A day in the life of Atlanta family photographers

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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.

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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.

A morning with the Stampley family, Atlanta Family Photographer

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When you’re not sure what’s next, but you’re sure about what matters…

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When Crystal met me at the door for this session, she was like, “yeah, so a lot has happened since I talked to you last.” I looked around and much of their house was in boxes. The walls were bare, and they were preparing for a possible, sudden move. I knew from that moment that I could not love this family more.

The fact that they were in this place of transition, when almost everyone else would say that they couldn’t do photos of their family at this time, the Stampleys said yes. When nothing is certain, you lean on what you know is certain, the people in your life who are your family.

To be honest, I fell in love with this family even before that moment. It really started when I talked to Crystal on the phone for the first time. The conversation would pause when her daughter had a question about the drawing she was making, and I’d get to listen in on an adorable conversation about it. I turned to my own son on my side of the conversation who had just pooped his pants and thought maybe I should change it…nah, he wasn’t bothered by it. It could wait. Plus, I’m certain our potty mouth conversation would not be nearly as adorable.

The day I met up with them was filled with breakfast and games and an outing and pizza and a birthday celebration all mixed in with sibling squabbles and plenty of snuggles. A day worth remembering…not because of anything in particular, or in spite of a packed away house, but because they are family, and the experience of being together matters. Now they have these photographs to celebrate that.

Life is always changing and evolving around us, and the time to photograph it is now, in the midst of it all.

A Saturday afternoon with Chanda's family, Atlanta family photographer

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How do you spend a rainy afternoon?

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We have had our fair share of rainy days in Atlanta lately. While I live for warm sunny days, there’s something a little snuggly and nostalgic about a gloomy day that can make it perfect for a documentary family photography session.

How does your family do rainy days? Do you stay in your pajamas and lounge around? Do you go out as usual and make the most of it? Do you take advantage of any lulls in the rain to still play outside? What you do or don’t do on a rainy day says as much about who you are as a family as what you do or don’t do on any other day. And when it comes to photographing your family, it’s so much more about who you are together than what you do together that makes the resulting photos meaningful.

On this particular gloomy day, I met up with Chanda’s family at Dr. Bombay’s for some ice cream. Everyone in the neighborhood seemed to have the same idea to visit the tea house, as the place was full. Since it wasn’t currently raining, Chanda’s family decided to dry off some tables to sit outside. It took no time for the goofing off to start, and I was instantly this family’s biggest fan.

After the ice cream, we went back to the house, and they started to play the game Sorry. You spend your time in the game trying to get all your people out into play, all the way around the board, and then safely back home. This would seem like a fitting metaphor for life except for the part of the game where everyone else is trying to take out your people and send them to the beginning to keep them from getting home. Even the polite nudge of the title to say “Sorry” when you take out an opponent seems a little disingenuous. Competition is fun though and nothing this family shies away from.

After the game, Chanda convinced the others to start reading the book Wildwood together. While the boys were not so enthusiastic about the read aloud to begin with, it was only a matter of a few sentences before everyone in the room was wooed by the playful words of Colin Meloy. The reading led to snuggling which eventually led to wrestling and playing and then everyone had the energy to break through the dreary day and play some basketball out on the street. I’d say it ended up being quite the perfect afternoon.

There’s no need to let the weather rain on your parade if it is not sunny on the day of your photography session, there’s still plenty of life to live that is worthy of being seen and remembered.

This shoot was part of a Day in The Life in Atlanta session, where I worked with various photographers to show one day and how different families spent the day. To see the total day, follow this link to see the next part of the day. If you follow all the way through, you will be able to see photos of my family too.

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