I want to share with you some of the thoughts families have when considering a documentary family photo session:

‘My house is a complete mess!’

‘I don’t like how I look in pictures’

‘I am ugly, after my last pregnancy I gained so much weight!’

‘My children will misbehave.’

‘My husband is always distracted by his job on his cell phone.’

‘I don’t have time: during the week I have too much to do, and over the weekend I have to clean the house and get other stuff done.’

‘I really can’t afford this expense right now.’

I have good and bad news for you: this is the way how you see yourself and your life. Not the way it actually is.

Day In The Life Photo Session

This is how I saw myself before doing my first DITL (Day In The Life). I was so concerned with how I would be viewed by the photographer. I was afraid of being judged. Looking back, I should have stayed all day long with another person (a complete stranger) taking pictures of me and my family: my crazy Italian family. My kiddos were not always on their best behavior and my husband wasn’t always present (most of the time on the phone for his job). Once the session day arrived (it was a vacation session in NYC), it went really well. Shortly after it began, I became relaxed and completely comfortable with the session. The photographer was amazing, I loved her! But the ease of the session really wasn’t the best part…

The Release Moment

Six weeks later I received an email with a link to my photo gallery. The photos were fabulous. They were absolutely amazing. The moment of the photo reveal was an epiphany for me. I saw my family differently, from a new perspective, with a different light, and with different eyes.

A family during breakfast time. Mom would never have seen what was happening behind without this picture.

The Epiphany

Before I saw the pictures, I often viewed my husband as almost a “bad” man of the family because he often spent our vacation time on the phone with work. After seeing the pictures that Polina captured, I saw him in a completely new light. I saw a man, a dad, a worker, a husband who tried hard to balance everything in his life. I saw him talking over the phone in a crowded NYC street, yet with lovely looks for us, his family. I saw him laughing with us at the museum. I saw him exhausted, yet hugging his children. I saw him helping Greta tie her shoes while talking with Ricky, and at the same time having a conference call with his boss! If it weren’t for that DITL session I wouldn’t have paused to see my husband through that lens: a lens of truth.

I saw my children playing with ME! I saw myself laughing and being part of this family that I have raised with my husband.

I didn’t see a messy house, bad looks, misbehaving children, a distracted husband and dad. I saw my family, finally revealed for what we actually are.

I am so hard on myself, judging myself and everything around me, that I forget what truly matters. I often get distracted with what’s not going well and miss the beauty of what actually is happening in my life.

Was it Worth the Investment?

Absolutely. To me, the session and end results were therapy.

I needed those pictures. I needed to see myself and my family for what we really are.

My heart is now calm, it lies in peace.

I wish for you to have the same epiphany.