Freezing the tender and quirky moments of your beautiful life

Life is busy, work is busy, and caring for a family is busy. Let these be the reasons why you SHOULD plan a family photo session – to have a reason for your family to slow down and have some uninterrupted quality time together. A day for making memories.

Our loved ones only care that we showed up and were part of their life. They won’t remember the circumference of your waist or if you had a clean kitchen. But, they will remember the time you cannonballed into the swimming pool, the time a food fight started in the kitchen, the time everyone snuggled by the campfire waiting for northern lights. If you wait for the time to be ‘right’, it may never happen. Every day that you wake up is the right time.

“When I first heard about the work Paula does, I thought, what an incredible way to capture our ‘real’ life! Then I immediately thought, ‘great, 3 hours of kids on technology or asking to be on technology. or better yet, fighting.’  But that was not how it happened. With the time set aside, it actually became a really special 3 hours of connection between me and each kid and between the kids themselves.  I adore the photos, but I also marvel at the experience we had. The time spent with Paula gave us an opportunity to slow down and appreciate those things and the photographs will forever serve as an incredible reminder.” — Nancy S.

It can take time for genuine moments to unfold and for everyone to settle into a place where they are relaxed. The beauty of a longer session is how it holds space for variety – variety of setting, variety of activities, and variety of emotions. It is so fun to have photographs of joyfully exciting moments! Yet, when the energy runs out and things get quieter, we get to see another side of family connection where sooo much beauty hides in the pieces you wouldn’t usually think to photograph… But I’m right there waiting!

No matter how hard a person tries to cement the best moments to memory, they will still fade like a drawing left out in the sun. Yet, with documentary family sessions, from that moment on you get to have pictures helping you remember when life felt full of the very best things. 

With Full Day sessions or a Year in the Life, this is when you get a genuine grasp of life at that moment in time – a family yearbook. You aren’t just cherry picking parts, you get to have it all. 

Nervous about the photos turning out too vulnerable or embarrassing? Worried it’s going to feel like the paparazzi following you? People say I have a knack for making them feel instantly relaxed, like we’ve known each other for ages (see below client quotes). To my core I feel there is nothing better than someone who is unapologetically themselves and I am not with you to air your dirty laundry. Do you toss Bailey’s in your morning coffee or enjoy an afternoon joint on the deck? Most comfortable in only a housecoat or skin-to-skin with loved ones? It’s ok to let the ‘F’ bombs fly. YOU DO YOU. Nothing really phases me.

Do your kids (or you?) melt down on a regular basis? I get it – I’m a parent and a real person too and I know that life can be heavy sometimes. No matter how you are, is exactly right for a documentary family session because there is so much beauty in diversity – in the diversity of people, of moods, and all the kinds of days. If I photograph a tantrum, it’s not for shock factor but simply to show how hard parents work, the comforting and connection that often happens after a breakdown, and to show how much love there is in your family.

I am your camera-happy new friend who came to spend the day hanging out in whatever way you are. Nothing more, nothing less.

What previous clients have said:

“The idea of having someone you don’t know in your home for 3 hours taking photos of your family in order to capture the everyday, hardly sounds natural. But it was. I credit most of this to Paula, who, from the moment she stepped into our home, brought with her an openness to the way we live our life, an absolutely judgment free approach to what she observed, and a gentle kindness that welcomed each of us to be ourselves.” — Nancy S.

“As soon as we met Paula we were at ease. She has a warm and welcoming demeanour and made the whole photo experience relaxed and positive for us all.” — Alissa M.

Even though I believe there is nothing more beautiful than a genuine smile and people being unapologetically their self, I know some clients worry about how they will look in a real-life photograph. Let me tell you what previous documentary family photography clients of mine have said about this concern:

“Photographers always make me apprehensive as I’m not one who is eager to be photographed and I was even more nervous when I wasn’t being posed (Would I look TOO natural? Are my kids going to be obnoxious? How do I hide my double chin?). But when Paula started photographing us, none of that mattered. The moment in time when I was mixing chocolate chips into batter or when my husband was having a snowball fight with the kids was all that existed and double chins or screaming kids or the spill on my husband’s shirt was totally irrelevant. It was just time and space and Paula capturing it all.” — Stephanie M. 

“The photographs Paula took of our family captured so many aspects of our daily life that just don’t get documented… knowing glances, moments of affection, unexpected hilarity, and the ‘just being’.  Having these photos that remind me of what life ‘feels like’ is an incredible keepsake. I even loved the less flattering photos (of me). I will forever be glad for the 3 hours with Paula. It is a wonderful thing to be seen.” — Nancy S.