I love my job and I am super grateful that I get to meet so many awesome people. Every family is different and they all have their own stories to tell. Occasionally I’m approached by families who’ve made the amazing decision to foster or adopt a child (or children!) and want to capture this important milestone in their growing family.
(Please note, the photos used in this blog post are for visual purposes only and are not related to this story.)
Foster and adoptive families can require a more sensitive touch compared to working with my everyday clients and one of the most important, and perhaps most obvious, aspects is to respect their privacy. Typically, families either don’t want, or aren’t allowed, to show photographs of their fostered or adopted children online, so when I’m working with them it’s really important that their photographs are kept private. This isn’t necessarily something that’s unique to foster families; many families choose not to share their photographs online for a variety of reasons and it’s a wish that I’ll always respect (even if I’m secretly gutted because the photos are amazing!).
Families may or may not want to talk about the ins and outs of their family life, but it can be really helpful for me to understand the journey they’ve been through so I can be sensitive to that when I’m around their children. Particularly where older kids are involved, there can sometimes be an element of awkwardness or difficulty where they’re struggling with their changing situation and I find this just needs a little kindness and lots of patience.
Another consideration is the language that I use during photo sessions. Typically during a family photoshoot, I’ll refer to ‘mum’ and ‘dad’ when I’m directing parents what to do and where to go, but in these situations I’ll always try to use more appropriate language to avoid any awkward situations. During my client consultations, I’ll always ask clients if there’s anything important I should know about their family, so this is usually the ideal time to discuss what everyone’s best referred to as.
I think ultimately, to do this job and to do right by these incredible families is to just be a decent human being – which is my goal with all things, really! I love working with families who have a special story to tell and I’m honoured that they put their trust in me to do just that.
“When my little boy came to me I was keen to document our journey as I had no photos from the first few weeks of his life. Katie was really happy to photograph him, even though other photographers had turned us down as he was outside of the normal ‘newborn’ window.
I immediately signed paperwork that reassured me that my little boy wouldn’t be used or named on social media, and when it came to the photoshoot itself, Katie was really patient and reassuring. I chose to discuss the basics of our journey with Katie as I trusted her immediately but equally she was respectful in her conversation and I never felt pressured to share more than I was comfortable with.
I was delighted with Katie’s photography and have gone on to book two further sessions with her. She delights in the progress my little one makes each time she sees him which is heartwarming.” (Name withheld)
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