the specificity of your life together help bring you back to that moment.

What was this time last year like for you?

a mother and daughter look up at a boy as he climbs the chain of a porch swing
a mom and dad kiss as their kids decorate a birthday cake
a dog sniffs cake pieces and sprinkles on a table
a girl puts her arms out to balance as she skateboards down a street
a mom and daughter both have one foot on a skateboard as they look at each and smile
a little girl stands on a scooter and rolls towards her mom
a family runs and rolls down the street together
a mom holds her toddler as she cries
a toddler smiles at the camera as she scoots down the street with her mom behind her smiling
a portrait of a girl sitting on a skateboard on the sidewalk
a mom and her daughters walk down the street
a boy covers his eyes as he counts during hide and seek
a boy runs from his older sister, putting his arm out to not get tagged
an image from behind of a toddler being held by her big sister
a mom and dad cover their eyes to play hide and seek with their backs to each other
a mom finds her daughter who was hiding as the rest of the family watches
a family plays in their backyard
a mom puts sand on hot wheels cars as her daughter watches
a mom and dad watch their kids with their arms around each other
two sisters having a moment
a portrait of a girl sitting up in a tree
a portrait of a girl in her playhouse
a boy suspended in air after getting thrown up into the air by his dad
two children get thrown in the air and played with by their mom and dad
a mom sits on her steps with 3 of her kids
a toddler picks flowers while wearing a monster bike helmet

School at home, Atlanta Family Photographer

School and life at home during a pandemic

older boy smiles at his mom and tosses basketball to her

When schools shut down because of coronavirus back in March of 2020, it felt surreal. When schools decided to go virtual in the fall of 2020, it felt serious. I wasn’t the only one feeling the historic weight of this decision on our children, and I’m so glad photographer and blogger Kita Bryant wanted to capture this moment for her family.

It was a privilege to photograph what this family’s life looked like as they went back to school remotely during their first week of school. The kids worked through their school responsibilities and managed to fit in household chores as well. Kita casually balanced running a business with being a music teacher, a PE teacher, and a mother.

I often wonder how hindsight will change our understanding of the decisions we are making right now. I think about how kids will look back at this time, and I wonder what they will think. Who’s to say how they will feel about how their lives changed during this pandemic, but I hope at the very least these kids look back at it and remember how awesome it was to have a little extra time with their mom during the day.

a girl wearing a school uniform plays with her braids
a boy plays the guitar in front of his computer
a girl in her room looks at her computer on her bed
a girl puts on makeup in front of a ring light
a girl puts on mascara while looking at her phone
a mother and daughter take a selfie together while sitting on the couch
KitaFamSocialMedia-12.jpg
a boy uses a controller to play a racing game on the computer
KitaFamSocialMedia-14.jpg
A girl touches her ponytail
a girl wraps her arms around her brother's neck as a basketball goes into the hoop
a girl tries to hold back her brother as he runs away with the basketball.
a woman shoots a basketball as her smiling son tries to block it
a motion image of a boy trying to block his sister's basketball shot
a girl swings on the basketball net and her brother dribbles the basketball as he walks forward
a girl tries to block her brother as he shoots a basketball

A day in the life of Atlanta family photographers

The way we live…it’s all the same, and it’s all different.

A bunch of Atlanta family photographers recently got together to do a round robin where one of us photographed another photographer’s family for each part of the day from morning until night. Here’s our collective day full of so many of the same things, mommy kisses, pets getting loved, time playing outside, meals being made and consumed, and books being read. Yet, these are our own homes filled with our own people and quirks. We’re all different, but really, we’re so much the same.

From 7 am - 9 am, Rosalind photographed Heather’s family as they had breakfast.

From 9 am - 11 am, Chanda photographed Barbara’s family as they played with their dogs and went to the park.

From 11 am - 1 pm, Amanda photographed my family as we made lunch, lounged around the house, and hung out in the shop.

From 1 pm - 3 pm, Barbara photographed Kristin’s family as they attended Lucy’s cheer event.

From 3 pm - 5 pm, I photographed Chanda’s family as they got ice cream, played games, and read a book.

From 5 pm - 7 pm, Kristin photographed Amanda’s family as they made played outside, made pizza, took baths, and read books.

From 7 pm - 9 pm, Heather photographed Rosalind’s family as they had dinner and got ready for bed.