Our Life Today – A.L.T Designs

If you are a family looking for a fun and creative way to capture your day-to-day life, then this photo session is perfect for you!  Alicia Thurston of A.L.T. Designs, has a unique way of photographing a family by telling their story through their daily life.

An “Our Life Today” session is all about capturing the essence of a family’s life.  From getting ready for work and school, to making lunch and going to the park, all these activities are captured in photographs for parents to treasure for many years to come. It is a glimpse into a family’s real life.

I had the opportunity to talk with both Alicia, the photographer, and Shea, the mom in the photos.  Below is what they each had to say about this unique experience.

From the photographer’s point of view…

Where did the idea for a “Our Life Today” photo shoot come from?

I have been working on a 365 project this year (www.threesixfivephotos.com), it is my photo journal of my two year old daughter and it amazes me every day how quickly time flies and how fast she is growing. I take a photo, or two or ten every day of Em and post it to my blog with a few words about what’s happening in our lives. I print coffee table style albums every 3 months with all the images and words and it is such a gift. This inspired me to offer something that would give that same intimacy for my clients, obviously it would be challenging and very expensive to offer a 365 project to clients but by documenting their life for a day I get to see them from the inside out and try to capture the essence of their family life, not just how great they can look smiling with a fabulously styled wardrobe (though I thoroughly enjoy that too).

What do you think is the benefit to doing a session like this?

After the first couple hours, the kids start to forget that I am there to take pictures and let me in little by little, we become friends and as friends it is much easier to show their true colours, same goes for the parents. It allows the family to look back and remember what their life was in that moment, an honest depiction of what really matters most.

Do you offer these sessions to all your clients?

Yes, this session is available to all clients and I can’t wait to do another.

How do you prepare/plan for one of these type sessions?

With some emailing back and forth, we pick a day that would best depict a regular day for the family – usually a weekend so the kids are not in school. I explain to them that they need to try their best to pretend that I am not there, ignore the big lens zooming in on your toes… ha ha. Of course it’s tricky at first but I do my best to submerse myself into their family so I’m just part of the day. It helps if they have a game plan for the day. With this session, Shea had planned a morning walk to Starbucks, a trip to Riverdale Farm in Toronto, and while the boys slept, the girls went for a manicure. It was the perfect amount of activity and for the rest of the day we just hung out at the house and played.

How did this session help you grow as a photographer?

I was there from 7am to 7pm and I realized just how lucky I am to be a photographer because not one minute of that 12 hours was tedious or long. I had fun, I made some amazing friends along the way and I’ve been told that Maddie, the oldest girl, wants to do what I do when she grows up, that has to be the best compliment I’ve ever received! I also realized, being a perfectionist, that perfection doesn’t have to be styled or planned, it just happens sometimes.

What was your favorite thing about this session?

Meeting this awesome family – by far! They are a breath of fresh air and they know the true meaning of family values, it was an honour to be a part of their family for a day.

Do you have a favorite image?  If so, which one and why?

Wow, I have many… I could probably pick four favourites – the last three from my sneak peak blog post http://www.altdesignsphotography.com/our-life-today/our-life-today-shea-and-john/. The first is staged with the whole family on a bike in front of the yellow garage door. I tried to stay away from posing too much but it’s nice to have a few works of art to go on the walls too and I love the colours in this one. The second is Maddie, I love her wrinkled nose. The last one is two parents loving their boy, it’s refreshing and gives me a sense of happiness when I look at it. My fourth favourite would be the last one from my main blog post http://www.altdesignsphotography.com/children/our-life-today-shea-and-john-pt-2/. This demonstrates my perfection realization, it is perfectly imperfect and I love it, especially Jessie’s (the middle girl) cool pose!

We were very excited! Alicia had come highly recommended from a friend and I could tell from my correspondence with her before we’d met that her personality was warm and flexible – everything you want for family pics! Truth is my family are a bunch of ‘hams’ for the camera. My biggest concern was that Alicia would have trouble with candid pics because our house is full of posers! She’s brilliant so she got the shots – all of them. My oldest Matilda has decided she wants to be Alicia when she grows up! She’s decided being a photographer would be the best job ever!

How did you determine the activities to be photographed for the day?

We, of course, used our home as the primary focus but incorporated other places we frequent…local Starbucks, Riverdale Farm because the kids love it (thought it would garner lots of smiles) and its a great back drop, the nail salon where the girls and I bond, our front yard and back lane where the kids hang with pals….funniest thing was that we have all these new garages in our lane but my neighbor’s is old, kinda retro and canary yellow, I always saw it as an eye sore but Alicia went crazy for it. Funny the landscape you have under your nose and don’t realize it!

What was your favorite thing about the session?

Seeing the pics….we couldn’t stand it….when Alicia posted a few for us to see, I cried….My girls just wanted to know how soon they could be featured on Alicia’s website…Alicia – they’re still checking….It was also a real nice reminder of how we need to just spend a whole day hangin out with the most important people, more often!

Do you have a favorite image?  If so, which one?

Have you seen the pics?? A fav?? No way!! There are just so many amazing moments that she captured…hard to pick. There is likely a fave shot of my hubby and I and one family shot and one of each of the children….maybe….

Would you recommend this type of session to other families?

Absolutely – I already have! Our children change so quickly, every day brings some amazing new expression. Just wish I’d met Alicia sooner….We’ve decided it’s something we want to invest in every couple of years. With 4 children and a crazy busy life I just never feel I document enough…now I can relax and enjoy…and get Alicia over here.