10 Best Family Photographs of 2019 | Washington DC Family Photographer

“We are making photographs to understand what our lives mean to us.”
— Ralph Hattersley

This quote perfectly sums up my personal and professional photography in 2019. It also describes exactly what I hope to do for the moms and dads who ask me to make their family photos.

There will always be a place for those “posed in the park” family portraits, for sure, but I know in my heart of hearts that those photographs don’t often get close to showing “what our lives mean to us.”

The precious secrets of our lives lie in the day-in, day-out work of parenting, the relentless change and motion of being a child, how we manage and adapt and keep our wits about us - how we LOVE through all of it: that is the stuff life is made of and those are the kinds of images we deserve. They are my favorite kind of photographs to make.

So, here is my very unconventional selection of 10 favorite family photography pictures from 2019 (and one bonus favorite I just had to toss in.. OK, so eleven - eleven favorite family photos of 2019). It might be unconventional, but then, who EVER aimed to spend their life being conventional?

Maggie watches as her daughters climb the tree in their front yard on a sweltering July morning in Washington DC. I have been photographing Maggie’s family since her oldest was a newborn. All these years of getting to know one another, of knowing her daughters as they come into the world and grow up, of building trust and familiarity, allow me to notice little details that reveal who they are. I took this photo because Vivi (in the tree) is such a bold and confident little woman, which is because her parents give her the room her spirit needs to take risks and grow. When I see her climbing higher (higher every summer!) and mama watching, present and relaxed, I imagine all the places she’ll go in her future, and I feel hope. Vivi will do good things in the world.

Judie makes coffee with her ten-day old son in her arms, in the low light of an early morning. This is baby number two for their family, which is so very different from baby number one (I never see first time moms making coffee with a baby in one arm at 10 days!). This to me, feels like motherhood - baby in one arm, making coffee, yawning from lack of sleep, getting everything in motion for the day ahead. We do it over and over, driven by love for the people within our walls… and by a visceral need for caffeine.

I traveled to Beacon, NY, to photograph my mentor and her children. I love how the connection between Lesly and her son doesn’t need their faces or expressions to be felt. His foot in her hand, his hand on her arm. Tenderness in every gesture. I made this photo specifically so Lesly could be reminded, every time she sees it, how it feels to hold their feet. Think about that - when they’re babies we kiss their toes, they get bigger and we hold their feet in our laps, eventually they turn into teenagers and adults and the days of touching their feet are gone. I get a lump in my throat when I think of it. So I take photos like this, so we never forget.

Nuno waits for his kid to come down the slide. I’m always tickled by how much of family life has these kinds of little pauses - we spend so much time waiting for kids. To catch up to us when we walk, to pull on their socks, to get in the car, to come down the slide. So much pausing. If we could only capture those pauses and condense them, there might be time for a decent nap once in a while. ;)

Late summer evening, kids lingering in the pool as the last light dies and parents are hungry for dinner. I loved the abandoned floatie, and the moment of anticipation before the child on the ladder flung herself back into the water. I love to make pictures that remind of a mood, that feel like a memory, and even take up back in time to our childhoods.

Think of me as your embedded photojournalist. In the field (your backyard) in the heat of the action (soccer ball shootout) telling the whole story (dad totally lets her win). I was definitely in danger of getting a soccer ball to the face (would not have been the first time!) but I love to make a picture that feels like you’re right there the way this one does.

Bedtime rituals are such a huge part of life with young children. In the pink glow of a nightlight, jammies are adjusted and bedtime kisses bestowed. I remember when my son was smaller, it seemed like bedtime was this major undertaking every night - so many steps to get a little body from waking to sleeping, some nights I felt like it wore me out completely. Some nights were rough and I resented it. That’s normal. But it’s all important, no matter how banal or how overwhelming it gets. Those rituals do amazing things in the growing brains of little humans, and you’re doing a good job.

The fall season brings me lots of portrait sessions, like this one with Pressley and her mom… yet my eyes are always on the lookout for stories that go beyond a portrait. Moms are constantly telling their kids not to fall down and get dirty. I’m secretly hoping kids never stop ignoring those orders. Everything about this photo delights me - the golden velvet, the little ankle socks, the smudge of dirt that tells us This Girl Has Spirit.

Nothing is sweeter than being a fly on the wall for a dad’s 40th birthday cupcake, baked that afternoon by his wife and sons. Catching mom’s little dance, and the excited face of of little Max on the right, all softly lit by the glow of two candles… well, this one just made me feel really happy and think of all the milestones that come and go and the people we share them with.

Bonus pick: Twins Rory and Mac point to themselves in a photo by Pete Souza, former White House photographer, in his wonderful book of photos from his years covering President Obama. A framed print of the same photograph hangs in the family home, alongside photos I’ve made for them over the years, which is just about the most “Washington DC” thing ever. I love living in this crazy city.

So that’s it - my top ten best photographs from 2019. I want to give my warmest thanks to all the families who trust me to tell their stories from the heart - in fact there’s one more quote that rings so true to me and is the perfect way to end this collection:

A thing that you see in my pictures is that I was not afraid to fall in love with these people.”
— Annie Leibovitz

If you want photos like these for your family, I’d love to talk to you about making that happen. Start here to learn more!