05/08/2026
A couple of years ago I had said I was giving up family sessions entirely because they just didn’t feel right. What I *thought* families wanted and what I wanted were two completely different things.
A client that I’d worked with before asked if I’d come do a family/newborn session for their third child, and I said “I’m not really doing family work anymore but if we can have fun with it and play and let the kids be themselves, I’ll do it for you guys”. And that session changed my mind on family photos forever.
So I cautiously reopened family sessions and told people very candidly, “I will take your family photos but this is how I do them, I can recommend someone else if that doesn’t work”.
It’s an injustice to the truth of childhood to force kids to sit still and be someone they’re not for the sake of a perfect photo. “Perfect” isn’t real.
Now family sessions are honestly one of the parts of my business that I look forward to the most, because in a way I feel like I even get to be a kid again for a little bit.
It’s made me realize how freeing and magical and important it is to just let yourself play and do what you loved as a kid again, whether you’re 30 or 50 or 80.
I might not look the most professional playing in the dirt with your kids, but I promise we’re all having the most fun and that’s all that truly matters anyways.
If this feels like the art you’d love to look back on in 20 years, I have some space remaining to document the magic of childhood summers - details/inquire on my website at www.lindsayjralph.com🌞
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