COMING HOME {The Cooney Family in Kuala Lumpur}

Alright, I’m calling it: doing family photography, as I do, in the expat context, is, for certain, the best way to shoot families. I’m invited into the homes and hearts to bear witness to how families love, how they live, how they raise their children, how they discipline, how they connect, how they respond with nervousness, how they unwind into ease, how they open up and let me see that vulnerability, that courage, that ember the godhead that glows deep within every human. I get to see all of that plus, generally speaking, people who are far from their country or origin are pretty effing interesting.

Take the Cooney family. A multi-multi-multi ethnic clan who LITERALLY live on a tropical island where their children are homeschoold and run barefoot through the jungle while the parents work on development projects to bring education and healthcare to indigenous minorities. Interesting right? They happened to be in Malaysia where the extended family gathers together at the grandfather’s home. I was welcomed by cousins and aunties, along with these three little kiddos who remind me so much of my own.

So, have a look if you’d like! And if you’d love to tell me your story, show me your light, I’d love to reflect it back to you in pixels. You can reach me here, or my email at ericaknecht@gmail.com