August in Zermatt.
Following the family’s lead.

When I joined this family in Zermatt in August, hiking became part of almost every day. I went where they went, spent time alongside them, and photographed the vacation as it unfolded.

On the first day, we walked from the village up to a restaurant for lunch, then hiked back down. I remember it being about three or four miles uphill. On other days, we took a tram higher into the mountains, walked down to a restaurant, and continued on toward the village after lunch.

The day sets the pace.

There were dinners out, shopping, and time for the children to play in the little parks. Those moments belonged in the story just as much as the views of the Matterhorn. Being with the family through the day meant I could photograph the things that happened between the planned activities, too.

I don’t direct much. Mostly, I follow what the family is doing and let the photographs come from that. Occasionally we pause for a portrait. On this trip, we made a photograph in their hotel room with the Matterhorn behind them—a tradition they like to continue when they visit.

Snow in the middle of August.

One day, we took the gondolas all the way up, passing over a glacier. There was still snow high in the mountains, and the family went skiing. Down in the village, it was summer; up there, they could spend a day on skis.

I photographed the glaciers as well. Their textures and scale help tell the story of that day, alongside the photographs of the family enjoying it.

A moon worth running back for.

One evening, a beautiful moon appeared near the Matterhorn. We wanted to make a family portrait with the mountain and the moon together, but my camera battery had run out. I had brought a camera to dinner without much extra equipment.

I ran back to where I was staying—about a five-minute run—picked up a fresh battery, and returned. We got the portrait, with the Matterhorn behind the family and the moon beside it. That little dash back is still one of the memories I carry from the trip.

The portrait remains private. The story is a reminder of what being there allows me to capture: a moment no one could have put on the itinerary.

The surroundings belong in the story.

When I design a family’s book, I bring their photographs together with the places and details around them. The mountain they saw each day, the glacier beneath the gondola, and the paths back to the village all help bring the experience back.

The pages shared here come from the actual book I designed for this family. Pages containing the family have been omitted for privacy. You can still see how the destination becomes part of the story, with the original layouts preserved.

This is the care I bring as a private family vacation photographer: joining the journey, following the family’s pace, and personally designing a museum-quality book to return to long after the trip.