I just dropped off some prints from a really fun in-home session, and it got me thinking about why these types of sessions will always be my favourite.
Here are some reasons- some sentimental and others more pragmatic- for having your next family photoshoot at home.
1 Home is where everyone feels the most comfortable
When I walk in to meet a family in their own home, everyone is in their own space, the place that feels most familiar and safe. This creates a very special dynamic. Children are always at ease more quickly; they often want to show me around and will let me into their world more readily. They are much less likely to feel under pressure to perform than they might in a studio environment and natural, genuine moments are more likely to unfold.
2 it makes the planning process so much easier
The booking and planning process for an outdoor session definitely creates a few more headaches for everyone involved! Planning an at-home shoot is much easier, as we aren't reliant on the weather (and let's face it, it's rarely predictable here!). On top of this, you won't need to worry about packing changes of clothes or planning snacks to stop the little ones getting hangry, every thing you'll need is right there on tap. The children suddenly have an impromptu water fight in the garden? You can change their clothes easily if they get wet. Someone needs a bit of time and space on their own? You can let them chill out in their room for 5 minutes.
3 your home is filled with important details
Your home is packed with details about how you live, what's important to your family and who you guys are. Some of my favourite photographs from my own childhood are the ones from the first house I ever lived in. So many details that I see in those photographs really point to that particular time period- the Laura Ashley wallpaper, the curtains my Mum made herself, the leather sofas. I love looking around the backgrounds of the photographs to spot little details, and old toys that I had all but forgotten about.
My eldest son has already lived in three different places in his five years. Photographs of him as a baby in our London flat already fascinate him because the very idea that we lived in London seems so glamorous and foreign to him now. Even if you're not planning on moving home, the decor and details of your home will change- and more quickly than you think- as your children grow up. Your house shows so much about how you live now, so I think it's so important to document this.
4 Your HOme is part of your story
At the shoot I just delivered photos for, we captured so many moments that are part of the family's regular routine: the older children going into the nursery to wake their baby sister after her nap, a kitchen dance party, a football game in the garden, craft time in the playroom and making pancakes for brunch. All of these activities are part of the fabric of this family's normal Saturday at home. What rituals from your weekend would you like to have recorded? Childhood memories fade, can you image what it might be like- in the future- to show your children what a typical weekend morning looked like when they were little?
5 These shoots make it easy to include pets / other family members
On the weekend, the family cat was an important addition to the family's story I always ask out about pets in the questionnaire I send out when booking an in-home session and I love including them in the pictures. Having a session in your own home also makes it easy for grandparents to pop in if you'd like some photos with them. I had an outdoor session earlier this month where Granny and Grandpa popped in for 10 minutes or so - so it's definitely possible outdoors too- but being at home makes the logistics really easy to organise. I love including extended family in a shoot, as I know how important it is to capture these relationships. My own Nan is the reason that I became so serious about photography- her photo albums were such an important link to her past as she began to loose her short term memory and provided such an important legacy after she left us.
5 Real life is more beautiful than anything
When I started photographing my children, I initially gravitated towards taking conventionally pretty photographs of them in front of beautiful backgrounds, but I gradually realised that the photographs that I really loved to look back on were the ones that felt real, which captured truths about how we lived then. The photographs of quiet (or crazy!) moments at home that capture normal routines- like bedtime or family dinners- often turn out to be my favourites in the long run. I've realised that what's truly beautiful are all the little moments that we care for one another, have fun together and build a safe place together.
And in terms of photography, I'd rather use my knowledge of light, composition and moment to create an interesting and beautiful frame in your home, rather than relying on the conventional beauty of a field of flowers or golden hour. That way your family photographs are entirely unique and built around who you are as a family.
If you are considering a family photo session, I'd really encourage you to consider at least starting it at home- we can still go out, into the garden, to the woods or local park once we've started- but beginning the session at your home has so many advantages.
And if you're worried that your home might be too small or dark, or just not attractive enough, I'd be happy to chat to you. Our current house in Marlow is very much in the pre-dreamed-for-extension phase, the kitchen needs remodelling and there's an unsightly 80s conservatory at the back, so I am very used to shooting my own family photographs around less than ideal set-ups.
But none of this matters- we are documenting something so much more important than what your home looks like, we're recording how you live now. And one day, when our house is remodelled into our dream home, we'll enjoy looking back on how things once were, ugly conservatory and all.
If your home is small, it will make it easier to get everyone in the frame together;
If you're worried that it's too dark, we’ll be able to make some deliciously moody low light images (which honestly are my favourite);
Still uncertain? I can visit your home before you book a shoot to show you how we can use the areas within your home if you're local to Marlow, Maidenhead, Henley or High Wycombe (or we can do a zoom tour!) But remember, this isn't about creating perfect images, it's about documenting your family life. Childhood memories fade, one day they'll love looking back on images that will remind them of how things once were.
