How to Prepare Your Home for Your In Home Photography Session

The majority of my family sessions are held in home and one of the questions I’m asked the most is how to prepare the home. A lot of Seattle area homes are old with small windows and the number one thing I’m looking for is the quality of the light. If you walk around your home a few days before your scheduled session time, take a look at where the light is the most abundant. These are likely the areas we’ll be using for your photo session.

You don’t need to redecorate or go crazy styling your home. The point of having an in home session is to photograph your family in the space in which they are most comfortable. You will want to keep in mind that anything left out has the potential to make it into your photos, so if you don’t want it photographed, put it out of sight.

Top things to do:

1. Make beds

2. Clean up countertops

3. Open all shades

4. Turn off overhead lights

5. Tidy up main living spaces

6. Make sure any picture frames / artwork are straight

7. Remove water bottles and phone chargers from bedside tables

8. Fix any broken windows

9. Clean mirrors (I use them a lot during my in home family sessions)

Not sure how to prepare your family for your photography session? Read this.

Ready to book? Let’s connect.

Is it Worth Having Maternity Photos Taken?

Most families know they want to have a newborn photography session but have you ever considered having a maternity session too? Here are my top reasons why I think you should have a maternity session.

This may be the last professional photos of just the two of you.

Once baby arrives, life is going to be all about your new little one. This may be the very last time you’ll have professional pictures of just the two of you.

It’s important to document this time in your lives

Once baby arrives, you’ll forget all the aches and pains, the movements, your body changing seemingly overnight, the small smiles you received from other women who have been in your shoes. One way to take you back to this time is through photographs.

It provides a great way to get to know your photographer before your newborn session

Those first few days of motherhood are raw, intimate, and emotional. When you have a maternity session first, we get to know each other so that when I arrive for your newborn session, it’s just like having an old friend visit and not some stranger when you’re feeling the most vulnerable.

Questions about having a maternity session? Let’s chat.

Why Lifestyle Photography?

How I Became a Lifestyle Photographer

When I first started photography, I used to scroll Pinterest and Instagram looking for the perfect poses, the ones that I thought everyone wanted and expected. I would nervously show up to family sessions with a mental list of every pose I thought I had to get. I would leave a photography session either with pride that I had captured what I needed, or I’d be kicking myself for not getting everything on my list. I ran my photography business like this for a while and to be honest, it was exhausting. Family and newborn sessions stressed me out, but photographing my own family was a completely different story.

In January of 2015, I did a workshop all about lifestyle photography. It changed the way I photographed my children. Instead of stressing about them being perfectly dressed and perfectly posed, I started to photograph them exactly as they were, and not only did I see a huge improvement in my photography, but I started to love and treasure the moments I was capturing for my family. Below is the first photo I took during that workshop. Nothing amazing, just a quiet moment captured in an unposed and natural way.

I felt happy with my personal work but I was still trying to be a “perfect” photographer when it came to my family and newborn sessions. I knew there was a huge disconnect there but I didn’t quite see what it was. Slowly, after lots of workshops, a ton of photography sessions, and a whole lot of soul searching, I realized that I needed to relax more when I photographed families and newborns. I needed to forget about perfection and focus on the love and connection between family members. Once that happened, my whole approach to family sessions changed and I was able to start enjoying paid sessions as much as my personal shooting. Still photographing outdoors at beaches and fields, I was happy with the direction my photography was moving, but there was something missing. I realized how much I enjoyed in home lifestyle sessions. I noticed how much personality was in a family’s home and how much more comfortable the kids (and often the parents) were in their own space. I saw the beauty in a family’s space and felt like I needed to show a family the beauty that I see in them. Back in 2018, I nervously made the decision to switch over to a mainly in home lifestyle business model (don’t worry, I still do a handful of outdoor family sessions in the warmer months). I posted a couple of model calls for in home sessions to build my portfolio, and announced on social media that I was making the switch. I felt like I was going to lose a ton of families, but the response has been better than I could have imagined. People seem to have realized the benefit of not trekking for ages to get to an epic location, they realized that there is so much beauty in their every day and that it should be celebrated. They’ve realized that there is no better backdrop than the four walls in which they are most comfortable.

I have lots of resources if you’d like to learn more about an in home photography session like when is the best time or why I think you should have an in home session.