How to prepare for your In-home Lifestyle Family Portrait Session
A family portrait session at home has the great potential to provide the most meaningful photography for you and your family.
This is because...
/ Being in one of the most comfortable settings for you would allow me to capture natural and candid expressions, interactions, and moments between you and your loved ones.
/ The artwork that hangs on your wall, the dining table you sit around, or the window you look out of can provide a story or history of what you and your family are all about as well as the snapshot of the chapter of your life that you are in. It adds that level of detail and intimacy to the photographs I take.
/ You can include your pets (like the cat, Katsu, pictured here. How natural and fun does this gorgeous family look interacting with him!)
Seems like a good idea? But sometimes clients do get nervous about their home not being in a "perfect condition" and you really don't have to worry about that!
So here are a few tip on how to prepare for your In-home lifestyle family portrait session!
Have a general tidy-up of the space we will be photographing in
(but you don't need to get a cleaner in!)
Of course you don't want to see your laundry on chairs, or your kids' toys covering the entire floor space. Yes I do recommend you do a quick general tidy up of the main space we will be photographing in (and we would have discussed which space that would be during our consultation meeting prior to the session).
Having said that, it is unnecessary to get a cleaner in or to do an entire spring clean Marie Kondo style just to prepare for the session (I can assure you the camera is not going to pick up the dust on the shelves)!
Sometimes I may move the sofa or chair a bit closer to your window so that we get more light - so being prepared to do that is good, but otherwise, your home as it is is perfectly fine. We want your images to capture the memories you had in the house in many years to come.
Engage in a family activity during the session
I have found it over the years of photographing families, the best way to get the most honest expressions and interactions between the family members is to actually get everyone engaged in an activity during the session. This could be having a tea party, cooking a meal together, or even playing a game. I can assure you there will be moments when you may even just forget that I am there documenting! I think the session becomes more memorable in itself when you did something together on the day as a family.
Prepare your outfits
You don't need to all wear matching outfits or buy new clothes for the session. In fact it's good to show some personality - if you are someone that likes to wear colourful floral print dresses then by all means go for it and let's capture who you are!
It is advisable to have some kind of a colour palette going on within the family however it doesn't have to be one colour or any particular sets of colours. It's also good to have a general consensus of what you would all be wearing days prior to the session (perhaps a week in advance so you have time to wash or iron your outfits if they need to be). It may also be an idea to involve the kids in the process and get them to help pick what they’re going to wear, so that they’ll feel included and are also on board and invested in the session.
I will also be giving wardrobe advice in our meeting before the session and provide you with some images to help you with it so there is no need to stress about this!
Finally on the day...
All that is left to do is to really kick back and relax! Enjoy the moments you are sharing with your family. Engage in the activities, have a laugh, let's throw some ideas together! I will be there to provide guidance but the unposed and candid moments are what I would like to photograph the most. You will appreciate all the belly laughs and fun moments captured!
Thanks for reading!
I hope this blog has helped you realise that having your portrait session taken at home really does not have to be stressful and I will be providing you with full guidance from start to end!
If you would like to book a session please fill out your details in the contact page. Or if you would like to see more of my Family Portrait work you can have a look at my portfolio!
