Unfortunately, I can’t be there this year, but if you’re in the region I recommend a visit. It’s a spectacular sight to see the whole town turned into a giant art gallery … and if you do visit please send me a photo!

FAMILY: (UN)EXPECTED

4-16 JULY 2022

ARLES, FRANCE

“Family: (un)expected presents diverse stories, unmasking the true everyday lives of family. The images question prevailing norms while resisting the social media propaganda of the universal ideas of the “perfect family.”

Instead, laid bare is raw humanness that opens us up to the possibilities of being alive together. It exposes real familial experiences that are typically hidden away: triumph, struggle, quietness, and chaos. The expected is poised against the unexpected, providing further questioning of family life.”

If you can’t visit in person you can see the exhibit online here. Click on any of the images to find out more about them, what inspired the artists and the messages behind their work.

Thank you to DFP for your important work in bringing documentary family photography to a wider audience! … and congratulations to my colleagues whose photos are also on display.

The post Family (Un)Expected | Documentary family exhibition at Les Rencontres Arles appeared first on Emma Collins.

It began to feel like a factory conveyor belt, taking families to the same places, telling them what to do. All the pictures and all the families started to blend into one. What’s worse the comparison game set in. I would see images like mine but with incredible backdrops of beaches, mountains, forests and deserts. Its hard to compete with Hertfordshire’s famously uninspiring landscape! I would spend lots of time searching for locations, sometimes I would drag my children out just because the light was perfect. I didn’t live in a pretty enough place and started to feel bad about my life and question my work.

My Eureka moment

These negative thoughts were of course complete rubbish. I had to work through them but in doing so it did eventually give me a EUREKA moment – the world is an interesting place BECAUSE we are all different. I adore my family and I’m very lucky. Why can’t I just celebrate our authentic selves, warts and all, and be proud of who we are? Looking back at those photos, where I cajoled my kids away from their play just so I could photograph them at sunset, I have no emotional connection to them because I know they were manufactured moments. On the contrary, the photos that I found I was falling in love with weren’t posed or directed. They were creatively composed to embrace the chaos and tell the story of our real everyday life.

Nowadays there is so much pressure to strive for a perfect, desirable lifestyle. If we only photograph the good stuff we are just perpetuating this unhealthy pursuit of an unattainable life. By capturing people’s reality we can show them that what they have may not conform to expectations of perfection, but it is THEIR perfect and actually their life is more colourful and richer because of their own unique experiences. This is documentary family photography.

Working this out was such a magical life lesson for me. Allowing myself to lean into what felt right was like finding my superpower. I let go of what I thought people wanted and started making photos that I wanted to make. What’s more doing my own thing made my work more memorable and unique.

A new approach to family photography

Nowadays I call myself a documentary family photographer or a family photojournalist. It’s an unconventional approach to family photography that jigsaws with the diversity of modern family life. My job is to make sense of the chaos of everyday, carefully observing family life. This allows me to construct uniquely personal images, honouring reality in a sensitive but beautiful way. By taking this modern approach, and relinquishing expectations of what a classical family portrait should look like, I can create results that are both stunning and so much more meaningful.

I use long form sessions lasting several hours (the longer the better!). This means that I really get time to see first hand what makes people tick. Slowing down and watching how families interact with their surroundings and each other means that I can make beautiful, unusual photos. The resulting images are infused with details that celebrate the uniqueness of each family. 

If you think a documentary family photoshoot might be for you, or are interested in finding out more about how it works, contact me to schedule a call.

The post Why I fell in love with Documentary Family Photography appeared first on Emma Collins.

I’m honoured and delighted to have had an image selected for the ‘Life in 2021’ juried photography exhibition. The collection showcases images by documentary family photographers from around the world, visually depicting true stories from 2021. Collectively it is shows the universal, multi-faceted experiences of a year where the globe experienced a domino run of lockdowns. It’s a truly inspiring anthology demonstrating the beauty of real life through artfully composed captures. I am sure that you will see real moments and emotions you can relate to – joyful, bad, funny, and more.

The art of documentary family photography

Because documentary family photography has its roots in photojournalism and social documentary, fine art photography, the purpose is to say something in the images that we make.

As artists, we aren’t simply taking pretty portraits, but observing a scene to establish what piques our interest. Our aim is to intentionally construct images that tell a story through careful use of technique and composition. We make decisions about which elements to include and exclude from the frame, to layer up meaning. Above all we want the viewer to linger and ask themselves questions about what they see. It’s great that organisations like the DFP recognise and understand the importance and beauty of the genre, celebrating it in an exhibition, because I know how hard every photographer represented has worked to develop their bodies of work.

In my image, titled ‘By the side of the radiator’, I wanted to capture my daughter’s expression. I felt that it summed up a feeling of resignation to the boredom of enforced isolation. At the same time I reference my discovery of the doll’s head, and by focusing on her I give her more importance. I chose to do this to emphasise that she had become my main muse, counteracting the dwindling inspiration I felt towards photographing my family after months of lockdown.

The post Life in 2021 | Photography Exhibition celebrating real life appeared first on Emma Collins.

Transforming Perspectives, DFP Inaugural Exhibition

Documentary Family Photographers Worldwide (DFP) is hosting its first photography exhibition, entitled Transforming Perspectives. The collection showcases images from documentary family photographers from around the world. It champions true family stories, diverse backgrounds, and celebrates everyday family life. In fact you will see everything from the good, the bad, the funny, and anything in between.

New York Times Photo Editor, Tiffanie Graham, curated the exhibition from over 650 submissions. Running from 5th-30th April, 2021, the show includes 50 photographs by 44 photographers from 11 different countries. I’m excited that 2 of my images were selected, and I was also invited to speak at the live opening reception. Due to the pandemic the collection is hosted in a virtual gallery rather than in person. This is actually fantastic as visitors can view the exhibition from anywhere in the world!

I have always thought that our work as documentary family photographers operates on two planes. Not only are we making beautiful modern imagery but also an important historical record in the true social documentary sense. In Tiffanie Graham’s words ‘This is an opportunity to explore what family is. What it means and looks like to different people, cultures, and generations. Each selected piece displays a unique perspective that not only reflects the diversity of what family is but also examines the recurring themes seen in family. Struggle, love, tension, companionship, fun, support and so much more.’

I took this photo to demonstrate the contrast in age and the differences in personalities of my two daughters. Part of the Transforming Perspectives Exhibition.

 

I took this photo to show that the reality of family life is not always idyllic, sometimes there are fights and arguments. Part of the Transforming Perspectives Exhibition.

 

Picture (im)Perfect, Florida Museum of Photographic Arts

A collective of 46 photographers from across the world is exhibiting at the Picture (im)Perfect exhibition. Taking place at the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts from 16th April to 31st May 2021, over 70 artworks will be displayed. Resident photography historian and curator Marieke van der Krabben curated the show. It’s exciting that such a large collection of images from the international documentary family community will be represented in one place.

As the title suggests, the distinction between perfect and imperfect pictures has disappeared. They can both be viewed as beautiful photographs in their own rights. One thing every selected photograph has in common is how they show the strongest bonds humans forge are with each other. No matter where we live, what we look like, or who our families are, we all form intense connections. The time we spend together is worth recording, perfect or not, because this is our legacy.

In the words of FMoPA, this exhibition features a wide array of voices from within the global documentary family community. Documentary family photographers use raw, unposed, undirected, family moments to create visual narratives. Family routines are elevated to an artistic expression. They celebrate the beautiful complexities of being part of a family. Ultimately they create emotive, relatable, evocative, and powerful visual legacies.

I am so proud to be part of this international community of family documentary photographers. Together we are trail blazing a change in the way the world sees and captures family. We are creating art at the same time as promoting a healthy understanding that real is what makes life interesting. Real is the new perfect.

I am also excited to share that there is a book to accompany the works on display. So if you can’t get to Florida, buy the book! This will support the show and help raise funds to take it on the road. To find out more and to order a copy of the book, please visit Picture (im)Perfect.

I captured this shot after my daughters had cleared out some old toys. They were carrying them to a refuge centre. Part of the ‘Perfect (im)Perfect’ photographic exhibition in FMoPA, Florida.

 

My older daughter dutifully playing with her sister although she wants to read. Part of the ‘Perfect (im)Perfect’ photographic exhibition in FMoPA, Florida.

And finally…

My thanks go to the organisers and curators of both exhibitions for their hard work. I am so grateful for their recognition of the art that we make documenting the real life of families. If you would like to read about more photography exhibitions that I have been involved in, please look here.

The post International Exhibitions Showcasing Documentary Family Photography appeared first on Emma Collins.

Meet the Fleming Family:

Living just outside London, single Mum, Amber Fleming, is isolating with her 3 kids; 15 year old teenager Florence and 8 year old twins Humphrey and Hattie. We were granted exclusive access to document the life of the Fleming family as they adapted to the changes brought about by the covid-19 pandemic. 

Humphrey is starving, Amber’s lockdown rations just aren’t cutting it. In an attempt to curb the constant moaning she decided to cook a big fry up for breakfast, but things never go to plan in the Fleming house…

Amber Fleming is wondering how she is going to cope with her 8 year old twins at home. All. The. Time. There are pens and paper all over the kitchen floor, felt pen on the Moroccan rug, she found tissue paper on her bottom and now the twins are wrecking the sitting room. After a moment of refocus she realises the benefits of imaginary play and relaxes with a cuppa whilst a frenzied sword fight ensues…

Cabin fever is running high in the Fleming house. The weather unseasonably hot, so Amber decides to throw the twins in to the garden for a good old fashioned water fight. For a fleeting moment coronavirus was forgotten and everything seemed normal again…

It’s a small miracle, Florence is dressed and downstairs in time for PE with Joe Wicks at 9am. Amber congratulates herself for mastering the homeschool routine and peeps her head around the living room door to admire her work. But while the twins put their heart and soul in to the routine, the lazy teenager is found lounging on the sofa…

Without having to venture out in to the real world, it seems 10 days have passed since anyone in the house had a bath or shower. The situation needs addressing. Whilst Amber and Florence take turns in the shower, the twins take advantage of the lack of supervision to see if they can splash bubbles on the ceiling.

Like much of the UK, the Fleming family have turned to baking to pass the time. With Hattie’s help more of the mixture ends up on the floor. Amber is not letting it bother her, no one can come to visit so she is enjoying being able to embrace her inner slob.

Background to the Lotties in Lockdown photo series:

My youngest daughter and I began ‘Lotties in Lockdown’ to combat boredom. It gave us something fun to look forward to during the extensive UK lockdown. As a documentary photographer, normally busy photographing real families, it provided me with a way to photograph a family without leaving the house. For my daughter it was an activity that kept her busy and allowed her to indulge her creativity. But best of all it was an incredible way for us to connect and collaborate on a creative project.

Here’s a little clip of all the work that goes into setting up one of our miniature scenes, tucked away into a little corner of my bedroom! To see the finished photo from this behind the scenes clip, and other new images showing what the Lotties got up to during the pandemic, check out the full series here.

I need photos like this of my family!

Has this has inspired you to want your own family captured in a documentary way? If you would you like to invite me into your home to observe how you work together and to capture unique, playful, funny and touching images of your real family life, let’s chat.

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