What is Lifestyle Photography

Defining Lifestyle Photography

When I started Marmalade Photography in 2005 there was a pretty significant gap in the Chicago family photography market for at home, on location photos. There was no terminology or guidance on how to build a business around documentary style portraiture – showcasing people in their favorite places and spaces, telling the story of their lives as it actually unfolds.

Lifestyle photography is what I call: posed reality. something that I’ve called what I do for as long as I can remember. It’s at the cross-section of posed photos and photojournalism.

A good Chicago lifestyle photographer will be able to artfully capture the beauty, the spontaneity and the interactions as life unfolds.

It’s the segment of professional photography that puts life front and center as the artistic focus. It is far less about posed perfection than the expression of family life. It isn’t about getting “the perfect shot” and more about getting the personality focused shot. Naturally authentic, organically imperfect moments are the essence of what lifestyle photography offers.

The Aesthetics of Lifestyle Photography

Lifestyle photography takes advantage of the environment, the lighting and the subject’s interactions within that space.

Posed vs. Candid

“Posed reality” reflects that concept that encapsulates what Lifestyle Photography actually is. Your subjects are placed and instructed to “act natural” in any given setting. The environment in which your subjects find themselves plays as a supporting cast member in the story you are creating.

Light is as much a co-star in lifestyle photography as the subjects themselves. Indoor light tends toward softness and warmth. Midday sun creates contrast that can flatten and harden. The coveted golden hour offers beautiful flexibility but still requires a skilled eye to manage shadow and highlight. Good lifestyle photography doesn’t just happen in good light – it happens because the photographer knows how to work with whatever light exists.

The goal should always be: relaxed, natural imagery with real life woven in. So how do you get subjects to look genuinely candid in an unfamiliar setting?

What makes a good photo a good photo?

A simple Google search for Chicago lifestyle photographers reveals a lot about the current state of the genre. I’ll be honest here, and I hesitate to write this because I’m sure to be accused of something that aligns with: “she’s just mad because ____ (fill in the blank).” I have dedicated myself to create consistent imagery and have spent a lot of time on my craft – far from being done learning.

Truth is? If you have eyes you likely see it already. Not all lifestyle photography is created equal. Because the genre has expanded rapidly, that expansion has come a lowering of the technical bar. What I see a lot of in online portfolios is being excused as “style” when it’s just technically, from a photographic perspective, not executed well. Blown highlights, muddy shadows, weirdly soft focus or totally off base focus aren’t what the lifestyle aesthetic is defined as. Simply: they’re technical errors. Authentic moments still deserve to be captured beautifully.

It is, a big reason why, I created the 5 Steps to Choosing a Photographer article and accompanying worksheet.

Having said that there are wonderful lifestyle photographers everywhere, you can’t just look at Google page 1 (or maybe even 2 – frankly there’s a lot of digital clutter that isn’t being filtered out – fake top 10 lists and even non photography related things – which when you’re on the search: is frustrating).

Another reason for the 5 Steps worksheet I linked above.

What makes a great photo?

Great photographs share the same technical details across the board. This is as true today in the digital age as it was in the 40’s and 50’s.

Total aside: For example: when Gordon Parks created some of his epic imagery of people in the South (that link opens to Atlanta’s Jackson Fine Art Museum and the Parks collection ‘The South In Color ‘ worth the click the photos are stunning in their storytelling) with the overarching message, which isn’t just lifestyle photography, the Jackson Museum’s collection does a good job representing the genre in a way. You can’t help but be engulfed by the details: the film quality and the control of exposure, highlights and shadows is exquisite. Parks was a master at documentary style photography.

Back to the technical details I was discussing with regard to today’s lifestyle photography – namely for your family. Great photographs are sharp where it matters in terms of focus. Exposed correctly so you see detail in shadows (not just a black blob of nothingness or weird colors that don’t represent in real life). Proper exposure also corrects highlights – I recently saw a lament on Facebook about “why do so many photographers not get skies right?” by a random person not happy with her photos – this is real and visible on any local Google search for lifestyle photographers. Images should absolutely be composed with intention, not sloppily photographed at weird and unflattering angles.

In essence: a great photograph is both technically sound and emotionally resonant all-at-once. The best photographs do both together, they captivate the viewer because of their beauty and they engage the viewer’s eye so that it’s hard to want to look away.

Why Lifestyle Photography Resonates

Lifestyle photography isn’t new – I referenced Gordon Parks who did a variation of it with his families he photographed in the South nearly 70 years ago in medium format film – but it is fairly unique as a genre in the sphere of professional photography. It is uniquely a storytelling genre, straddling photojournalism and documentary style with a bit more polish and finesse.

We have entered an era of striving for authenticity and lifestyle photography is having its moment in the sun. It already transcends trend status but that does not mean we accept less than good captures. You need not sacrifice quality for organic moments within the posed reality.

Seek a photographer who is patient with sharp observational skills. Seek someone who understands what it means to pay attention to the entire field being photographed all-at-once to see the details that may otherwise be lost.

Understanding what lifestyle photography is and how it can enhance the memories of you and your family is key to understanding what is possible.

Lifestyle photography matters because the connection and authentic expressions of your family matter. Choose with care who will create memories to represent a lifetime for you and your family.