There’s a quiet magic in family photo sessions held at home. This is the space where your children have grown up (and been born, in some cases!). It’s full of memories and the choices you’ve made for the world you live in, and simultaneously full of the noise and mess of the reality of being a family. It’s where the books you’ve read to your children live, getting slightly more worn out each year, maybe there is ‘height chart’ going up one of the walls which has different names and ages, there’s a sweet gallery of toddler artwork on the fridge…aaaand it’s also where the laundry piles up on a weekly basis (just me?).
Your home is where your family’s story unfolds, in the daily chaos and the moments of calm. There is an ease that comes by being in your own space, with your own ‘stuff’ around, and that’s exactly why family photo sessions in the home are such a beautiful way to preserve your family’s memories.
As a documentary-style family photographer, I believe the most honest, heartfelt images come when you’re at your most authentic, surrounded by your people, your rhythms, and the space that reflects your life. Here’s why an “at home” Family photo session might be the most meaningful photoshoot your family will ever have…
You’re already home, so you can just be you
There’s no rushing out the door, no matching outfits or bribing kids in the car. You’re already home, where everyone is most relaxed, the kids know where their favourite toys are, they can take time outs if they need them. It’s a familiar space, which helps everyone settle in and forget the camera is even there.
This is when the beautiful ‘in-between’ moments start to unfold, you might not even realise they are happening but I am there seeing it all! The sweet gesture between siblings, the child tugging on a trouser leg while their grown up is making tea, the beloved family dog coming in for a cameo. There’s nothing forced, but for me and my camera everything I see becomes a work of art and I absolutely love this about at home shoots!
Your home is part of your story
The dent in the floorboards from when you were renovating eight years ago and dropped a hammer, the aforementioned gallery of toddler art on your fridge, the way the sun hits certain rooms at certain times of the day, the rocking chair in the corner of your nursery that you’ve sat in so many times at 3am with just yourself, your baby and the moonlight…these are just the most irreplaceable parts of your story that cannot be captured elsewhere. They make the photos we take so meaningful, because I’m not just capturing your family in a static moment, I’m capturing everything else that you’re growing around.
In years to come, your kids won’t only want to see what they looked like when they were five, they’ll want to remember what their bedroom looked like, how the dog used to curl up on the sofa, or the way you used to read them stories on that old rocking chair.
At home shoots work really well for toddlers and babies
While outdoor sessions are brilliant fun, and I absolutely adore capturing kids climbing trees and running wild or splashing in the sea, there can be so many uncontrollable variables that make those shoots a little bit more hard work. We can’t control weather, or the amount of sleep you all got the night before, or sometimes even access to toilets (!)… these are all things that need to be considered and that can be a lot if you have a baby and a toddler with you. When you’re already at home you can stick to your own schedules, you can book a photographer to arrive while the baby is asleep so you get lovely images with your older kids, and then have pictures of the baby once they’ve had a good nap. You don’t have to worry about nappy changes or hungry tummies as everything is already right there, and if someone is getting overwhelmed they have plenty of safe and familiar spaces to retreat to and play or have down time.
Mothers being mothers
As a mother myself, who longs for more images of me with my children in natural moments, I know how precious it is to have pictures of you feeding your baby or putting your wriggly toddlers shoes on while they sit on your lap, or just snuggling on the sofa with a book. Unseen moments that happen thousands of times during your children’s early years, that seem small but one day suddenly seem so huge, and you wish there was a way to relive it. A moment where you pull a silly face that makes your three year old giggle, a moment when your sweet 18 month old is trying to help you fold clothes, a moment when you’re hugging your eldest who fell down while simultaneously feeding your youngest…all meaningful and last forever when captured on camera.
One of my biggest ‘whys’ in working with families is to take photos of mothers being mothers, so they have some photographic ‘time capsules’ of the ordinary, yet also extraordinary, days that often go by in a blur but mean so much!
If you’re thinking about booking a family session, I’d love to encourage you to consider doing it at home. You don’t need a magazine-perfect house. You don’t need to clean every corner or plan activities. You just need to be yourselves and let me capture the beauty of your everyday life. To enquire about a session with me please visit my contact page or you download my family shoot brochure to find out more about how I work.
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