From the crack of dawn to the sun setting over St Kilda beach, Dunedin photographer Jemma shadowed this family and captured the essence of what it's like to grow up as a Kiwi kid.
From the serene native bush walk to the practically empty beach, bouncing on the trampoline to a shopping trip to the local Kmart, there were no holds barred for this extra ordinary day. Nothing, not even the cat peeing on the bed or the kids fighting was omitted from the day's story.
The 'Day In The Life' type of photography session is rapidly gaining popularity in the United States, with many modern documentary photographers specialising in this field, however there are few photographers in New Zealand currently offering it.
Jemma says "We got some weird looks in public for sure. They did their best to ignore me (although both kids did try to include me in everything they did, bless) and I was their personal paparazzi for the day. Following them around Kmart was definitely the most publicly strange thing we did. I told Alison, I know it feels crazy, but I promise in five years you'll look at these photos and the fact that everything was included will be amazing. Even a few months later she told me that she'd completely forgotten some of the little things that happened, like measuring her daughter against the door frame, but we now have these moments frozen in time. A few weeks after the session one of the family's kittens was tragically hit by a car, and the images of the kids playing with them have been almost immediately nostalgic. The gravity of that is not lost on me. It's a humbling job."
Jemma encourages parents to consider the future of how their photographs will be stored and looked at, and how their kids will remember them. She says while digital files are what we use for ease of sharing, they're not foolproof, and printing your images is the only way to ensure they still exist in twenty years. Overseas relatives of the family photographed received a photo album of the entire day's story as a Christmas gift and they adored it, while a large canvas of the family and small photographic prints now decorate their home. She also urges parents to step out from behind the camera, afraid we are becoming a lost generation of adults who no longer exist in photos, as we are always behind the camera (or more often than not, phone).
Jemma says she is looking forward to capturing more Day In The Life photography sessions and has created a short video about the day, including a video testimony of the family pictured, as well as more of the final gallery. She hopes more families will choose to have lifestyle photography sessions of their family, and encourages parents to step outside their comfort zone and get in the photos too.
