The small moments

From the new snapshot: "Humor"

It's the itty bitty moments, when you're lucky enough to experience, that make up the most important thing in life. The everyday life of parents with children whether big, small, medium or anything in between is always an unexpected adventure. It never gets boring - or rather - you are always on the move both physically and mentally. As versatile as this life is now, can also be the perspectives in photography. Chiara Doveri accompanies families with her camera and makes documentary children's photography quite familiar, quite genuine, quite real.

Back in his first shot of Stephen Fry, Andy was only given a 90-second window to prove that he had it just as much as a photography student. The actor was a guest at his university, and in the final installment of "Do You Have Any Questions?" young Andy Gotts asks if he can take his portrait. Since then, his photographic art has taken off, as he tells us, "In the three decades I've been taking pictures, the 'wrangling' with celebrities has changed a lot. In 1990, when I was 19, I had my very first encounter with actor Stephen Fry, who loved my shots of him. He particularly liked one of the pictures and asked me to make a print. He proudly hung this photo in his house and the following weekend a friend came over for Sunday dinner. He asked about the photographer and was interested because he also needed a portrait. Luckily for me, it was the British actor Kenneth Branagh, who then asked me to take a photo of him and his wife at the time, the also very successful actress Emma Thompson. Of course, I didn't miss out on this assignment. From then on, word got around in the acting scene. Today, things have changed and actors come to me."

In a time when almost all family and children's pictures are taken quickly, posed and in most cases with the smartphone, the art of this type of photography is urgently needed. The reaction time to capture that special, once-in-a-lifetime moment has long passed when the cell phone is pulled out. The chance is even missed by the time the thought forms. And all those photos disappear into the cell phone and most of the time can't tell the story without literal support.


Chiara calls her work real family pictures and creates exactly what she promises. She captures reality and it is irreplaceable for any family and for all generations involved. Her images are unique, personal and reflect pure emotion and spontaneity that is often unlearned or hidden in adulthood. Parents recognize themselves in the beautiful photographs. They explore everyday life together with the children and learn in the process - just like a little child does. The same happens to the viewer, who at first has no direct relationship to the families depicted. But a familiar after-feeling arises and the need for play and looseness. The photographer puts the creative energy of her work precisely on these feelings and is the specialist behind the lens and directs in the middle of the action. She watches. She waits for the tiny moments she needs to satisfy her documentary nature and get to the subject she wants. There is so much character, nonsense and color in the moments, even when they are illustrations in black and white. The images are just fun, entertaining and show the colorful facets of an everyday routine with children. You can almost hear the sound of laughter or the loud screaming when the swing swings too high in the air. The little chaos is not a simple affair, of course, but it is a reality. An unpredictable yet inspiring reality that thrives on millions of fulfilling seconds. Feelings of happiness that ultimately nullify any difficulty in such a daily routine.

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