Spotlight Interview From Shoot Along | Northern VA Family Photographer
Have you heard of Shoot Along?
It is an outstanding resource for moms who want to learn how to better capture beautiful images of their own families! It is filled with weekly photography lessons and tons of inspiration!
Shoot Along was established by award-winning photographers, Amy Tripple and Heidi Peters. These talented ladies created Shoot Along to "give themselves structure and accountability to capture their own families and decided it would be a great concept to share with other parents".
Each week, they feature a photographer they admire in their weekly newsletter. Recently, they had asked me to be one of their featured photographers, and I could not have been more honored!
What they asked of me was to photograph portraits of my own children and give a few thoughts about what I did to make the shot happen.
You can find the entire spotlight interview here!!!
Above, is the image that I sent in. I recently took this portrait of my oldest and my youngest, and it is currently one of my favorite images of them. I believe it truly exemplifies their special relationship. And as a mama, I hope they always remain close friends and allies. Because my oldest son loves his baby sister so much and she simply adores him and everything he does.
Photographing your only children, can be difficult and frustrating at times. But it is so important to take the time to capture these fleeting moments. Because they only get one childhood, and we will never get this time back with our babies.
This project that the ladies over at Shoot Along are doing is great, and I highly recommend checking it out!
Here is a snippet of their feature of Quiet Side Photography:
ShootAlong: How do you make documenting your family through photography a priority?
Kate: It's no secret that time seems to pass at warp speed once you have children. I feel like my oldest son was just born, and now I am getting ready to send him to kindergarten in a few weeks. It is so important to document as much you can, because they are only this little for such a short amount of time. A photograph can take you back to that moment with them. It is easy, as a mom, to get lost in the day to day with diaper changes, toys everywhere, and never ending laundry. But when we step back there is so much beauty with life with small children. I will admit, having an actual photo session with my children can be challenging. But I do try to take them for actual sessions with me every few months to document who they are at that moment. It's the only way I can freeze this time with them so I can always revisit it.
ShootAlong: Tell us about the image you've shared? What makes it special to you? What did you do to make it happen?
Kate: My style of photography is very simple. I do not do overly posed, everyone look at the camera and smile, type of images. I much prefer images where the love and connection of a family comes shining through, whether it be with a fit of laughter or a quiet, gentle moment. This image just pulls at my heartstrings. It is of my oldest and my youngest, when my sweet girl was just beginning to take her first steps. It is amazing to see how my son loves to help her achieve this new milestone. She often crawls up to him, climbs up his leg and they go for walks around the house together holding hands. I wanted to document this special bond they had together.
As I knew that this would come naturally, I directed my son to go over near my daughter and talk to her. As he did, she crawled over to him, climbed up his leg and they went for one of their strolls. I knew, if it was forced, it wouldn't have been authentic, and would probably result in my daughter not wanting to hold hands and quite possibly end in tears. And that's not what I wanted to capture. Instead, I set up the situation and waited until the moment happened naturally.
I love that I was able to capture this special moment between siblings. They have such a special bond and adore each other. This moment of my daughter learning to walk is fleeting, I'll never get this time back. Not only does this image document this huge milestone in her life, but it captures the beautiful and unique bond they have for each other, as siblings.
Thank you so much, for the feature, Shoot Along. It truly is an honor!!!
Quiet Side Photography specializes in simple, organic and timeless maternity, newborn, family and child portraiture in Loudoun County and throughout Northern Virginia. Including the cities of Purcellville, Round Hill, Ashburn, Leesburg, Hamilton, Berryville, Aldie, Winchester, Fairfax County and Washington DC.
I would love to create a custom portrait experience for you and your family. Contact me to begin planning your session.