Tell Your Own Story

I was so excited when the H family drove up to our photo session in this VW van.  I’d seen it around the neighborhood and thought it would look great in a picture.  I was so right.  What’s really great about this van, though, is that it’s a part of this family’s story.  It’s a part of their family.  Years from now when the van is no longer around, they’re going to look back at this picture and be filled with memories of traveling around town in their VW.

The thing is, I could very easily take a picture of my own family by this awesome vehicle and it would look equally good.  (Because my family is adorable and I’m extremely talented.)  However, if I did that I’d probably get a lot of reactions like this: “Hey, cool van!  Is that your van?  Did you borrow the van?  Why did you take a picture with that van?  Are you selling that van?  Can I buy that van?”  It just wouldn’t make sense.

You want your portraits to make sense.  I’ve seen a lot of portrait sessions where the family is dressed to the nines . . . standing next to a dumpster in a dark alley with pavement covered in broken glass.  Maybe the family used to be homeless and they want to take their family photo in the dark alley to remind people how far they’ve come, but probably not.  Most likely, they heard it was the new cool thing to do in family portraits.

My advice to you when you’re considering where and how to capture your family in a portrait is to tell your own story.  Find a place that means something to you or, at the very least, avoid places that make absolutely no sense.