Lately, we’ve felt like we were in a bit of a rut creatively and our standard “On- location” shoots began to feel repetitive and unoriginal. It’s really all anyone offers in our town and we were looking for ways to set our photos apart. After scrolling through Pinterest for inspiration we came upon some beautiful and personal in-home photography and decided to give it a shot. Since it’s something we hadn’t done before we decided to put out a model call looking for young families who may be interested and willing in a session like this. We made moodboards for ourselves and our clients as well as model guides, which really came in handy and then we went out and had some wonderful sessions. Since we wanted diversity, we chose a few families to model for us. Our first session was with a mother and daughter and they were SO great. Going into these sessions is a little bit anxiety inducing since you don’t know what the client’s home will look like, what the lighting will be like, etc. You won't have much control over it, so if you’re a control-freak this may be a great exercise for you. Here’s how our first session went (after all the prep work): 1. We arrived on scene! We introduced ourselves to the momma and her little one and she invited us in. The little one was a bit shy and unsure about us, which is totally normal and to be expected. Mom spent some time talking to her kiddo and letting her know what was happening and we asked if we could open the windows. This is a good time to let the children warm up to you without talking to them. They’ll quickly get used to you being in their home. 2. We scanned the home for the best lighting and location. In this case there were two living areas- one with lots of toys (a playroom of sorts) and one that was a little bit more grown up. We chose the space that had less toys and background distractions. Choosing a space is entirely up to you and the look you want to achieve! And don’t forget that you can move around and utilize the entire home if they’re open to that. 3. We spent some time talking to our new friends and letting them know what kinds of shots we were looking to get. It was really important to us that our photos looked as natural and unposed as possible so we let mom know that she could let loose and not feel worried if the little one wasn’t quite cooperating. 4. Now we were pretty much ready to begin shooting! We asked mom if she could get a favorite toy or activity out and she brought out some crayons and a notebook to color in. This was a really fun idea and we absolutely love how these shots came out! 5. Next, mom brought out some books to read, which was a nice way for the little one to forget we were there. We had them lay on the ground together, play with each others hair, etc. Basically we just let them do some daily activities and captured the most sincere moments as they came. 6. After about 40 minutes we felt confident that we had plenty of photos, so we thanked them both, let them know when they could expect the final images, and left. When we got back and uploaded our photos, we were honestly surprised at how many amazing, intimate moments we were able to capture. It felt so much more authentic than a lot of our on-location sessions and we loved that! Editing this session was really rewarding and we did not expect to enjoy this style so much! We really liked how the photos looked in black and white, which is a drastic change for us, but it’s making us consider an entire rebrand! Let us know what you think of these photos and if you think this is a style you’re interested in trying out for yourself! Or if you’ve already tried lifestyle photography, let us know how it went! Thanks for joining us this time- we hope you found it useful or interesting!
3 Comments
3/13/2020 11:23:49 am
I love these! The ones of them reading and cuddling are so sweet. I've shown up to quite a few homes for lifestyle photography not sure what to expect with space/lighting and it looks like you nailed it. I love when it's nice enough weather to try both outside and indoors. Did these turn out well in color too? I go back and forth deciding whether to provide just color edits to clients or automatically provide black and white edits as well.
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Pixel Chix Pics
3/18/2020 11:50:27 am
Hi Erin! Thanks for the kind words! They turned out beautifully in color, but we preferred the black and white edits to keep the focus on mom and baby instead of some background distractions that were brightly colored!
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5/5/2022 12:00:50 pm
Hey there -
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