J: Five years. Not that long, in the long run!

If you could pick three words to describe your photography style, what would they be?
J: Fresh, fun & true.

J: My business tagline is “the art of everyday”, and that spells it out so perfectly for me. To me, lifestyle photography is a visual narrative. It exists to tell a story. It might just be the story of the every day moments that happen that we sometimes take for granted, but I think even the little moments are worth remembering.

J: It’s the story. Lifestyle photography feels so much more personal and intimate. You really have to dig in and get to know the subject and form relationships that aren’t necessarily critical to traditional portraiture. Lifestyle photography is about emotion, capturing it and evoking it, and I love the challenge.

J: This was actually one of my very first lifestyle sessions. This family has been with me since I started my business, and they have always been some of my biggest cheerleaders. We knew we wanted something fun and different. Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt wasn’t my first idea (and in fact was suggested by another photographer friend of mine. Thanks Callie!), but once the idea took hold, I knew it was something I was going to HAVE to do. Maggie, the owner of our local Orange Leaf, was more than gracious and accommodating when it came to us invading her store for the afternoon! We got a lot of weird looks in the yogurt shop, but when you have that relationship in place with the client, it’s easy for them to kind of tune you out and forget they have a lady with a giant camera following them around. To me, this session symbolizes a lot of what lifestyle photography is - it’s something so simple and every day, something that the majority of people wouldn’t even think about documenting - just a little family out getting some froyo. But there’s something magic in the simplicity and the fleetingness of the moment.

What was your favorite part about working on this shoot?
J: Besides all the amazing froyo working conditions? This was such a fun shoot so it’s hard to say, but I personally love the “pony races” between the little girl and her parents. It was totally impromptu, and totally their idea. I’d say those images are the fan favorite as well!

A big thank you to Joanna for sharing this sweet and playful session with us. You can see more from this session on her blog at JoAnnaMorganPhotography.com