Commissioned photographs of families out in the world together—frolicking in fields, arms intertwined—seems to have really started to make an impression in the 1960s, according to the new book Betty Kuhner: The American Family Portrait. which is when Betty Kuhner, married to photographer Russell O. Kuhner, picked up her own Hasselblad to give the medium a try. 

In the decades that followed, Kuhner would go on to create relaxed lifestyle photos at home and outdoors with families. Her clients weren’t just any families, however—they made up some of the nation’s dynasties. Among them, the Kennedys, Pulitzers, Fords, Javitses and Windsors were instructed by a warm and inviting Kuhner to dress casually and get out of their stuffy living rooms to head into the backyards of their estates. She engaged them to interact comfortably and candidly, rather than posing them rigidly. Always in black and white, her archive of work is a stunning collection of work that is now considered the gold standard of environmental portraiture. 

Kate Kuhner, the photographer’s daughter who took over the family business, wrote the preface to a new book published in March of her mother’s work, titled Betty Kuhner: The American Family Portrait. “Her own uniform consisted of white slacks, a blue cotton shirt and her hair held back by a crisp cotton scarf,” she recalls. “The final accent was her famous oversized glasses. It was informal but distinctively stylish. In giving me tips when I took over her business, she said, ‘Have a uniform that you put on before every job. It helps to create a feeling of confidence and relaxed professionalism.’ She also urged me to always be myself.”

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