The McLeod Family | Real Life Session
Greg and Trudy truly are amazing parents. I've had the pleasure of getting to know them at church a little bit through volunteering together, but after spending an entire day as an extra member of their family, I have even deeper respect for them! The are both calm, compassionate, patient, and loving toward each other and their children. They are excellent teachers, amazing cooks, and they love to laugh together. Gabby (8 years old), Riley (6 years old), and Gracyn (4 years old) are three of the luckiest daughters I've met! And if everyone could have seen how Greg poured over them each of his girls in prayer at meals and before bedtime, you would have been wiping little tears just like I was.
This was our first Real Life FULL DAY Session, and I couldn't be happier about my experience. I had dinner with this sweet family on a Friday night to get to know the kids (I didn't really know them at all before our this). I was given a tour of the house and introduced to nearly every toy in each of their bedrooms before we all headed to bed. Saturday morning, I was up & around early with camera in hand, ready to capture whatever action took place—from wake-up until bedtime routine—the whole day.
Sure, they noticed my camera a little bit in the morning, but since I didn't coax them to do a single thing all day, they kind of forgot I was even taking photos of them. It became "normal" even for the adults. We chatted, played, and just did "everyday life" as they normally would, and although I was documenting everything, there wasn't a feeling of "reality tv show" at all. As I picked up on little personality quirks and family values, the images being captured were a genuine representation of this family's story. Not every person was smiling all the time, but that's how real life IS. It was raw and beautiful. It was filled with interaction, routines, laughter, mealtime, and playtime—a true slice of life for the McLeods in this season. The results don't need much commentary, since they tell the story in their own photojournalistic fashion.
I am THRILLED to be doing documentary family photography now and can't wait to capture more family life like this! (Details on these Sessions can be found on our Real Life page.) I hope you enjoy some of the highlights from this Real Life Full Day Story.
