Please enter your email and website or LinkedIn to receive more information about our free and paid accounts.
Please enter your email address below and we’ll send you instructions on how to change your password.
Like most doting parents, Milwaukee-based commercial and editorial photographer Kat Schleicher has been snapping photos of her precious little ones since the day they were born. When virtual schooling became commonplace as a result of the pandemic, Kat’s intimate photos turned into a self-assigned project enabling her to document her family’s unique, shared experiences during this pivotal time in their lives.
We were always together and I wanted to capture their experience.
As Kat and her family spent more and more time together under a fairly tight quarantine, she was increasingly inspired to make use of her camera and capture the innocence of her children. A sense of wonder was evoked by simple everyday moments, such as finding ways to entertain her five and six year olds when boredom would arise.
For the most part, it’s very similar to a lot of my photography, maybe a little looser and dreamier.
I love capturing childhood. It’s easy to forget when you grow up what it feels like to be a kid, it feels good to be reminded.
While the family did take a memorable cross country road trip to Yellowstone National Park, Kat, her husband Dylan, and two children Ida and Rollie spent most of their time home inventing new ways to keep themselves entertained. Mostly they enjoyed time spent outside — by going on walks, exploring nature, and camping – Kat also loved researching creative ways to teach and entertain her children.
On one occasion she took a roll of backdrop paper and rolled it out on the driveway on a very sunny day. On it, Ida and Rollie placed animal figures and traced the shadows.
Another ingenious activity was grabbing a bunch of Magformers and letting the kids build on the garage door with the magnetic pieces. Kat utilized her creativity both when coming up with ideas for activities and then finding interesting ways to capture them. In this project, she found common ground where she could spend time as both photographer and mother.
When I get really busy shooting paid assignments, I have noticed I will not pick up my camera much for personal work. There are times when I have to force myself, when a moment comes up that I know I will regret not getting on camera.
As Montessori learners, Kat’s children rarely used any computers or devices at school. This made the transition from the Montessori environment to virtual learning quite challenging, especially for kids in kindergarten and first grade. It was quite difficult to teach the Montessori method this way, so the children were still encouraged to get outside and continue practical life lessons with parents. Somedays, both Kat and Dylan were too busy with work and the kids spent the entire day on the computer.
I want to show their playfulness and also the deep intelligence and emotions underneath it. I think that is important.
When Kat does have the opportunity to go places or take trips, she packs light to avoid lugging around so much equipment. She generally sticks to bringing her camera body, 1-2 lenses, and maybe a strobe on occasion. While it can be limiting at times, it can also be a fun challenge to use only the basics to create a compelling image.
I am always learning when photographing my children. They help me to keep honing my skills by trying new things and getting better at what I already know.
As a mother, Kat has experienced countless everyday moments with her children. For this personal project, that is near and dear to her heart, she sought to capture the essence of those fleeting moments with photos that will last a lifetime.
In all of my work with people, I strive to show more than just a person’s outward appearance. I want the viewer to feel something or see something deeper so they connect with the image.
See more of our photographers’ projects on our Unpublished page.