This wasn’t my first time being photographed by another documentary photographer. Almost every time I travel, I hire a photographer to document my new adventure.

But, this was my first time having someone in my house to capture photos of my family and I living out a typical day.

It’s important to me that we have something captured in our home in Atlanta. We move often for my husband’s job, and I want to have something that will remind me of these beautiful days in Atlanta. I want to preserve our time here.

BUT…so many thoughts!

As most people are, I was concerned about many things. For example, all of these things crossed my mind while I was preparing for our session:

• What are we going to do while the photographer is here?
• Will she think we are boring?
• What about my house? It’s small and not so tidy most days…
• What about my kids behavior? Will they be respectful?
• Will my husband be up for this?

What about you? Do these thoughts cross your mind, too? I bet you’ve thought a few of those too when considering doing a REAL FAMILY photography session.

While being concerned, I suddenly had a thought:

What picture do I adore the most?

It was a Sunday afternoon. My sister and I were walking along the street, wearing matching pink sweaters. My mom knitted those for us. We were holding hands. I was probably 3 and my sister was only a year…or less. This photo is a treasure for me. It was taken a few months before we discovered that my sister is deaf. I vividly remember struggling to communicate with her. We didn’t yet know the cause of these struggles. I will be forever grateful to my father for capturing this moment.

So regardless of my doubts, I booked the session.

I know those doubts and concerns fall by the side once the session begins. That was true for this special day, too.

Kristin was so lovely. We spent a few minutes warming up with her. We simply took time to have a conversation. Before long, we barely felt her presence with us and our guards fell down. We decided to make pasta that day. It was a Sunday, and as a typical Italian family, we try to respect our traditions. Kristin captured this family tradition beautifully!

What about all my doubts?

• My life is far from boring! We have always something going on.
• My house was ok. I want to remember my house as it really is, even with the vitamin box on the kitchen counter!
• My husband enjoyed the time with me (finally it wasn’t me taking photos!) and we made his favorite pasta (pasta alla carbonara).
• My kids weren’t so bad! They enjoyed their time with us, they had so much fun, and they barely realized another person was in the room with us. This doesn’t mean that Kristin was a fly on the wall. We talked with her, she interacted with my kids and even managed to communicate with Greta who wasn’t speaking English that day! We spoke about our Italian traditions and she also ate pasta with us at the end of the session!

If you are on the fence about having a documentary photography session done, I encourage you to do it now. Do not hesitate! Soak up this time…the time you’re living now. Find a way to preserve it. You’ll be left with lasting treasures.

This photo session was a round robin that included three families of documentary photographers in the area. To see photos of the other families, follow the blog circle to Kristin blog and Kaleen.