London in-home family photographer | Adult families deserve photographs

London in-home family photographer.

Sometimes we just need to become distant to realize things that were right in front of us. Being immersed in something makes it difficult for us to perceive some important details. All we need is to have some distance and some things start to make sense.

I don’t know if you have any idea of how changing countries and getting away from everything you’re used to can impact your perceptions. In my case, it’s still happening, in many areas of my life (and this is so incredible, but it’s subject for another time). A couple of days ago I have noticed some perceptions regarding my family photography. Those clicks that pop up suddenly, you know?

When we think of family photography, usually the image we have in mind is parents and children, isn’t it? At least that was my idea. But the family does not stop being a family when the children grow up. Having children around helps us to realize the impermanence of the moments (since the kids change so quickly) and we end up valuing each one more. But this impermanence is exactly the same when we are adults. What happens differently it is just a false sense that everything will always be that way.

Then I realized how I hardly used to shoot everyday scenes when we were together in the family. I think that we haven’t had kids in our family for so long that nobody ever remembers to photograph. I felt a little guilty for defending and believing in something I was not even practicing. And at the same time, I understood when other people don’t realize the importance of recording the ordinary moments in their lives: they are so immersed in that scenario that it becomes difficult to see.

Being distant helped me to realize this and I kind of promised myself that I’m going to photograph more of our family moments during my next visit to Brazil (I am going in May). Especially what seems more ordinary and everyday stuff. Our weekend’s lunches that are almost always the same, for example. It will be nice to have a photo of them. No posed photos of everyone looking at the camera, these we have several. But real photos of details and what actually happens.

The moment I promised myself that, I remembered one of the reasons I almost never stopped to take pictures. It’s because I need to stop what I’m doing and only watch and photograph. It is very difficult to be present at the moment and to photograph it. And I usually choose to be at the moment. Giving up being present is difficult, even if they repeated a thousand times and I maybe will repeat almost the same again. Either way, I always want to be there. Even more this time that will be only a couple of days. When I realized it, I realized something else: the importance of hiring a photographer. And it made me be even more aware of what I already believe.

I guess that when you’re a photographer you feel less rushed in hiring another photographer. After all, if we want good pictures, we can take them. But there comes a time when we also want to be in the pictures. Or we want to have a moment saved AND also be present in it.

I don’t know if I will hire a photographer this time. The idea of this possibility made me very excited, though. I think I’m going to try to share myself between being present and taking pictures. Because I also want my own look on our weekends first. Let’s see what happens. Next time, we’ll have a photographer. 🙂

I took these photos on one of the few times I photographed my family. It was my maternal grandmother’s birthday two years ago and we visited her. She is 84 years old and lives in a small town in the countryside. In the same house for over than 50 years, so this place has lots of memories for all of us.

London in-home family photographer