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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Interview by Graeme Green

A ‘wrong’ family moment that’s full of truth … Jessica Todd Harper’s best photograph

‘The parts of life we don’t necessarily pay attention to are actually the parts that matter’ … the three children in hall at Easter.
‘The parts of life we don’t necessarily pay attention to are actually the parts that matter’ … the three children in hall at Easter. Photograph: Jessica Todd Harper

Most of our lives are not as dramatic as the lives in novels or movies. A few instances have that kind of excitement but most of our days are passed in everyday moments. I seek to elevate these to something grander, something that connects us to a greater sense of meaning in our lives.

The kids in this photo are three of my four children. It was taken in 2017 in the hall of our home in Merion Station, outside Philadelphia. I keep my camera and tripod under the couch in the living room so they’re always available. It was the day after Easter. The children had just come home from school and were reading in the hall. What I like is that these three individuals are occupied in their own worlds. As parents, when we’re photographing children, we have a tendency to get them to line up, have them look at the camera and smile. Here, it’s not about them being cute or part of a family, though. It’s about them in their own private spaces, their own minds.

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