An afternoon with the Robichaud family – Moncton Photographer

I’ll be honest here (not that I ever lie) but one of the reasons I’ve always “avoided” family sessions is because I’m not the greatest with kids. Some people just have the way to talk to them, know how to make them laugh or simply know how to get them comfortable around a new adult they don’t know. Me, well, not so much. It’s probably not as bad as I think it is; I think it just might be out of my comfort zone. And to be able to create outstanding images, it’s important that the photographer loves what he is doing and is comfortable in that particular situation.

However, for the longest time now, I had been wanting to try a new approach to a family session. Instead of aiming to get the “perfect”, “look at the camera and say cheese” shot (which would require a lot of funny face making and weird voice talking), I wanted to document a family in their natural surroundings, doing what they normally do. I wanted to capture the real them without having to interfere much. Not because I wanted to take the easy way out but because I wanted it to be real. Real people doing real things.

That’s where my idea for “An afternoon with…” came to life. Why not spend an afternoon with your family, capturing some natural images as you go on with your normal life. Don’t get me wrong, there’s always a place for those “perfect” images where everyone is smiling at the camera. If we happen to capture some of those during our session, great. But that’s not the goal.

When Gabrielle contacted me for a maternity/family session, I was more than happy to say yes. After all, I did shoot their engagement session, wedding and first maternity session. Since it was very cold outside and considering the amount of snow we are having these past few weeks, we chose an indoor session in their home. I asked Gabrielle if they’d be interested in being my test subjects for this shoot. I told her we’d get those classic maternity/family photos, but suggested we have them chose a few activities to do as a family. Luckily for me, she was more than happy to try it out!

** Since this was a bit experimental for me, I decided to try a new processing look for this session. I think the film-ish look goes well with the documentary style of the session.**

After a few family portraits on the couch (and to get little Janie to warm up to the idea of having me around!), we went into her bedroom where Gabrielle and her read a book together.

She quickly got over her shyness and was more than happy to smile for the camera in mom and dad’s bedroom!

It was then time to start a cookie recipe. They found a gingerbread cookie recipe which was perfect for the occasion!

While the cookies were in the over, we shot a few more “posed” portraits and had some play time with daddy.

And they are ready! Time to decorate the cookies and try them out!