Having done several documentary photography projects, I thought earlier this year why not document a day in the life of a family? There are lots of pictures taken of children in a family these days, however, usually there are no pictures of the whole family or they don’t include the parents. Also, having grown up in a big family myself, I have always been quite intrigued by families, its joys and mysteries, its interpersonal relationships and its day-to-day activities as much as taking the whole family for a drive, a walk or a picnic for instance.
Hence, I thought why not offer families to accompany them for a day and create beautiful pictures which then can be a lasting memory in form of a slideshow and a book.
As a result, one day in early May I found myself on the train to Richmond to spend the day with the Lanes to document a day in the life of their family- Nikki & Alan and their two wonderful children. I was greeted by Sarah and Peter who had already been up playing for a couple of hours. Sarah in particular was very excited about the fair, which was happening in the afternoon and hence was up even earlier than usual. My ring of the bell, though, didn't fail to wake up Nikki as well and she kindly made me a lovely cup of tea to get me started with my "A day in the life of a family" project. It was a wonderful day with a perfect mix of the typical day-to-day and some weekend style activities. Peter played tennis at the National Tennis Centre in the morning, Sarah and Nikki baked & decorated delicious cupcakes for the fair in the afternoon, there was some story reading, and eventually after having lunch together we all got on the bus to go to the all exciting fair! It was a lovely sunny afternoon and everybody enjoyed being out and about, having ice-cream, candy floss, a ride, and meeting friends. It was a great setting for some nice pictures of the family, and some people seemed to be wondering who this "celebrity" family was with a photographer following them around. :-) After a few hours at the fair everybody was quite tired so that it was back on the bus to get home. After all the activity, we concluded the day with a nice dinner, Robin Hood on telly and some well deserved relaxation time on the sofa. Sarah was the first one to give into her tiredness, and after a good night story from Nikki off she went to sleep...and for me this meant that my day documenting a day in the life of the Lanes was already coming to an end. After a glass of wine with Nikki and Alan, I suddenly was on my way back home- the day had gone by incredibly quick! Spending the day with such a nice family was a real pleasure & fun and I hope there will be many more to come!
Here are some of my favourites of the day! Enjoy!
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