Family Portraits?

     For this project, I wanted to show a slightly different take on the traditional family portrait. The images I have presented are those of an old friend and his family. I do want to give a bit of background on this family. Dan Weaver and I met at band camp our freshman year in the summer of 1989. I remember when he started talking about this girl he met during our senior year in 1993. that girl is his lovely wife, Barb, who he married in 1996. They're 5 boys are Joseph, Benjamin, Samuel, Lucas, and Nathan.

     I wanted to show that family portraits don't have to show a studio setting with properly coiffed and dressed children wearing smiles that are, more than likely, forced. I wanted to show a family that enjoyed being themselves. I wanted to demonstrate portraiture that gave better idea of who the Weavers are. Even though I took photographs that showed a more "traditional" family portrait, the ones I have posted are a better representation of this amazing family.

     This type of portraiture does have limitations. I think the biggest limitation would be that I'm not sure i could take these kind of photographs of someone I was not well-acquainted with. Conversely, being the subject of this type of portraiture would probably not work as well with someone the subject was not acquainted with. Something that this series does do is opens the door to a lot of improvisation. The picture of Barb jumping on Dan's back and of Dan and Joseph holding Lucas by his legs just happened on spur of the moment.