An Afternoon spent with Elle & Ava

I knocked on the door of the Rothesay family home and was immediately greeted by the little misses, Elle and Ava, and their fur-sister Brooke (and their mama Shannon, too, of course!). And for the next six hours, my time was consumed with documenting a day in the life of these two little girls, with the mom in tow.

I followed them along as they struggled to dress, demand some snacks, play with the balloons from their mom’s recent birthday celebration, play and colour in their playroom, get adventurous at their local park, have some snuggle time in their parent’s bed, watch their mom get ready for a party, greet their daddy when he came home from work and eat some butter chicken for dinner. All in all, it was a busy day for these two little babes.

I was so happy to partner with Kirsten Stanley on this particular shoot. Scroll to the bottom to make sure you watch the video. It is so perfect and Kirsten did such an amazing job creating this “home video” for this sweet little family.

Kirsten and I were just waiting for her to try and push her head further between the rungs, having visions of classic television moments from our own childhoods through our minds. Of course, we would have stopped her if that was the case, but a tiny part of me was definitely thinking… “oh this food be so much photo magic!!” I’m not super proud of that thought, by the way.

I definitely have a thing for photographing kids going up and down stairs. It’s probably the lines – I love symmetry. But it is also because I can imagine these as teenagers on the same sets of stairs and I love the idea of giving kids and their parents images that show just how little they once were… how they used to only be able to crawl up these stairs while they now fly down them on their way out with friends… or perhaps one day will walk down them in their wedding dresses…

Parents, please play with your kids, and let me photograph these moments!

In case you haven’t figured it out, this is MY FAVOURITE way to photograph a family – in their home, doing life and connecting with one another. Nothing staged with little-to-no control on my part as to what happens. Kids playing, getting dirty, being demanding, leaving their parents with no personal space and the list goes on. And I especially love photographing kiddos in their homes – among the spaces that were their world and filled with things that brought them joy. And because, one day, when they are grown and look back on these images while sitting on the very same couch or standing in the very same doorway, they realize just how little they were.

I love photographing families in their homes and with a documentary approach because I believe these are the images that both you and your children will cherish the most when your babies aren’t so little anymore. When you both long to remember these otherwise mundane moments.

And after returning to their home for “the big reveal” and seeing Shannon’s reactions to these images, I know that these images are the gift that I always hope they will be to a family.

Please, please check out this video by Kirsten Stanley Productions, capturing all the movement. It is the perfect compliment to my images.

A Day in the Life with Ava and Elle from Kirsten Stanley on Vimeo.