Documentary Family Portrait

Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi

by stacie
1 September 2015

Friends, fun and home.Â That is my absolute favorite thing to photograph.Â I had the chance to visit my beautiful friend Ann Madden this last weekend.Â She is probably one of the funniest people I have ever met.Â Not only did I spend time with her, but my other two friends, Katy Tuttle and Kim Turner Smith, joined in on the fun.Â We all went down to visit Ann and explore Bay Saint Louis and enjoy her gallery, Smith and Lens.Â We each had a couple pieces in her show, Wonderland.Â Really I wanted to see this place for myself.Â It did not disappoint.

Cutest family ever.

yellow house, front porch, kid with a trombone, #stacieannsmith,

The trombone made great noises.

This is my favorite kitchen. I have photographed many kitchens and have never come across one with so much character and warmth. I need to spend more time in the south.

southern kitchen, beadboard, rustic, aprons

A story in every inch of this place.

girl brushing hair getting ready to be photographed

and art everywhere

girls bedroom full of art, #stacieannsmith

dreamiest kids room.

photograph between drying drop cloths, black and white, #stacieannsmith

The drop cloths pulled us all in. It reminded me of bit of the corner Penn built… a lot less controlled. Much more imperfect, but still cool.

So much greenery everywhere. Palms and lush, tropical foliage everywhere I turned. I want this porch and the light just makes it over the top.

So much energy. Donuts eaten before photographing guaranteed laughter and movement. I highly recommend sugar before a shoot… only if you can keep smiling with the crazy that follows.

Day in the Life: Leaving the Mid Mod Nest

by stacie
11 June 201511 June 2015

I have often day dreamed about visiting friends who live in far away places. Jet setting to visit a new local and enjoy the company of my good friends. My “Those I Love” personal project was born from these dreams.
I have been lucky enough to reconnect with several friends lately, one of which I didn’t photograph! We met after the sun went down, that is my excuse… and really, I get shy about asking for a photo. I am keenly aware that people aren’t super happy to be in front of the camera… especially when the idea is sprung on them. So I leave my camera in its bag, and kick myself later that I didn’t get even one photo of my friend (who lives in Mexico City).
But a few months ago I reached out to our good friends in the Bay Area who had mentioned wanting photographs in their Eichler home. A day in the life. Their son is about to leave the nest so we made it happen.
While there I felt like I was photographing my own family. Being a bit intrusive, but no one seemed to mind. It helps that I’ve been photographing them since we met 8 years ago. Being able to focus on their family and their dynamic the entire weekend was such a blessing and so much fun. I really feel like I created an important body of work… if only for them.Â Here is a link to their whole session, if you care to see.

www.stacieannsmith.com #DayInALife #documentaryPhotography #eichler #MidCenturyModern #BayAreaHome

One of the main features of an Eichler home are the mahogany paneled walls throughout, along with floor to ceiling windows allowing for amazing light.

Expression and gesture.

Eichler homes more often than not boast an atrium that can be seen from every common space in the house. So many windows. The cats love the atrium.

The orange exterior door leads to the atrium. If you haven’t walked through an Eichler, you need to. They are pretty amazing. Just stay away from any with stucco… a stucco exterior is not original would probably not hold the original details inside.

I joined in on family dinner. William suggested I get it from above. He’s a pretty great photographer and I can’t wait to see what he does in the next few years.

Products: Coffee Table, a proof

by stacie
7 November 2014

Isn’t a coffee table book just a big person’s picture book? I love illustrated children’s books, some of the art blows me away, not to mention the rhythm and rhyme. I have a few coffee table books, two I purchased last year. I should share them with you here.Â Both are amazing.Â I need more.
This summer I photographed this little family. These kids are lucky to have two amazing matriarchs in their lives. The past couple days I’ve worked on this album proof, remembering all the personalities raging andÂ crashing into each other.
I hope mom gets a minute this weekend to take a look and hopefully give me an ok.
When I photograph a Documentary Session, this book is included.
Wanna see what it looks like on a coffee table?Â Gimme a couple weeks and it’ll be here.

Documentary Session: At Moe’s

by stacie
15 September 2014

I have been photographing this family for a few years now… maybe 5? Not every year, but once the braces come on (or off) or the smile or height changes. The parents look pretty much the same, while the kids have grown up a whole lot.
This time ’round the goal was to tell a story. Have some fun at home and head to Moe’s BBQ where we all love to eat.This is a Documentary Session. If you haven’t noticed, I switched up my pricing and if you head over you’ll see that I offer a Documentary Session along with a Portrait Session and several other specialized sessions. Documentary photography, to me, is a cross between photojournalism with its minimal direction and story telling and art with a concept in mind and smiles not required. It’s a show-me-what-you-love kind of session.
When I arrived this print on their wall greeted me. This was the first portrait I took of the kids and is mounted on foamcore and put directly on the wall. Super simple. The key to make this sort of presentation work is size. It’s gotta take up a good amount of space on the wall:

We started at home and this porch had the best light and cutest swing

www.stacieannsmith.com #DenverPhotographer #UrbanFamilyPhotographer #GothicTheater

Then it began to rain. It rained almost every day this summer.

At Moe’s

At the Gothic I was excited to see Future Islands on the billboard. Oh, and that was the day I realized the Aquabats were coming to the Gothic. Ezra asked if we could have the Aquabats play in our backyard last summer. I tried all my contacts, which were pretty reliable (thanks Heather!) but their schedule would only allow a house party after their evening show at the Gothic. Too late.