--- description: This week, TIME turned to Austin-based photographer Randal Ford, whose painterly and nostalgic style was perfect for our cover story on childlessness. title: Behind the Cover: The Childfree Life by Randal Ford image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d06348a9127d9c0/6987a6862dce0158459e0616/childfree.jpg?branch=production&width=1920&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Behind the Cover: The Childfree Life by Randal Ford by [Vaughn Wallace](/author/vaughn-wallace/) ## Vaughn Wallace Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 1, 2013 11:30 AM CUT  The cover of the August 12, 2013 issue of TIME. The cover of the August 12, 2013 issue of TIME.Photo-illustration by Randal Ford for TIME by [Vaughn Wallace](/author/vaughn-wallace/) ## Vaughn Wallace Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 1, 2013 11:30 AM CUT The images of Randal Ford, a 31-year-old editorial and commercial photographer from Austin, Texas, more often than not features archetypes of classic Americana culture. While working as a photographer at Texas A&M’s student newspaper, he began exploring portraiture as an outlet for his creative interests. Studying the work of impressionist painters, he observed the light, composition and color palettes chosen by the masters. Says Ford: “I fell in love with the idea of creating a narrative in one image: the portrait. It took a while to find my vision and style, but once I did, I really tried to bring it to multiple genres of work.” That’s exactly why TIME turned to Ford for our cover this week, to illustrate our story by Lauren Sandler on [the growing trend of childless couples in America](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2148636,00.html?pcd=pw-edit "undefined"). “My goal for the cover was to show two people as a family unit,” Ford told TIME. “I wanted to create connectivity between this couple that didn’t have kids.” Ford and his crew awoke at 3:45am to catch the sunrise on the beach in Long Island, N.Y. Over several hours, Ford shot three scenes for TIME: a bird’s eye view looking at a couple from above, another of a couple lounging on a beach with their backs to the camera, and a third with a family lugging the accoutrements of a family’s day at the beach — rafts, towels, umbrellas and coolers — in an overflowing wagon. “My goal is always to tell a story in one image,” he explains, “and to make someone stop and be caught up in all the elements of the photograph.” Since then, Ford has spent the last decade shooting commercial and editorial work for a diverse range of clients — L.L. Bean, Huggies, and _Field & Stream_ _Magazine_, to name a few — but whatever the genre, the images he creates feel incredibly consistent. Nostalgia and Americana, so it seems, still manage to turn heads in the hands of the right photographer. **_To read the full TIME cover story, “The Childfree Life: When Having It All Means Not Having Children,”_** [**_subscribe here_**](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2148636,00.html?pcd=pw-edit "undefined")**_. Already a subscriber?_** [**_Click here_**](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2148636,00.html?pcd=pw-edit "undefined")**_._** --- [**_Randal Ford_**](http://www.randalford.com "undefined") _is a commercial and editorial photographer based in Austin, Texas._ **_Vaughn Wallace_** _is the producer of LightBox. Follow him on Twitter_ [_@vaughnwallace_](http://www.twitter.com/vaughnwallace "undefined")_._ ---  The cover of the August 12, 2013 issue of TIME. Photo-illustration by Randal Ford for TIME  A photograph from inside this week's issue. Photo-illustration by Randal Ford for TIME  A photograph from inside this week's issue. Photo-illustration by Randal Ford for TIME  Spitfire Shot for Lubbock Economic Development, 2010 Randal Ford  Back From War Shot for Tribeza magazine, 2007 Randal Ford  Road Trip Shot for Texas Monthly, 2010 Randal Ford  Drive Up Shot for Cargill, 2008 Randal Ford  Bored Shot for Tribeza magazine, 2007 Randal Ford  Untitled From The Amazing Faith of Texas book, 2006 Randal Ford  A 1933 L.L. Bean catalog cover Courtesy L.L. Bean  Shot for L.L. Bean's 100-year anniversary. Part of a series paying homage to its cover artists from the past. Randal Ford  A 1966 L.L. Bean catalog cover Courtesy L.L. Bean  Shot for L.L. Bean's 100-year anniversary. Part of a series paying homage to its cover artists from the past. Randal Ford  A 1956 L.L. Bean catalog cover Courtesy L.L. Bean  Shot for L.L. Bean's 100-year anniversary. Part of a series paying homage to its cover artists from the past. Randal Ford  A 1991 L.L. Bean catalog cover Courtesy L.L. Bean  Shot for L.L. Bean's 100-year anniversary. Part of a series paying homage to its cover artists from the past. Randal Ford ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/75964/behind-the-cover-randal-fords-america/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/75964/behind-the-cover-randal-fords-america/"},"headline":"Behind the Cover: The Childfree Life by Randal Ford","datePublished":"2013-08-01T11:30:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:41:56.191Z","description":"This week, TIME turned to Austin-based photographer Randal Ford, whose painterly and nostalgic style was perfect for our cover story on childlessness.","url":"https://time.com/75964/behind-the-cover-randal-fords-america/","keywords":["LightBox","Texas","Austin","Profile","portraits","portraiture","behind the cover"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d06348a9127d9c0/6987a6862dce0158459e0616/childfree.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Vaughn Wallace","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/vaughn-wallace/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5d06348a9127d9c0/6987a6862dce0158459e0616/childfree.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"childfree.jpg","caption":"The cover of the August 12, 2013 issue of TIME.","creditText":"Photo-illustration by Randal Ford for TIME","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-lightbox/","name":"LightBox"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/75964/behind-the-cover-randal-fords-america/","name":"Behind the Cover: The Childfree Life by Randal Ford"}}]}] ```