Thoughts On Lifestyle Photography

It's been a while since I sat down and wrote about my first creative love, photography! Through the years photography has played a major role in all of my creative jobs: from my very first business shooting photos locally to selling my art online to becoming a full time blogger and more recently in photographing much of our own books! I can say with certainty that my very first DSLR was the best investment I ever made in my career. As the years go by, I have become more and more interested in photography. I am sure it will be a lifelong learning process.

Today I want to talk a little bit about my thoughts on photography. I consider myself a lifestyle photography enthusiast. My favorite thing in the world is looking back on memories from years past with the people I love. It's so special. Technical perfection means very little to me. My biggest goal with photography is to capture the things that make life sweet, the things that are here today gone tomorrow.Real moments are my favorite. Not that there is anything wrong with a posed and styled photo, as (if I'm being honest) that is most of what we share here on ABM. Real moments are special, rare and much more difficult to capture. I think that is why they are my favorite. When I get a candid photo that captures a person's beauty, a couple's style or a family relationship, I melt.

It's not easy to be tuned in and ready to capture real moments. It's a learned habit that happens slowly, with practice. I feel like each year I am more able to capture moments as they happen without stopping everything and saying, "Wait! Do that again!"Sometimes detail shots tell the best stories. All of these photos take me back to different days where I can clearly remember what I was feeling and what was happening. The photo of the box takes me back to the first day we moved into our new home, and the ice cream photo will always remind me of a sunny day when Jeremy (who is NOT a sweets person) offered to take me on an ice cream date totally out of the blue. It's easy to glaze over detail shots. I often hear people making fun of others who instagram food or coffee. In my opinion, these little things tell a bigger story and they matter just as much as posed portraits or a whole scene. I LOVE details.I love movement and, yes, even blurry photos! With that said, I've definitely had my fair share of accidentally blurry photos that seriously bummed me out. Over time, I've become more open to embracing blurry photos. Sometimes they are even my favorites. They tell a story. Whether your day is busy, crazy, windy or stressful, there are times that the blur can add to the emotion in a photograph. I mean, life really is a whirlwind sometimes, right?Genuine emotion shows through. I love it when photos capture true emotions. So many times it's easier, quicker, and a force of habit for me to just throw on my photo smile. Plus, so many people feel awkward and shy in front of the camera. I love the photo above where Jeremy is NOT into getting a photo with me. This happened when we were at breakfast last week. I don't blame him and, you know what, I think this is one of my favorite photos we've had together in a while, because he didn't put on a fake smile. Real emotions are funny, special and sometimes unexpected. Capturing real emotion isn't easy. It takes lots of trial and error, but when it happens it's magic! 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on lifestyle photography. What helps you get your best photos? What are some challenges that you face? xo. Elsie 

Read more of my photography articles: Tips for Capturing Emotion, 10 Things Not To Do, Tips for Outdoor Photos, Tips for Lifestyle Photography and more.

Comments

[LARY@ Inspiration Nook]

Love this. Lifestyle photography is definitely my fave too. Those emotions you get to capture in this kind of photography are the reason why we can relive those moments again with just one look.

[Keri-Anne]

Hello dear.
I am an artistic photographer and most of my photos are set up. It has only been recently that i have loved more lifestyle photographs. Since i have had my blog, i have been more prone to just watch my girls play and snap away. I love capturing moments and having them forever. I also love taking an hour out in the evening to look back through all my old photographs and just smile and remember.

I used to get a little hung up on my settings with these pictures but i have learnt to relax and just shoot what i see and not worry about having the correct exposure. i don't want to mess around with the settings to then miss a moment. I am quite happy with not having perfect lifestyle shots and i am quite happy and keeping those shots forever and ever!

Keri-Anne
http://gingerlillytea.blogspot.com

[Charlotte]

Love this. I'm just starting out with my photography business (mainly shooting weddings) and one of the things I really struggle with is trying to capture those moment of real, candid emotion. So often the subject can feel awkward because they're not sure what to do, so they just stand and pose. My favourite shots are almost always the ones that are captured spontaneously, when the subject is unaware. That tends to mean that my favourite people to photograph at a wedding are kids - they wear their hearts on their sleeve and usually produce the funniest or most heartwarming pictures!

[Maegan Johnson]

I love lifestyle photographs too, though I didn't realize they were called that . . . not that's there's anything wring with that title. :) I'm a details person too, but my favorite photographs are the candid ones. Over the last year I've lost 87lbs and photos have a whole new meaning for me. Before, I was mortified by any picture of myself, but now I feel more love for myself, more self acceptance. I gather up my courage and put myself in front of the lens because I realize now, more than ever, my life is precious; fragile. And, it's all those moments of real life that I didn't get in front of the camera that I regret.

[Caroline]

I love this post! I've dabbled in photo over the years, but I've never had the chance to own such a nice camera myself. I read your post about your camera gear, but do you have any recommendations for someone just starting out?

[Jennifer Aguilar]

Elsie,

I completely agree! Candid pictures are much more challenging than still/posed life shots, but they're so worth all the effort in the end.

My scrapbook is filled with blurry photos that mean so much to me, because they capture my rambunctious puppy nephew in toy destroying action, or my husband's band performing in "imperfect" but dramatic stage lighting.

It took a while for me to embrace the idea that a "flawed" photo can still be beautiful, but doing so has freed me up to capture so much more of real life, and I'm glad.

Thank you for sharing so many photos here. They really do inspire me to keep my trusty Canon handy, and to capture little bits of the magic in ordinary, every day life. :)

- Jen
divineimperfections.typepad.com

[Sophie (onetenzeroseven)]

Great post! I completely agree that the detail in photography is key! Me and my friends go traveling and we take a gazillion shots of our boots in a circle, similar to yours above. It's become a thing that I absolutely love and comparing them over time is super fun!

I always struggled with (and still do!) the confidence to take a photo, especially amongst groups where I'm not that comfortable with the people there or in a busy place it's daunting to take out your giant DSLR, but it gets better over time and I actually have a blog post scheduled for this week with a few personal hints and tips for better confidence with DSLR photography.

I absolutely love taking photos and yours are always so expressive! Some of my absolute faves :))

Sophie | onetenzeroseven.com/blog

[Daphne Mitra]

I completely agree with you about capturing the moment (and not having to ask the subject to pause and rewind). This is how I would like to capture a person or thing. In motion and natural.

Of course, I have an overflow of posed photos of myself, family, friends etc. but these aren´t my favorite. I am new to photography too and I´m learning how to use the DLSR camera properly and play around with the many options it has.

My friends always ask me why I´m always clicking away and I say that I´m just ready to catch a moment which I know can be gone in a blink besides I am surprised what I find when I go through the photos again.

Love, love, love the photos you have shared in the post! Beautiful and inspiring :)

[Carlee]

Great post! I love all your photos and I need to start carrying my camera around with me more so I can capture more of everyday life. I also love the lighting in your photos. So beautiful.
Carlee
http://almostendearing.blogspot.com/

[natalia]

Oh, they're my favorite. I really don't like posing for pictures. I don't think I have a pretty fake smile so posing makes me really nervous, I hate it. And I think I look better when I don't know if I'm being looked at from behind a camera. When I'm being me. Somehow, I think it's the same for most people and I absolutely adore capturing friends and family as I see them, not with some big smile looking at the lense.

I haven't taken many pictures like this, though, but I do plan on working on that. I just got a camera, my very first one, and I plan on using it a lot.

[sarah kate branine]

Oh boy. This is a good post. I think for myself, as a young mom, but also as a person who loves photography, the biggest battle I face is this: do I stop, run for my camera, and capture this moment or do I just take it in with my own two eyes and keep it as a memory in my mind? Aside from that, living in Portland, my biggest challenge is lighting! Love our grey days here, but sometimes our grey days are too grey, wink! : )

[Ellen]

I am fascinated by photography as well! I am trying to save up for a better camera, but in the meantime I am content with what I have. Even Instagram! My favorite thing about ABM is the photography, and I look forward to looking at the beautiful photos posted on here every day! I've already learned a thing or two from this blog! Keep up the great work :)

[Kaisa]

Lifestyle photography is super-tricky especially as there are so many people who get overly anxious when they see a camera and try to hide (it's almost like a pose in itself). So well, while I try to take better photos I also myself try to be as good of a model as possible. Not minding when others snap photos of me and I might at times look totally silly. I secretly try to encourage people to look genuinely silly and not worry much about the camera. I believe that leads to better lifestyle snapshots. Heheh. ;)

xx Kaisa

http://reindeertrails.blogspot.com.es

[Sonia]

Lovely post! I adore lifestyle photography, it's one of my favourite types! I love capturing those little moments and I especially love taking detail shots!

http://erstwhilefelicity.blogspot.co.uk/

[Carolina Bin]

Oh gosh, I am in love with these pictures!
They are so full of emotion!
I'm trying to improve my photography skills, really hope to do something like this very soon!
Xx

http://carolinabin.com

[Lulu]

I totally agree with more candid photos that tell more of a storey or memory you'll always remember. Great post and it makes me think I should take my camera out more.

Lulu xx

http://luluslittlewonderland.blogspot.com

[sammy]

perfectly stated. you are the ultimate at lifestyle photography, too!

[Fee]

I love taking detailed shots and shots when people don't know they are being photographed :) To me photography is all about freezing memories. The biggest difficulty is when people know they are being photographed and sometimes, as you said, put on their pose face. I'm definitely guilty of that :P

[Melinda]

I'm like you, I like to capture moments where I think the world is beautiful, or just a unique moment to capture in my everyday. That is why I'm changing my blog layout to a more photo based blog, just taking snapshots of my daily life and exploits into the unknown.

Melinda

[jessica // miniature rhino]

it's so nice to hear how excited you get taking photos. I have that feeling too, when things just line up, and there's this lovely document of something you'd like to keep. After this I'm going to work on the details more, and my biggest photo fail- printing! I want to see my photos off the screen and in an album.