Let go or take control? The art of documentary photography

Documentary photography is about capturing the connection and bond of a family in their everyday setting, during their current stage of life. These moments are captured naturally, without posing or directing. So, why do I put myself in this situation?! Well, because I love the fact that my family documentary photography sessions provide meaningful souvenirs for the adults of tomorrow. Through my images, they can relive their childhoods and feel their favorite moments all over again.

And, because I believe so strongly in documentary photography, I fully accept that I will have no control over my subjects, the type of light or the action of the session. So how can I create amazing, artistic images when I have zero control? I take control of what I can.

Creative composition and vision go a long way. I may not control the scene, the movement or my surroundings, but I can control the way I see. I can take in the moment and use my own artistry to capture beauty in everyday moments. I can move my feet and control my position. I can adjust my camera settings and make lens choices. I can manipulate light by changing my position. I can use artistic compositions to breathe emotion into my images. Because documentary photography is more than capturing the way something looks. It’s about capturing the feeling of the moment, the connection of this moment in time.

A documentarian must be a master of creative composition.

I believe that light, composition and strong nonverbal communication are the essential ingredients required to generate a stunning image. I see this equation as the triangle of documentary photography. If one out of the three elements is lacking, I need to compensate with the other two. Some elements I always use are lines, foreground, framing, reflection, juxtaposition, layering and clear storytelling.

The image below is an example of boring light. Mom was breastfeeding and I had nothing to frame her with, no real foreground element to add. But when her daughters started riding bikes in the house, I thought it was a good way to add a layer and used them to frame mom.

The below image is another example of creative composition and framing. The mom and dad put their newborn in his crib and I thought, “uh-oh, I have no good light on baby and this is the only time I can capture him awake, not drinking milk.” Shooting through the parents gave me a dark foreground, so the baby could pop, as he was in a brighter area.

Sometimes documenting connection means waiting for the moment.

Being an observer, a documentarian, often means waiting for something to happen. When my subjects are moving between rooms or away from window light, I have a decision to make. Do I shoot, or do I wait. I always ask myself, “Is something really awesome happening here?”

1. If my answer is no, I will wait until the subject moves, and I will not take a picture. Sometimes I’ll even go into another room, and often the subject will follow me!

2. If my answer is yes, I will choose to create an image. I base my creation around the moment and will compose the scene as well as I can, keeping in mind the elements I can use to strengthen the image.

In the image below, the family was playing peek-a-boo. The light was coming from the dining room (overhead light) and a lamp in the corner of the living room. If I was shooting from inside, facing the window, I would not have been able to highlight them this way. Shooting from outside, through the window, gave me a chance to frame them within the full scene, and to add an element of storytelling: the reflection, which revealed that it was “blue hour.” It also allowed me to isolate them from the background.

In documentary photography, you need to deal with tricky light.

During my documentary photography sessions, I have zero control over the type of light I will get. But, I can control how I use the light that is available to me. In my opinion, the only bad lighting situation is having no light on my subject. It’s rarely the case that this will happen. I find any highlights available and commit to making my image.

Sometimes I create my entire composition around a tiny highlight “lifesaver” and will wait patiently for my subject to enter into my composition and to do something of interest.

In the example below, the room was almost pitch black. The blinds were almost closed and the dad was rocking his little girl. The light entered the scene and left it as quick as a flash. I committed to my composition, exposed for the light touching their faces and waited until the light entered again so that I could capture the beauty of this moment.

A documentary photographer needs to love all types of natural light.

My sessions don’t often take place during golden hour or in patches of opens shade. And, that’s fine! My goal is always to document a family as they are, as they live. If the family wants to go outside and swing or run around their yard in harsh midday sun, dappled light or quickly changing sunlight, it’s my job as the photographer to use the light available. I need to be the expert, the artist, who can capture beauty in any situation.

In the image below, the light was not terrible, but was really hard to nail! The sun was harsh and there was dappled light everywhere! It was impossible to expose for the highlights as the contrast was too strong. I had to find an exposure that didn’t clip the blacks and didn’t blow the highlights so that I could recover everything in Lightroom.

Some people see dappled light as bad light. But, by making it a storytelling element, dappled light can be magical.

During this session, I asked the dad to close the blinds to reduce the hard light on mom. This resulted in a flat lighting situation (see first image below) and I immediately changed my mind. I would prefer to utilize hard light to tell a story rather than flat light which can lack contrast and depth. In the second image (below), not only is the dappled light highlighting the subjects, but it also helps tell the story of those early days at home with a newborn, in a cocoon of love, completely oblivious to the outside world.

A documentarian knows that artificial light is important too.

Some of you may argue that artificial light is bad light. In particular, the ceiling light is not always the most flattering or dramatic light. It’s true that I prefer lamp light, which can give nice backlighting, directional light or a pocket of light. However, any artificial light is still better than no light.

And just to be clear, I am a documentary photographer 98% of the time. When it comes to light, if I can turn off some artificial light to avoid mixed lighting, I will do it. If I need to turn on the light or open the shades a little (or a lot), I will do it.

Over time, I have found that my clients really don’t mind when I manipulate the light. They prefer to have good quality pictures instead of a picture taken at ISO 25,600. The only time I won’t touch anything, and will instead crank my ISO, is when the amount of light suits the moment. For example at night or during nap time it is natural for the room to be dark. I don’t want to interfere with real life.

Here, I relied only on the ceiling light. I had to push my camera to ISO 10,000!

Here, I had only one light source, but it was perfectly located, just above the action.

In documentary photography, knowing your gear is essential.

Another important element of controlling your images is the artistic and technical choices you make with your gear. Changing your lens can completely alter the look and feel of an image. A photo taken with a 35mm lens will look and feel completely different than an image taken with a 200mm lens. Likewise, you need to know how shutter speed and aperture will change the look of your images. Being technically skilled with your camera and lenses makes being creative a whole lot easier.

In the images below, I’ve pushed my gear and my own technical knowledge in order to capture a feeling. Honestly, I hate shooting at the playground. But, as a family documentary photographer I will follow my clients everywhere. In these situations, where my environment isn’t ideal, I need to be the expert that can create beauty where others might not see it. Because, let’s be honest, little kids spend a lot of time at the playground and parents love to watch their children play.

One way I like to make beautiful images at the playground is to opt for a lens with a longer focal length. My 135mm is always in my bag, faithfully waiting for such times. The compression and awesome bokeh that this lens provides allows me to isolate my subject and make them pop. I also have another rabbit in my hat for these less-than-inspiring moments: my Lensbaby. With this lens, I can add variety to the gallery with unique blur and focal points. But, in all honesty, my Sigma Art 24 mm f/1.4 is attached to my camera 99.9% of the time. By using a wide aperture, I can isolate my subject easily and continue to shoot according to my style.

Here is an image shot with my Lensbaby. The lens helped to isolate my son and add dynamism to the frame, allowing the viewer to feel the energy of the playground.

Here, I could have gone with the safe shot but as he was sliding again and again I thought: why not trying some panning?

Let’s talk business: Documentarians must manage client expectations.

One more thing I can control is the preparation I do with my clients. I am the only one in my area doing family documentary photography, so it’s imperative that I manage expectations and fully educate my clients. Even though a prospective client may have seen my website and booked a session with me, they are not aware of how my pictures are created. Yes, it’s written on my website, but clients usually don’t read everything. It’s my job to make sure my clients know what they are getting into, and that they want the true documentary style that I offer.

For all of my new clients, I explain in detail how the session will flow. I tell them that they have to plan a wonderful 90 minutes of their real life, doing things they love to do. I also tell them I am the guardian of the final product, so if something is not going in the right direction, I allow myself to intervene. I make sure each client understands the process and the final result before I agree to a session.

In the past, I have had clients that directed the session according to their schedule, posed their kids, stopped moving when I was taking pictures of the kids as to not interfere, did lifestyle poses during the session, always looked at me, smiled and said, “cheese.” I am not even mad at them! I understand they may have had previous sessions where that was required. I have to change the way they think of photo sessions before they do a session with me.

During documentary sessions with limited time, you need to know when to intervene.

What you do when time is running out and you don’t feel like you’ve gotten good pictures? I told you I am a documentary photographer 98% of the time. Let me tell you why I can’t claim 100%: If I have nothing to work with, and clients are doing nothing, I will produce nothing! I am a professional photographer. My clients have hired me (and paid me!). They are expecting a stunning gallery of images. I need to do what it takes to create the images my clients are expecting.

So, even though I’ve prepared my clients and they expect me to be a documentarian, there are times when I need to step in and direct. I try to be minimal, to give direction and then shrink back into the observer role, but it’s important to be professional and to realize that not all families are as comfortable as they’d like to be in front of the camera.

Sometimes I have to speak with my clients and reminded them that they need to have fun together and interact. Otherwise, they will have a gallery of 35 images of the family standing around talking. I encourage parents to engage with their children and to be in the frame instead of watching the action from behind me! I am there to capture all of their connections.

The bottom line is that it’s your job as the professional documentary photographer to capture a family’s connection at this moment in time. If that means you have to intervene a little bit, that’s okay. It’s more important to capture authentic moments than to get caught up in what is documentary and what isn’t.

As the photographer, the artist, you control the vision.

As observers, documentarians, we take in a scene and try to capture it as it is. But we are there too. We breathe our own vision, artistry and creativity into our images. We can move, we can manipulate available light, we can control our equipment and our creative choices. It may seem like we have no control, but in reality, we do.

Documentary photography is all about capturing feelings and connections, real moments our clients will want to relive over and over again. It’s our job to provide the framework and artistry that allows authenticity to happen.

Are you a documentary photographer? What’s your best advice for taking control of your images when you have no control over the scene? I’d love to read your comments!

All images by Annick Paradis