Preparing for an In-Home Family Photography Session | The Stearns Family | Southern Indiana Family Photography

In-home family photography sessions are becoming more popular these days, and I couldn’t love it more! There’s just something about documenting a glimpse of your life with the ones you love where you feel most comfortable - your home - that will bring back so many sweet, meaningful memories when you and your children look back on them one day.

I understand that it may feel a little uncomfortable thinking about inviting someone into your home to snap some photos of your current season of life. What if your home projects aren’t completely finished or your house isn’t exactly the way you want it yet? What if there are kids toys everywhere? What if the dogs go crazy or the kids are more wild because they are so much more comfortable at home? I say, don’t worry about it! These things are evidence of a full life and a home well lived in. I say don’t wait for perfect, because when you look back years down the road you may just realize how “perfect” these days really were, despite the sometimes messiness and chaos of your day-to-day life.

So with that being said, what’s the best way to prepare for an indoor session?

I have three simple tips that I share with families I work with that make the session go more smoothly and comfortably. This sweet family was a dream to work and made my job so easy. Their session is a great example to share to help you get an idea of what to expect from home sessions, as well as how to get ready for one.

1. Know what’s important to you

I always ask families to think about things that are important to them in their current season of life. What do your kids enjoy doing? What do you do for fun as a family? That may be as simple as playing games, reading books, or as elaborate as making Saturday morning pancakes and having dance parties in the kitchen. What are moments that you share with your family, whether big or small, that you’ll always want to remember?

Having a few ideas of things you can do together as a family will help you feel more comfortable in front of the camera and will make it much easier to capture natural, real connections and moments.

During this family session, Sadie’s parents said she loved playing with her blocks, reading books, looking out the window, dancing with her dad, and practicing her newfound walking skills. Just those few simple activities gave the perfect opportunity for us to capture so many sweet moments!

2. Communicate your thoughts and ideas to your photographer

It’s so important to communicate your ideas and goals for the session to your photographer. This will ensure that your photographer is a good fit for what you are hoping and expecting from the session.

Once you’ve chosen a photographer whose style aligns with your vision, make sure you communicate any ideas and “must-have” photos for the session. For example, this session was for Sadie’s one year birthday, so her parents knew they wanted to do a cake smash at the end. They also had exciting news they wanted to share (that Sadie was going to be a big sister!) so that was also really important to communicate so we could make sure to get those photos towards the beginning of the session to ensure Miss Sadie was still happy for the camera. :)

Understanding what you want from the session is important to discuss beforehand since little ones can be unpredictable and tend to lose their attention and focus pretty quickly. Bringing up your “must-haves” at the end of the session when your child has decided they are done with photos makes it really hard to capture those shots. However, if your photographer understands beforehand they will prioritize those shots and will be able to get those and more!

Relax, be yourself, and have fun!

This may be the most important piece of advice I have - relax and have fun! Trust me, I know it may seem a little awkward at first. However, when you’re busy interacting with your little ones and having fun, it becomes easy very quickly. I like to guide my clients along and will offer prompting when needed, but I also tell them that if you feel like grabbing your kids and tickling, snuggling, or giving them a little smooch then do it! The moments that unfold naturally and without prompting are always my favorite photos… So don’t be afraid to go with your natural instincts and just have fun!

Approaching your session with an easy-going approach without a ton of expectation makes for a much more enjoyable experience (for yourself and your kids). When you go with the flow it allows for more opportunities to capture special moments. For example, after Sadie’s cake smash, we thought it could be fun to plop her into a sink bath. This wasn’t planned, but they ended up being the sweetest photos.

So to wrap it up - don’t stress! Relax and be yourself. Don’t worry about making sure your kids are on their best behavior. When you look back through your photo albums one day, you want to be reminded of your real life - the messy, crazy, beautiful moments you shared with those you love.

I don’t think we’ll realize how special so many of our ordinary days are until we look back on them, so whether you have a photographer come into your home to capture a glimpse of your current season or you do it on your own, just do it. I know you won’t regret it!