Winter is the perfect time for an in-home portrait session! When it’s too cold to go outside, your home is the perfect backdrop for family portraits. Plus, it’s where everyone feels most comfortable – meaning that your session is stress-free and relaxed. Personally, I love being able to capture a family in the place they love most, especially around the holiday season. While lifestyle sessions are more laidback, there’s still a few things that you can do to create the best lifestyle portrait sessions possible!
Plan your lifestyle family portraits during the time of day that your home gets the most natural light.
For most homes, this is mid-morning or mid-afternoon, and it can depend on which direction your windows face. Make a note of the brightest times of day and plan your session around that. I recommend watching light for a few days and making a note of when the light is brightest. Then we can schedule your session accordingly.
Opt for light, neutral colored outfits.
Lighter, more neutral colored outfits will reflect clean, beautiful light back onto your faces and keep the focus on you! I’m a huge fan of choosing outfits that are on the lighter end of the rainbow (whether you’re in your house or outside of it). Avoid matching clothes and look for complimentary patterns, textures, and color palettes.
Structure your lifestyle family portraits around an activity your family loves to do together.
I LOVE capturing families in the middle of an activity! This can look like baking a holiday treat in the kitchen, playing board games, or just snuggling on the couch together with a book. Doing something together will give your images a candid, lifestyle feel that truly captures this season of life for your family. I think the images become more natural and relaxed if you’re busy and not staring at me and the camera.
Pick up your house before your lifestyle family portraits.
While a deep clean isn’t necessary, you’ll definitely want to tidy up any clutter and distractions in the rooms you plan to shoot in. Clear off shelves and tabletops, store away electronics, make sure dressers and nightstands are tidy. This will save us time the day of your session and ensure your images are crisp and tidy!
Lifestyle family portraits can be so much fun for your whole family! It’s nice to not have to travel, to have access to your clothes (especially with small kids) and allows us to capture genuine and natural portraits of your whole family.
