Prepping your home for a photo session
I love photographing in the homes of my clients. It’s so much fun to capture you in the place you’ve decorated and lived in and now call home. The choice for backdrops props increases as does the level of creative input! Any way you slice it, it’s convenient for the client and a lot of fun!
Sometimes it can be intimidating to welcome a photographer into your home knowing that your current style will be document, but a lot of the time very little of the home is photographed, it's usually a plain backdrop and studio lights. So unless you intend to include the hose interior in the photos don't stress to much about it.
I love photographing in the homes of my clients. It’s so much fun to capture you in the place you’ve decorated and lived in and now call home. The choice for backdrops props increases as does the level of creative input! Any way you slice it, it’s convenient for the client and a lot of fun!
Sometimes it can be intimidating to welcome a photographer into your home knowing that your current style will be document, but a lot of the time very little of the home is photographed, it's usually a plain backdrop and studio lights. So unless you intend to include the hose interior in the photos don't stress to much about it.
Here are a few things that you can do around the house so it looks like the best version of itself if you intend to photograph the interior.
1. If there’s something you’ve been putting off, like hanging a new print or changing the blankets on your bed, the time is now!
I don’t suggest going out and buying stuff for the photos–that kind of kills the point of capturing your life how it is right now–but, I definitely have about four framed prints waiting to be hung, and if a photographer were coming over it would be a good excuse to finally get them on the wall.
2. De-clutter. I know this is a no brainer, but sometimes a couple rooms of the house are a bit messier than you’d like. If your house isn’t looking the way you want it to, it’s a lot like wearing an outfit you don’t feel good in. You might be a bit nervous and not as ecstatic to show off your home as you should be! If you have a cleaning service, you might schedule the session for right after they make their visit.
This isn’t about dirty homes. I’ve never visited a home for photos that was not photo ready! It’s more about how you feel about your home so that you will enjoy the experience, and the photos the most. If we can’t photograph in one room because it’s cluttered–what if it is the room with the best light or the most family heirlooms?!
3. Know your light. If you get beautiful light in the bedroom and the living room in the morning, but not the afternoon, you probably want your photographer to come over in the morning. Especially for newborn photos–the master bedroom is a great spot, as is the nursery. If you know when the best light hits the rooms you want to photograph in, it makes such a difference. Look at this sun-drenched photo (below) and tell me it doesn’t rock!
Light is the singular most important aspect of in-home photography. It makes such an enormous difference in the quality of the photos. So if nothing else, know your light.
1. If there’s something you’ve been putting off, like hanging a new print or changing the blankets on your bed, the time is now!
I don’t suggest going out and buying stuff for the photos–that kind of kills the point of capturing your life how it is right now–but, I definitely have about four framed prints waiting to be hung, and if a photographer were coming over it would be a good excuse to finally get them on the wall.
2. De-clutter. I know this is a no brainer, but sometimes a couple rooms of the house are a bit messier than you’d like. If your house isn’t looking the way you want it to, it’s a lot like wearing an outfit you don’t feel good in. You might be a bit nervous and not as ecstatic to show off your home as you should be! If you have a cleaning service, you might schedule the session for right after they make their visit.
This isn’t about dirty homes. I’ve never visited a home for photos that was not photo ready! It’s more about how you feel about your home so that you will enjoy the experience, and the photos the most. If we can’t photograph in one room because it’s cluttered–what if it is the room with the best light or the most family heirlooms?!
3. Know your light. If you get beautiful light in the bedroom and the living room in the morning, but not the afternoon, you probably want your photographer to come over in the morning. Especially for newborn photos–the master bedroom is a great spot, as is the nursery. If you know when the best light hits the rooms you want to photograph in, it makes such a difference. Look at this sun-drenched photo (below) and tell me it doesn’t rock!
Light is the singular most important aspect of in-home photography. It makes such an enormous difference in the quality of the photos. So if nothing else, know your light.
4. It’s okay if you don’t know what to wear, cause you’re at home. If you have a few ideas, set them aside and you can always change or ask your photographer for their opinion.
A plus: indoors the light is softer, so lighter colors work nicely.
5. It’s just like a dinner party, no big deal!
A good way to think about having a photo session at your house is to imaging: it’s like having a dinner party–people will see the house, so having it look nice is a plus - you want to show off your family’s style, but you don't have to go crazy cleaning and reorganizing. Once your photographer is there, it already looks great, so you can relax and enjoy the experience. There may not be as many libations as at a dinner party…but it is still a lot of fun.
A plus: indoors the light is softer, so lighter colors work nicely.
5. It’s just like a dinner party, no big deal!
A good way to think about having a photo session at your house is to imaging: it’s like having a dinner party–people will see the house, so having it look nice is a plus - you want to show off your family’s style, but you don't have to go crazy cleaning and reorganizing. Once your photographer is there, it already looks great, so you can relax and enjoy the experience. There may not be as many libations as at a dinner party…but it is still a lot of fun.
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