The conception of Faces of a Family evolved from a combination of a love of photography and an affinity with people. The vision for Faces of Family was to keep people and connections at the heart of the project. Pondering questions such as ‘What is a family?’ ‘What does it mean to be family’ ‘What does a family unit look like’ ‘What is society’s view on what a family unit is? Are there societal stigmas on family units? will be answered, celebrated and shared through this online exhibition, inspiring other family units to capture their own moments in time.

Annie Liebovitz is well known for her quote “When I say I want to photograph someone, what it really means is that I’d like to know them”. Objective Change – Images by Collette resonate with this quote and works to get to know each family unit in a short space of time. The fine art of observation and attuned emotional intelligence are used as a tool to pick up on the most subtle of intimate moments within each family unit connection (Ang, 2016).

It is said that people are the most popular subject for photography (Ang, 2016).  However, gone is the era of formally posed family photos and modern-day portraiture with no set rules have emerged (Ang, 2016). Modern day portraiture is all about collaboration, about breaking away from formulaic rules and diversity (Ang, 2016)

I work to ensure that each family unit feels comfortable in my presence and ensure collaboration within each session. I am highly attuned to reading body language and use intuition to measure the importance of the environment and each little nuance between family members to capture the most authentic moments in time.

My name s Collette Hutchby, I am a 53 year old mother of three adult daughters , 'Colly' to my grandsons and granddaughter and partner to Martin, my sidekick.

As an Early Childhood kaiako who has spent many years observing connection, and a once upon a time hobbyist photographer who captured numerous special moments in time, it seemed a natural progression to work towards a later in life career change into photography.

During the Christmas break of 2022/23 I decided I needed to seek change in my life, not immediately but over time, as I headed in the direction of retirement age. Although retirement is 12 years away I wanted a career change that I could keep myself busy, active and passionately enjoy going into those golden years.

Objective Change Images by Collette evolved from the last assignment in a Diploma in photography through Southern Institute of Technology. Creating a photography proposal then a website created the catalyst for the launch of my new small business in November 2024.

The services and direction of Objective Change Images by Collette will evolve and change as time progresses. Currently a side hustle small business will over time become my focus as I gradually transition out of a full time teaching role.

The journey to get here has been a long and challenging one and it is not over........it has only just begun!

Places of significance will be used to set the scene to tell your story. Anywhere from private homes to public parks, from the sea to the shore will be used to visually narrate the family’s history, memories and connections.

Highlighting family diversity, culture and identity will be encouraged through traditional dress, family customs, special people, places and things. By utilising these aspects of the families’ lives the images will provide a lasting historical understanding of societal dynamics and relationships (Bell, 2020).

Don’t worry about smiling for the camera. Just be you!

The fine art of observation and attuned emotional intelligence are used as a tool to pick up on the most subtle of intimate moments within each family unit connection (Ang, 2016). Capturing connection is paramount for the photographer.

Historian and photographer Lucia Moholy quoted ‘Amateur photography is as old as photography itself’ and during the nineteenth century, photography was a way for people to record and share their world with wider family (Mitchell, 2023). 

‌This view has never changed but the style of family portraiture has. It is said that people are the most popular subject for photography (Ang, 2016).  However, gone is the era of formally posed family photos and modern-day portraiture with no set rules have emerged (Ang, 2016).

Modern day portraiture is all about collaboration, about breaking away from formulaic rules and producing distinct images (Ang, 2016). Images will be carefully crafted using formulas accumulatively gathered by the photographer to build on the connections the families already have. Not all images will have all family members looking or even have their face shown. The photographer believes that beautiful family portraits should be as natural as possible, as (Blair, n.d.) states that connection will always be captured over perfection.