How to Prepare for a Lifestyle Session | Long Island in Home Family Photography

Life Inspired Sessions

I know that the trend in photography these days is to take beautiful photos of your family posed in a field at sunset.  On the way to the session, you are most likely stressing out over whether or not your clothing matches, if your kids will cooperate, and whether or not you will get to the shoot on time.  You will struggle during the session to make sure that everyone is smiling and looking at the camera and chances are, you will end up with that perfect and beautiful image.  Now don't get me wrong, I appreciate the beauty of that hard earned image and recognize that there is a purpose and a place for it; however,  I also know that the perfect image does not really tell the story of your family and who you are at that moment.  When you look at that image five years from now, or even a year from now, it will not remind you of who you were at that moment and what makes your family unique.

On the other hand, lifestyle photography, or life inspired photography, are images that will remind you of what your life looked like and what it felt like at that moment.  This style of photography documents your family and the intricacies of your everyday routine that suddenly, and without warning, became memories.  I want to help you to remember those moments.  

How to Prepare for a Family Lifestyle Session

1.  What should you wear? Clothing choices are totally based upon your families style. If you love simple, go for simple. Want fun? Grab some fun color! What I do NOT recommend is changing outfits too many times, if any.  Changing outfits tends to stress kids out and can disrupt the flow of the session.  You want to avoid matching your outfits.  Of course, feel free to coordinate, but unless you match your outfits on a day to day basis, you want to avoid doing matching.   Instead f choosing the same color for the whole family, choose a color palette and work from that palette. Make sure you wear something you can move well in and in which you are comfortable.  

2. What do you need your home? I like to have families buy fresh flowers to have in the home, but it's not required for you to do so, of course. They add some flare to master bedrooms as well as kitchens. If you have lots of "clutter" out, make sure to put as much away as you can that is not your REAL life type of clutter. We need to have your kids toys out, blankets on couches, kids shoes by the door etc.; however, if you can put away things like grocery bags, breast pumps, etc, that will help. Only have out what you want in your photographs and if you are unsure, leave it out.  When I arrive if I feel like something is distracting, we can always hide the items from view.  Make sure you have out anything your children love. Do they have a stuffed animal they can't live without? Make sure it's handy! 

3.  What can you expect once I arrive? When I first get to your home, I will take a look around to check out all of the rooms we plan on shooting in and I will check to see if we need to move any furniture around.  During our session, don't worry about looking at the camera. I will always instruct you when you need to look at me. I will typically take the children into another room to let them get to know me a bit and I will let them just play, etc. After we do the child photos, we will move onto family shots, typically in your bedroom or family room. All of this will depend on which locations we have chosen to shoot in and what activity we are going to engage in.   Expect me to ask you to do a lot of cuddling, snuggling, kissing, and tickling. We want to get images that display your bond, not images in which everyone is forced to look at the camera and say "cheese."   

4.  What if my family does not cooperate? Kids will be kids. This is why I start with them to set a fun playful tone of our session. This also helps you as parents relax, knowing that your children will have a fun time. If we have a young child that can possibly cry, etc., don't worry! Snuggles make for some of the best photos. Often times, if they see an older sibling having fun they will join. I have lots of tricks up my sleeve to engage your children so don't worry. Kids pick up on parents anxiety. Letting go will lead to the best types of sessions. The beauty of these sessions is that it documents the reality of your life right now and sometimes that includes an uncooperative child.  

I can't wait to meet your family and photograph you.

Warmly,

Teresa

If you would like to book a lifestyle family session contact me