The art of doing a photo session in your home

As a young mom, it only took me one time to decide why, as a mom, I would not do an in studio session again while my kids were young.  I had found a studio 20 minutes away and found the perfect out fits for my girls.  Knowing we would need mid-morning naps and feedings, I purposefully scheduled my 30 minute session around the those times, and after sweating through getting myself and them ready, headed out.

Upon arrival they were running behind, so I took my kids to the play place to burn off some steam.  When we arrived back for our now 30 minute late session, my youngest was ready to eat and my toddler was ready to bolt!  I fed my youngest as quickly as I could, but of course babies are on their own schedules (and to this day, she is still on her own time line!)

We headed into the studio and a woman quickly told me that I only had 15 minutes left of my scheduled time because I had took time to feed my baby.  She then proceeded to treat the kids as if they were school-agers by telling them to “smile, and say cheese”.

In the end, I ended up with one photo that was semi decent and a terrible taste in my mouth toward studio sessions.

Recently I had the conversation with a friend as to why I don’t do many newborn shoot in the studio.  As much as I would love this, I have found some amazing benefits of being able to photograph a session in client’s homes from my own experience and from others I have talked to.

1) It’s YOUR space.  Your toddlers and babies are most comfortable in what they know, so bring a camera into the situation isn’t as out of the norm as it could be in the studio.
2) It’s comfortable.  I have had 3 babies and I know how difficult it is to even get a shower in during the day, much less get hair and my make up done!  Having the baby ready and photographed while mom is getting herself ready makes the time less stressful and everyone more happy!
3) No driving!!  Getting moving right after having a baby is hard, especially if mom is still healing and figuring out how this new baby fits into life, than it is much easier to be in your own environment!
4) Your props, clothes, feeding supplies, etc are all at home.  No need to stress out over what to wear, bring to the session, or worry about forgetting something.
5) Making a mess, feeding your child, changing a diaper, giving your toddler a snack/ lunch, incorporating a pup, going outside, walking to your favorite park, changing an outfit, photographing the nursery, etc, are all easy things to do because you are on your own turf!

 

Comment

Your email is never<\/em> published or shared. Required fields are marked *