Since 2004, photographer and father of six Alain Laboile has been capturing precious, fleeting moments of childhood in his photo series La Famille, which simply means “family” in French. Shot in black and white for an aesthetically classic look, the series is a heartwarming and candid depiction of family life at its best. Laboile has the astonishing ability to instantaneously capture the perfect moment in each frame, bringing time to a standstill and documenting unforgettable memories that his family will be able to cherish forever.
Laboile’s family life, set in the rural, southwestern part of France, is somewhat atypical; he calls it “a life on the edge of the world, where intemporality and the universality of childhood meet.” After all, not many people can recall playing with a baby deer or running naked in the French countryside as a child.
However, the warm and intimate sentiments that he captures are universal. Looking at his photographs, viewers are transported to their own youths or the childhoods of their kids, recalling days spent playing outside under the sun, sticky hands and grass-stained knees, the warmth of a pet curled up next to them, the happiness of piling in a bed together with parents and siblings. According to Laboile, “Though my work is deeply personal, it is also accessible, addressing human nature and allowing the viewer to enter my world and reflect on their own childhoods.”
