This may come as a surprise, but I’ve never been a huge fan of traditional family portraiture.
Don’t get me wrong; I have genuine respect for photographers who make traditional portraits. It’s a skilled art, and I understand why so many people want a beautiful photo of their family lined up and smiling at the camera. But as a photographer, it’s never been what I’ve wanted to make. And as a person, it’s never been what I’ve wanted on my walls.
I want unique.
I want to give you photos that look different. Not because of some special editing process or a one-of-a-kind prop, but because your gallery captures the nuances that make your family yours. You can’t get there with a session that’s been staged and prompted from the start.
I don’t want to dictate what your family wears. I want to see what you show up in. What makes you feel most like yourself? I don’t want to suggest a beautiful location. Instead I want to know where your family actually makes memories. I don’t want to tell your child to hug you. I want to see them collapse into your arms all on their own.
Does that mean we might break some traditional portrait rules like a kid in a graphic t-shirt, a pouty toddler, an imperfect moment? Sure. But those photos are going to look like your family and absolutely no one else’s.
I’m desperate to hold time.
I don’t show up to a session to record your appearance. I show up to give you the closest thing we have to a time machine.
The only constant is change. Favorite city blocks evolve. We move to different houses. We grow older. None of it is escapable, no matter where you live or what you put on your face at night. What I want to make are photos that are touchstones for memory. I want images you return to and don’t just think, we were all in the same place at the same time. I want you to feel the sunshine of that particular day. Smell whatever was on the stove. Hear the squeak of the swing set at your park. I want you to remember the board game your family played obsessively for one whole winter, or the way your toddler used to follow the family cat from room to room.
I love a story.
What if the photos from your session sparked actual conversation and not just recognition?
Imagine your kids finding these images decades from now. What gets talked about? There should be more to say than this is the time we had photos taken. I want people looking at your photos to ask where you were and what you were doing? I want them to wonder about the place, the moment, the thing that was happening just outside the frame.
This is how family lore gets made. We pass down the stories, not just of the monumental times but also the small rituals and daily quirks that might quietly disappear on their own unless someone remembers to write them down or photograph them.
If this is the kind of photography you’ve been looking for, I’d love to connect. I work with families across Kitsap County — in Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island, Silverdale, Kingston, Bremerton, and Port Orchard — and every session starts the same way: with a conversation about your family and what makes you worth photographing. Reach out whenever you’re ready.
