A single bead of sweat slowly makes its way down my back, gaining momentum as it descends. With my camera raised, I'm sweating buckets even as I stand completely still. It's 36C at 17h, the hottest day of this Montreal summer unexpectedly appearing on the last Sunday of September. Then I hear the joyful glee of Nova as Milo comes running into the frame and I don't even care that I'm a sweaty disheveled mess. Hanging out with the Duffin-Neuman family at Parc Jarry is the most fun I've had in weeks.
Milo leads the way as we wander from the gazebo to the hill to the playground, with little Nova happily plodding along behind. Parc Jarry is filled with other kids and families, and there is a sense of life and community surrounding the Duffin-Neuman family. I circle around the periphery of the family, doing my best not to interfere with their organic interactions. Jen and Brian take the scene in stride, calmly pushing the stroller, picking up dropped items, and keeping an eye on their kids while giving them maximum freedom. As the sun slowly descends, I aim to capture the stunning chaos of family life.
My favourite set of photos comes when Milo spots a set of wooden bleachers and immediately scales to the top of them. It creates a simple playspace for the group, and a great photographic frame. Lately when I've been exploring the work of other photographers, I've been inspired by photos that pull heavy shadows and blacks, exposing the image for a rim of light around the edge of the subject. With my photography I'm typically pulled towards retaining the details, even in the shadows, and these strong silhouettes are not something I typically see. Shooting at sunset, I push myself to shoot and edit outside of my comfort zone towards these strong silhouettes, towards a new way of playing with light.
This Life by Selena Photography blog post about family photography was produced by Montreal photographer Selena Phillips-Boyle. You can see more of Selena's family photography by heading over to this Edmonton family photo session or this Toronto family photo session. This post was edited by Montreal writer Hannah Storrs. This photo session was a skill swap of photography and macrame with Jennifer Duffin, the creator behind Nova Mercury. You can see Jen's talents on Instagram and order her macrame on Etsy.
Cet article de blogue sur la photographie de famille Life by Selena était produit par Selena Phillips-Boyle, photographe montréalaise. Cet article de blogue fut révisé par l’écrivaine montréalaise Hannah Storrs.