A Day in the Life; Honest Family Photography on Film - Part 1

How many times will a toddler balance across the sides of his little brother’s cot? Once he realises he can do it, it feels like he does it everyday… until he doesn’t. One day he’ll move on to something else and the bittersweet truth of the matter is, he may never do that again. One day even the space that little cot occupied for years will be empty.

We want our children to grow and develop and become the humans they were always meant to be, of course we do. And we know the rhythms of our day to day shift all the time and that these precious moments are fleeting. So what would it mean if we could capture some of them in an artful way and keep them safe?

A few weeks back I did an inventory of all my film and found several rolls of Ilford 3200, some of which had expired. To be honest I hadn’t used this film in years, as I’m somewhat of a kodak portra addict. It was about time I gave this grainy black and white film another whirl and I had an idea of what I could do with it.

I wanted to try and create a collection of candid details and intimate nuances to create a sort of day in the life of a young family series. I asked one of my loveliest friends whether they would let me come to their home first thing one Sunday morning and photograph some everyday moments.

I emphasised this was old film and there were no promises, but they were good sports and happy to be my guinea pigs. I spent a gorgeous three hours with them both in their home and along Hoylake beach front just at the bottom of their road (coming in part 2!). It was such a fun challenge trying to seek the beauty in the domestic chaos without any pressure or expectation. The reportage approach took me back to my wedding photography days and to be honest it felt like play!

When I got the scans back some weeks later it was apparent that a handful of rolls were indeed past their best, most faired pretty well and I was so pleased with the results…

There was no posing here and, for me at least, the whole process felt very relaxed and honest. To be able to tell the story of a family and a home in a single moment in time through photography is the greatest joy and privilege. I really mean that.

This is a home full of love and I think you can feel that in these photographs. I hope the boys will feel that too when they look back on these in years to come.

If you enjoyed this collection of grainy black and white goodness and would like to have your everyday life with your little ones captured in this way, get in touch… I’m happy to help! Alternatively if you’d like to gift a ‘Day in the Life’ photography experience to someone you love, head over to my shop where you’ll find a full range of gift vouchers.