Lifestyle photography: images you’ll cherish for a lifetime

Make your images come alive

Everyone knows you can photograph a wedding in a series of beautiful images. But you can also photograph everyday “real life” moments in a series — a story — that you’ll cherish for a lifetime. This is what the genre of lifestyle photography is all about!

Start thinking beyond just taking a snapshot of your day. Even the most mundane events can form the basis of a beautiful story — one worthy of photographing!

How to approach lifestyle photography

At its essence, lifestyle photography is about being in the moment.

What you’re looking for as you go about your day is to see moments unfolding. These are moments that are beautiful to you. Or perhaps these moments are filled with chaos and disorder but you’re seeking to find beauty hidden within them.

The intention is that you photograph throughout an event without thinking about what “story” will come out of it. It doesn’t matter what the event is. The point is to relax into the moment and to just be present. All you’re doing is photographing as you go without a thought to the bigger picture.

Capture real life in an artistic way

The process of lifestyle photography is not about trying to fit into some predetermined vision. It’s about accepting what “is” and seeing the good in it. Lifestyle photo stories are authentic in that they capture real life moments in an artistic way.

The storytelling happens after you’ve downloaded the images. There is more than one story that can be told.

Create authentic photo stories

The first step in creating a story is to find the best images taken. These are not necessarily images that can stand alone or those end-all-be-all images that we typically strive for as photographers. These images are the ones that speak to you.

Each photo serves as a building block. Different image combinations yield different stories.

The storytelling part of the process is one of review. It allows you to reflect on your images and to decide which moments you want to remember.

The better the components, the better the image series

Okay, so is lifestyle photography as simple as just holding up a camera and clicking away? If only it were!

Lifestyle photography is where the technical aspects of photography intersect with narration skills. The better the individual components, the better the end result. This means the same rules of good photography apply.

Photo stories rely on the quality of the individual images. Gear is not what is important here. What is important is that you can work freely…even if that means using your phone.

Learn how in Authentic Photo Stories taught by Brit Hammer

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Authentic Photo Stories

Amazing Travel Photos Made Easy

Celebrate Your Life in Beautiful Images

Photography Essentials

No post processing skills necessary for any of Brit’s courses.

You can also work with Brit privately

Mentoring: Schedule a live session with Brit via Skype

Get a private image video review: Private Video Image Reviews

Find out about all of Brit’s courses, including Photographing Fine Art & Craft

“I just wanted to thank you for another wonderful class. I have to confess that each week when I read the new assignment, my first reaction was mild panic and a deep certainty that I would not be able to produce anything worthwhile that fit within the parameters you had set. But before I knew it, the ideas started to flow, and I quickly became obsessed (no, that isn’t too strong a word!) with exploring the possibilities. I can honestly say that the photos I produced in response to your assignments are among my favorites. Thanks for bringing out a creative side I didn’t know I had!”

Barbara Geiger
Understanding Color

“Thank you so very much for this course! It’s allowed me to take the blinders off and present my images for what I want them to be without being a slave to the “reality” of the camera. I would also add that in conjunction with your printing course, this has been the most useful course I’ve ever taken. Your notes are more than comprehensive and your comments and critiques are direct, clear, and always directed to the improvement of the art.”

Bill
After the click

” I want to thank you for this class and for your patience and availability to answer all of my questions. I have learned very much through this class. I have used LR in the past, but mostly for editing images. I now have a better grasp in the organization of my images, an even better understanding of editing images, and an understanding of the value of presets. I still have a lot to learn, but this has put me on the road to be able to improve my photography. Again, thank you! ”

Dale Yates
Lightroom Quickstart

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