I shared this info over at Bramble Hill and thought I should share it over here for all of my awesome clients! 
What in the world does the term “lifestyle photographer” mean?
I have been asked this no fewer than a million times it feels like. The true answer is very long winded and there isn’t just one answer. I will try and give my personal “shortened version” but have a feeling it will still be long. There is just really no easy “short” answer. I will repeat some of the advice/info I have given on a forum’s and in e-mail’s over the years as well.
I really feel like it is like every other form of photography. It is a soup of things that have to all happen for it to fall into place. The number one factor that has made lifestyle photography the only form I do…it is what I enjoy and have a good eye for.
In all honesty I am finding that location/in home photography has been termed so many things over the years is it kindof funny to watch the progression of terms used. When I first started 7 years ago I stuck with the terms “childhoood photojournalist” photography, then the hip term changed to “natural light” photography and then that became sort of looked down upon in the industry by photographers and so everyone shifted once again to the now popular “lifestyle” or “real life” photography. For me I don’t really care what the term of the moment is. What I have always tried to capture is and has been always the same, the real moments and life.
Just as happens within the wedding industry many photographers jump on the “I am photo-journalistic” bandwagon and then their portfolio of work shows all posed traditional wedding images. The same happens within the portrait industry now. Often a professional portrait studio will say they are “photo-journalistic” “lifestyle” (or whatever the buz word of the moment is) but then every shot they show will be on a white artificial backdrop with the perfect fake floor and the perfectly posed child. I am the first to say that there is not a thing in the world wrong with the above mentioned style, it can be beautiful, it just isn’t “lifestyle” or “photojournlaistic” at all…IMO (seriously folks this is all just my opinion…take it or leave it
I started when it was soooo not the cool thing to do “lifestyle” family portraits in my town. Actually no one had even heard of it at the time besides wedding work. Boy did I get an ear full over and over from local portrait photog’s. But I kept on. I kept on because I was good at THIS form of photography. I see things that others miss. I blend to the point that people forget I am there. You stick me in a room with a seamless backdrop and I am lost. I SUCK at traditional portrait work. To me all my images look alike and seem..well dull. I have such a strong respect for my friends that are amazing at traditional backdrop studio portrait work. I level with every client that calls and make sure they have seen my work and understand “lifestyle” work and that, that is ALL I do. If they are more traditional I refer them out to my friends that I know fit their needs. We all have things we are naturally better at shooting.
When I go to a home I often gab about nothing for a good while with my clients…I do not work with a flash or backdrop for a couple of reasons. The main one being, for me, that the second I put them on a backdrop or startle them with a flash they change…it changes the whole mood and emotion. They are no longer giving me who they really are, forgetting I am there taking pics, but give me a pose they think I want or look like a deer in headlights (remember this is just me….I stink at traditional..lol
This is a very laid back style of shooting. My clients relax around me and truly share their life with me and it shows in the work. We have fun! After years of following and watching children I can now predict what will happen next. It is so much like hunting..lol! All this has come after YEARS of practice…I was really crappy in the beginning and just kept practicing, watching and practicing some more. We don’t start off being perfect at anything. I still feel like I have so many things to learn but that is so why I love this job…never a dull moment
Learning to frame a moving target in an unfamiliar environment (you have to remember lifestyle photographers often walk into their “studio” for the first time the day of their session with that family) with a child that may or may not know you is tricky business. You have to know how to control everything and really see what is going to be in the background of EVERY frame. You have to know how to control your light and find it.
Basically though you do have to work hard to make really good images because just about every client I have has a nice dslr of their own…all tell me they have tried and tried but can’t get the same out of their cameras.
That is when I tell them we all have ovens too but we still go out to eat.
On another note, I swear I really really stink at flash/backdrops/off camera strobes but you know what? I made sure to learn all of them and then made the decision to steer clear. I found what my strong points were and stuck to them. Found friends who knew them backward and forward to help me figure them out. Now I just refer clients to them…lolBut for me it is important to know how to do things even if I don’t use them on a daily basis. It is part of being a “professional photographer”.
I am still learning…something new everyday!
With each family session I will of course do some traditional shots mixed in with the lifestyle type of work. I feel like as a studio my clients deserve both the fun family shots mixed in with the portrait style shot. My goal is that each image needs to frame up like a portrait. Much easier said then done. Basically good lifestyle work really needs to capture the authentic child. Meaning a look, a giggle, a lovey, an emotion etc…that will forever remind the family of that moment in their families life. Things that often (not always) can’t be brought into a traditional studio. The art of making a portrait from something that could easily have been nothing but a snapshot if captured in a different way/angle/light. Trust me…this is no easy task.
If this is a style you are interested in for your next family photo session and would like to hire someone with a similar style the good news is there are so many amazing photographers out there now shooting this style. If you see a photographer you love but you live in a whole other state I suggest dropping and e-mail or message to the photographer you love. Photographers all over the country, even world, often connect with one another. I refer out other photographers all the time for states and places I have never set foot in but I am aware of a talented friend in their area.
Click the triangle below to view a bit more Lifestyle photography.
by tisha
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