A “day in the life” with the M. Family

Written By Anthony Thornton

For this Full Day "day in the life" session I arrived the night before and had dinner with the family. They had a guest room I could sleep in so we could hit the ground running once the kids woke up in the morning. I have to say, spending the night is helpful on several fronts.

First, it allows for some time with the family without a camera in my hand and helps "break the ice" especially for young kiddos. I'm great with kids, but if it’s the first time we’re meeting, having a little extra time to get to know everyone in person is always a “nice to have.” Regardless of having this little extra time or not, I always make sure to slowly ease into taking pictures. I tread very lightly. 

Second, if we're feeling it (which we were in this case) I might photograph some of the evening routing on that first night. So that's what you see here — a few photos from the first night that lead into the following morning. All moments are in the order they were captured.

The third reason spending the night beforehand is more of a selfish one. Being able to wake up when everyone else gets up allows me to sleep that much more and be that much more rested for a potential 12-hour day of photographing. But if a sleepover isn’t possible for the Full Day session it’s not a problem at all. Every family is different and I’m happy to accommodate all the different situations in order to memorialize these unique and fleeting moments of daily life.

A mother gets her young toddler son ready for bed.
A mother says goodnight to her two sons while the family dog looks on.
A father sits with his two sons on the couch first thing in the morning
A tired dad puts on his toddler's shoes for him.
A father walks with his two sons, holding hands in their neighborhood.
A toddler is upset that he has to clean up the mess he made at the coffee shop.
A toddler washes his dad's car with a hose and makes a rainbow.
Brothers fight over something on the front porch.
Two brothers ride bikes in front of their home while the rest of the family relaxes on the porch.
A mother pushes her two sons on the swings at their favorite park.
A boy counts behind a tree while playing hide and seek.
A young boy gets a piggyback ride from his dad at their favorite park.
The family dog stands on the porch in a silhouette.
A mom waters her plants with a flamingo watering can while her son looks out the window.
A mother tries not to spit out her food while her son makes her laugh in the kitchen.
The dog yawns as mom helps toddler get dressed for swimming.
A young boy puts his socks on in the living room.
Mom looks affectionately at son in the pool during family swim time.
A father catches his young son after he jumps into the pool.
A young boy pauses and looks at the camera while learning to swim in the pool.
A mother carries her young son from the car to the house after being at the pool. The boy is happy.
A father covers his face in exhaustion while his son learns to read.
A mother and her young son hold hands while crossing an intersection with their dog.
A father waits for his son to finish going to the bathroom.
A tired dad is on the couch with his two sons as they drink milk before bed.
A father reads "The Astonishing Secret of Awesome Man" to his two sons before bed.
A mother kisses her son goodnight.
A father kisses his son goodnight.
Anthony Thornton
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A “day in the life” with the G. Family