How to Prepare for an In-Home Family Photo Session

Let’s stay in! Here are 5 simple tips to prepare for your in-home family photos.

Instead of meeting somewhere new, your photos will happen right in the middle of your real life. Where your littles feel the calmest and where their personalities can shine. On the couch where you pile together for movies, in your kids’ rooms surrounded by their favorite things, or on the floor reading the same book you’ve read approximately 400 times.

The best part might be that you really don’t need to do much to prepare! Your house doesn’t need to be spotless. You don’t need perfectly styled rooms. And you definitely don’t need to hide every sign that children live there.

There are just a few things I recommend before your session to help your home, outfits and family photograph beautifully.

1. Choose lighter colors

I looooove color. And you definitely don’t need to dress your entire family in beige. But for an in-home session, I recommend sticking with lighter neutrals, especially for shirts, dresses and anything worn close to your face.

Indoor light is naturally a little more limited than what we have outside, and strong colors can reflect onto your skin to create a color cast. Cream, white, beige and other soft neutrals are a safe choice for keeping skin tones looking natural.

That doesn’t mean you have to skip color altogether. Dusty blue, muted pink, olive green and other earthy tones can be beautiful mixed in with lighter neutrals. Think less about everyone matching and more about choosing colors that look good together.

If choosing outfits is the part you’re already stressing about, don’t worry! I can help with that too. My clients have access to my size-inclusive client closet and shoppable lookbook, plus I’m always happy to help you put everyone’s outfits together.

2. Give everyone’s outfits a movement test

This is one of those little things that can make a big difference. Before your session, don’t just stand in front of the mirror in your outfit. Move in it.

Sit on the floor. Reach your arms up. Bend over. Pick up your toddler. Sit on the couch. Give someone a snuggle. Because during your session, you’re probably going to be doing all of those things.

Make sure shirts don’t ride up more than you’d like, toddler pants stay up, bra straps stay where you want them and dresses or skirts feel comfortable when you’re sitting and moving.

If you’re constantly adjusting something while you’re wearing it at home, you’ll probably be adjusting it during photos too. Comfortable and well-fitting clothes let you forget about what you’re wearing and focus on your family, which is exactly what I want.

3. Focus on the spaces with natural light

You do not need to clean your entire house before I come over. Actually, please don’t clean your house for me, just tidy it!

Think through the spaces you’d most like to have photographed and where you get the best natural light. That might be your living room with a big window, the primary bedroom, your child’s room or even a little corner of the house that gets beautiful light.

Before your session, you can do a quick tidy of those areas and clear away anything you don’t want in the background.

But please don’t feel like everything needs to be perfect. When I arrive, I’m always happy to scoot something out of the frame and do a little tidying to make a space work.

I’ve photographed families in all kinds of homes. I’m looking for beautiful light and connection, not whether your home is spotless.

4. Keep items that makes your house yours

Some of the things you might be tempted to clean up can make your photos more meaningful.

Leave out a few of your child’s favorite books. Keep some beloved and photo-ready toys nearby. If there’s something your family genuinely loves doing together at home, we should incorporate it.

Maybe that’s reading together on the couch, building blocks on the floor, jumping on the bed, making pancakes in the kitchen or letting your toddler proudly show me their favorite stuffed animal.

Those little pieces of your life right now are part of what makes an in-home session so special. Years from now, you might love seeing that favorite book or well-loved toy in the background almost as much as you love seeing how little your kid was.

5. Send me a video of your house beforehand (optional)

If you’re looking around your house thinking, I have absolutely no idea where we would take photos, this one’s for you.

You can send me a quick video walkthrough of your home before your session, and I can help you figure out which spaces will work best. Do not clean your house for the video. I’m not looking at your stuff. I’m looking at your windows, the direction and quality of the light, the size of the rooms and where we might have enough space to move around etc.

Sometimes the room you assume we’ll use isn’t actually the best option. Sometimes a completely ordinary little corner of your home has gorgeous light. That’s my job to figure out!

Your home doesn’t have to look like a photoshoot location

That’s kind of the point. In-home family photos aren’t about pretending. They’re about documenting your family doing everyday life in your home.

We’ll move things around if we need to. We’ll follow the best light. But most importantly, we’ll let your family be themselves. You’ll pile onto the couch, read books, snuggle, play. I’ll capture it all for you to remember.

Interested in booking a family photo session? Book here!