When I get asked to photograph a portrait, the client usually asks for a posed photo of their family on the dunes in front of the lighthouse. That’s all great and dandy, for tradition’s sake, but what they love and order prints of are the lifestyle images. Those images that show their kids’ personalities, that show them interacting with each other, that catch a natural laugh or expression. The lifestyle images are the ones that are truly treasured. It’s not just about “how we looked in 2010″ but more of “how much fun we had, how much we loved each other, what we were into”.

I love to take my clients to the beach for that posed shot and then ask them to just relax and play with their kids. I love to meet them in their home where the kids are comfortable around their favorite toys. It’s the unplanned giggles, the day to day play that the families engage in, that I believe is what should really be remembered and recorded.

Here is a small collection of my favorite lifestyle portraits over the past season.

~Zofia