Toronto’s fall season was like a bad movie: nothing happened for an hour and a half, and then all the action was crammed in the last 15 minutes. Now, the season for (comfortable) outdoor shoots has passed – which gives us all the more reason for cuddly and cozy in-home photo sessions! But, cold weather is not the only reason to have a photo shoot at home. Here are a few more to consider:
1. Your home is your comfort zone
In-home sessions tend to be more casual and informal compared to an on-location session. When everyone feels at ease, it leads to a greater sense of intimacy and organic connection between people. This makes amazingly authentic portraits.
Further, you will never risk having an audience during an at-home photo session. For some people, this allows them to open up, act natural, and have fun. This helps your photographer capture the connection, love, and quirks unique to you or your family. Bonus: having your family session at home usually shortens the warm-up period for everyone – leading to a wider selection of natural and relaxed photos to choose from.
If you have children, it’s important to remember that some will have a much easier time engaging with their family and a stranger (the photographer) at home. Babies, easily-overstimulated kids, infants, and shy or stubborn little ones… the list goes on. In my photos, I want to show your family connecting. I want to highlight moments when you are truly focused on each other, on loving, and on being your silly selves. Photographing you in your home can help accomplish that.
2. Your home is the essence of your story
Is there a better place to document the love between people than a location that truly defines them? Your home is decorated in your favorite colors and full of personal touches. It has photos from your recent vacation and evidence of your favorite pastimes. For example, that old record player or the cookbook with a stain from being used a few too many times make for great photo touches. It could even be your fur-baby! Your home is a place you built with your loved ones and is the best setting to help tell the visual story of you.
Plus, pictures taken at home will always instantly transport you back to that time. The photos I have of myself and my parents at home 20 years ago always amaze me, and I cannot get enough of the little details surrounding us. Your home naturally sets the tone for documentary and lifestyle type photography, which is the perfect way to preserve your family history.
3. Staying home is easy
Doing a photo session at home makes it super easy on you. For in-home photos, you just wait for your photographer to arrive at your doorstep. There is no need to travel somewhere or figure out where exactly your photographer is meeting you at the location. It’s an even bigger bonus for families with children. After all, staying at home eliminates the need to pack up snacks, make sure that you have extra clothes, or worry about the weather (hello, Toronto).
Your wardrobe is also right there if you decide to change it up, as well as any “props” you may want to incorporate. Sometimes a photographer will see something you wouldn’t think of to throw in and create a unique shot – a blanket, a cute mug or a stuffed toy that you’re so used to you’re not seeing it anymore. All that equates to less stress for you and therefore, happier smiles captured.
4. Your home is unique.
In-home photo sessions are always unique. No other family is going to be in the exact same home, doing the exact same things, with the exact same chemistry and connection.
In-home lifestyle sessions allow us to capture all the little details: the curls on the head of your toddler, your cat curled in a ball on a chair, or the painting you made that hangs on your wall. You can play your favorite song on a guitar, or have your usual morning coffee. All these seemingly ordinary things help tell a story and can really pull the viewer into it.
5. Weather is not a concern
Seeing the forecasted “chance of inclement weather” on your weather app can be nerve-wracking. “Should we reschedule?” “Do we wait it out?” And, let’s not forget about all other couples and families who might decide to organize an event on the same day, in the same location as your photo session.
But when you are shooting at home, you don’t have to even consider these things. You can rest easy knowing that the only event that will be happening that day inside your weather-protected home is your family photo session.
Lastly, (and most importantly): when you take photos at home, there’s no need to wait for a perfect moment when you finally get enough sleep, lose enough weight, get a new haircut or buy a new dress. The perfect moment is here and now, and it is what you make it be. Because life is beautiful just as it is.
If you feel the same, you know where to find me 😉