In the past, I’ve approached portraiture with no little trepidation. Especially when it comes to kids, the whole genre is freighted with expectations that I had always been wary of fulfilling: forced smiles and quaint poses, with no hint of angst or conflict, among other distortions. Such portraits, for me, bear little resemblance to living, breathing members of the human race. But given that I’m the father of two pre-teen children, I’ve had plenty of chances to learn that, after all, I really enjoy photographing people.
I’ve shot my share of Christmas-card poses—grandparents need to be accomodated, too, after all—but more generally I’ve taken a documentary approach to photographing my subjects as they go about their daily business in the context of their environment. In this pursuit, I feel a bit like a nature photographer; I’ve stalked my own kids for so long that they’ve become accustomed to the presence of the camera. It has become its own blind, allowing me to see and record things that go otherwise unnoticed.