Why You Should Book an In-Home Family Photography Session | Portland Oregon Family Photographer

In-Home Family Photography Sessions

Picture your family getting cozy on the couch at home with some hot cocoa while enjoying a fire in the fireplace with the wind blowing outside. This is a regular occurrence at my own house in the colder months and it’s definitely a scene I don’t want to forget. No matter what your family time at home looks like, I’d love to document it with an in-home lifestyle photography session! 

What kinds of things can we do during our in-home photo session?

That’s entirely up to you, but we will work together to decide on 3-4 activities ahead of time. I’ll encourage you to brainstorm things your family would usually do on a rainy day at home together, but it’s also fun to throw in a new activity that you think your kids will really enjoy, as well. This is a great time to allow them to do something they wouldn’t usually be allowed to do. Like take turns squirting whipped cream into each other’s mouths after decorating a pie, having a small flour fight in the kitchen, or taking turns jumping off the couch. Anything out of the ordinary is almost guaranteed to make the kids super excited.

Just in case you’re having a hard time coming up with ideas, here’s a list of some things I’ve either done, or always thought would be fun to do during an in-home family session:

• Cuddle on the couch
• Roughhousing and tickle fights in the living room
• Bath in the kitchen sink (for tiny ones)
• Filling the kitchen sink with bubbles and playing with them.
• Car races
• Baking something together (a pie, cookies, scones, whatever!)
• Jumping on the bed
• Playing peek-a-boo in the sheets
• Reading a book together
• Building a block tower
• Quick art project
• Cuddling or playing with your child’s favorite toy
• Playing dress-up
• Having a  tea party
• Pillow fight
• Creating a blanket fort
• Playing with the dog or cat
• Dancing in the kitchen
• Making and/or playing with Playdoh
• Eating ice cream or donuts in bed
• Drinking hot cocoa (and maybe squirting the whipped cream into each other’s mouths)
• Small flour fight in the kitchen
• Making blueberry pancakes and then eating them at the table
• Playing a quick card or board game
• Kids taking a bubble bath in the master bath
• Decorating cookies
• Jumping contest off the couch
• Painting toenails
• Cuddling and playing airplane on the master bed
• Playing with a train set
• Blowing bubbles

But what if my home isn’t perfect?

Good! No one’s house is (or should be) perfect, especially when you have kids. Consider which rooms in your home get the best light, and also consider what activities you’d like to focus on. Then choose 1-3 rooms you think would work best after taking into account those factors and tidy them up a bit. But don’t clean them so much that they don’t even look recognizable to your family. Basically, I don’t want you to stress and I promise not to check your closets or under the beds ????.

What should my family wear?

Dressing for an in-home session is a little different than an regular outdoor family session. Let the activities you’ve chosen help dictate what you should wear. If you’ve chosen to make pancakes, read by the fire, and eat donuts in bed, then maybe pajamas would make sense for your family. If you’re thinking of baking a pie together, creating a fort in the living room, and playing with blocks then you could wear some casual outfits. One of my favorite things is helping families figure out what to wear for their photo sessions so ask for my help because I’d love to give suggestions! I also might have something in my client closet that you’d like to borrow.

How can I book an in-home family photography session?

I’m so glad you asked! ????

If you’re ready to book a session and you live around the Portland, Oregon area, send me a message through my website, or you can click the Facebook messenger circle in the bottom right corner. 

If you need a little more info first, you can check out my in-home photography portfolio, or my pricing for family sessions.