The little moments

From the new Schnappschuss: "Humor"

It's the teeny tiny moments, when you're lucky enough to experience them, that make up the most important things in life. Everyday life for parents with children - big, small, medium and everything in between - is always an unexpected adventure. It never gets boring - or rather - you are always on the move both physically and mentally. The perspectives in photography can be as varied as life itself. Chiara Doveri accompanies families with her camera and makes documentary child photography very intimate, very genuine, very real.

Back when he took his first picture of Stephen Fry, Andy was only given a 90-second window to prove that he was just as good as a photography student. The actor was a guest at his university and in the last part of "Do you have any questions?" the 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 photos, the 'tussle' with celebrities has changed a lot. In 1990, when I was 19, I had my very first encounter with the 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 lunch. He asked about the photographer and was interested as 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 equally 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."

At a time when almost all family and children's pictures are taken quickly, posed and in most cases with a smartphone, the art of this type of photography is urgently needed. The reaction time to capture that special, unique moment is long gone by the time you pull out your cell phone. The opportunity has even been missed by the time the thought takes shape. And all these photos disappear into the cell phone and usually 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 this is irreplaceable for every family and for all generations involved. Her images are unique, personal and reflect pure emotion and spontaneity that is often forgotten or hidden in adulthood. The parents recognize themselves in the beautiful pictures. They explore everyday life together with the children and learn in the process - just like a small child does. The same happens to the viewer, who initially has no direct connection to the families depicted. However, a sense of familiarity and the need for play and looseness arises. The photographer focuses the creative energy of her work precisely on these feelings and is the specialist behind the lens, directing the action. She watches. She waits for the tiny moments she needs to satisfy her documentary nature and get the desired motif. There is so much character, nonsense and color in the moments, even when the images are in black and white. The pictures are simply fun, entertaining and show the colorful facets of an everyday routine with children. You can almost hear the sound of laughter or the loud screams when the swing swings too high into the air. Of course, this little chaos is no simple matter, but it is a reality. An unpredictable and at the same time inspiring reality that lives from millions of fulfilling seconds. Feelings of happiness that ultimately cancel out any difficulties in such an everyday life.

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