The "Remember When" Moments


Most families don’t know what a documentary session is — but they should.



A documentary session looks nothing like a traditional family session where everyone is smiling at the camera. Instead, we spend up to two hours doing something that fills your family’s cup. It’s slower. More immersive. It allows me to tell your story as it’s actually being lived.


I look for the details. The emotion. The things that matter most.


When I think about my own childhood, I picture weekends at my grandparents’ farm. My grandma made what we called “flat pancakes” on the gas stove in the basement of their farmhouse. After breakfast, we’d pick up sticks in the grove and later build a bonfire the size of Texas — roasting marshmallows and hot dogs until the sun went down.


Oh, how I wish we had more images of that.


Those moments scream childhood to me and yet, we rarely think to photograph them.


As a documentary photographer, I would join you in those moments — mixing pancake batter with your kids, capturing flour-dusted cheeks and sticky fingers. Following you out to the backyard bonfire. Photographing the in-between — the laughter, the chaos, the quiet.


Documentary sessions are about what you already do. They may seem mundane. Ordinary. Even boring. But they’re the moments we go back to when we grow older. The “remember when?” moments.


Here are just a few ideas of what a documentary session could look like:


At Home

  • Baking cookies in Grandma’s kitchen
  • Pancakes on a slow Saturday morning
  • Reading books in your toddler’s room
  • Building train tracks on the living room floor
  • Bath time giggles
  • Backyard sprinkler chaos


Out + About

  • Pizza and ice cream at your favorite spot
  • A Saturday morning at the farmer's market
  • Paddle boards at the lake
  • S’mores and a bonfire
  • Visiting Grandpa’s shop
  • Coffee and a park playdate


Seasonal

  • First day of school morning routine
  • Cutting down your Christmas tree
  • Gardening in spring
  • Long summer lake days
  • Fall football games


Documentary sessions aren’t about perfect outfits or perfectly styled homes. They’re about preserving the memories you’re making right now — even the ones you don’t realize you’ll miss someday.


Becoming a mom has shown me that the ordinary moments are the extraordinary ones. Sometimes we just don’t recognize it until they’re gone.


If you’ve ever said, “I just want to remember this season,” a documentary session might be exactly what you’re looking for.


Want to know exactly what happens during a documentary session? Read: Inside a Documentary Family Session: What to Expect + Why It Works


Hands adding dough mixture to a mint green stand mixer bowl on a white countertop during baking preparation.
Person in denim overalls scraping cookie dough from a mixing bowl while baking in a kitchen.
A sequence of hands rolling sushi on a dark countertop with a bottle and kitchen items visible in the background.
Mother and child looking inside an oven through glass door on hardwood floor.
A black and white photo shows people gathered in a kitchen drinking from mugs and cups.
Black and white sequence of a young child eating a snack with messy hands and face.
A sequence of photos showing a person drawing on a wall-mounted whiteboard in a room with hardwood floors.
Students working together at a table with papers and study materials in black and white.
Family working on art or homework together at a wooden table in a home setting.
Student working on creative art project at wooden desk with watercolors and art supplies in bright classroom setting.
Overhead view of art supplies including watercolors, markers and paper with someone painting at a wooden desk.
Black and white photo series showing a person in casual attire sitting at a desk in a minimalist interior space.
Close-up sequence of tiny toes with cookie crumbs showing progressive eating of a chocolate chip cookie.
Students work at sewing machines in a black and white classroom setting with art displayed on the walls.
A sequence of black and white photos showing someone preparing coffee and breakfast at a kitchen counter.