lifestyle family photography locations

The heart of the life you have built. The place that holds your laughter, your joy, your tears, your sacrifice, your art. Where bedtime stories and struggles, morning pancakes and rushing out the door, dances in the kitchen and homework, newborn snuggles and middle-of-the-night feedings, learning to ride a bike and scraped knees, where you learned to be a parent and they learned how to be a kid…all have happened. Your home. Where you pour your love into your family day in and day out. Where you are most loved. Where they are most loved.

If you read my last blog post about session locations, you may not be surprised by this answer, but the absolute best location for your lifestyle family photo session is going to be your home. In-home family photography will always hold a special part of my heart. As much as I love all the beauty of Lexington and the surrounding areas, there’s just something special about doing your session at home. We can always do a portion of the session in-home and then travel to another nearby location.

Why is your home the best location for your family photo session?

It’s where the good stuff happens. It’s where you and your family do life together. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I want to show you every bit of your love-filled life and just how beautiful it is. What you and your family do together. What your days are filled with. You put so much work and love into your days…I want there to be proof of it.
It’s your kiddo’s childhood home and what a gift to give them images to document it and show the bits and pieces that made it home. Their bedrooms, the art on the walls, the spot where you mark their height every year, the table where you have family dinners and did homework, the kitchen where family dance parties were held, and the yard where they spent so much of their summer days. Maybe you’ll always live there or maybe it’s home to only a chapter of your life. Either way, it’s special because it’s where your life happened…where their life happened.
Everyone is more comfortable. When I’m coming to you and it’s your home turf, everyone will feel more at ease. Parents can have a glass of wine to unwind, kids can have snacks when they get cranky, they can play with their toys, hang out in their room, break out the sprinklers when it’s warm out, grab a popsicle or some icecream to end the session, everyone can snuggle in their favorite spot…all of this can really add to the fun, the whimsy, and absolutely the ease of the day. Happy kiddos are more important than any other aspect of the session. This is especially true for toddlers and babies. Having them home just makes things so much easier and they are so much happier there.
It’s the most customized session you can have. Your furniture, your artwork, the colors you gravitate towards, your yard, your neighborhood…it’s all you. It’s all yours. It’s all your perfectly imperfect masterpiece.
You can stay in your pajamas, wear your at-home clothes, dress up and then dress down…whatever you want to do. You don’t have to overthink it because you can change at any point. And, bonus, I prefer you be barefoot in your home. Shoot, your toddler can run naked through the sprinklers. Have a pool? Everyone can get in their swimsuits and go swimming at the end. The possibilities are endless.

Common concerns about in-home sessions…

“My house isn’t like the ones on your website.” Are you sure? It may be…because a lot of times, just out of the shot, there’s a messy room, a pile of laundry, an unfinished landscape, and half of the house so dark we can’t shoot in it. Your house does not need to be perfect. I don’t want it to be. It just needs to hold your love and a bit of natural light.
“My house is too dark.” Okay… a legit concern, however, I find if we shoot in the middle of the day, or when the natural light is best in your home, it works. I just need one window with light coming through or even a door. I always walk around and find the light and open all the blinds and curtains and turn off the overhead light. If it’s super dark, we will shoot as much as we can inside and then go outside for the rest. It always works out.

I cannot wait to photograph your in-home family session and capture all the bits and pieces that make your life beauty-full. I am SO thankful for you!

So much love,

Cilla