Our In-Home Photo Session & Tips for Having One of Your Own

Over the holidays we had a lovely in-home photo session with a new to us, local photographer named Freya Wolvin. I was drawn to Freya’s work after viewing her instagram and observing her unique, documentary style of photographing people. Her work never looks posed or too intentional, but rather more natural and free flowing. Her sessions appear that she’s not even there, as if her camera is looking through the eyes of a fly on the wall and recording events that would be happening anyway. It’s totally different from anyone else I’ve worked with. I especially love how all of the women in her photos look completely comfortable and in their element as it gives me some confidence in stepping in front of her lens.

Freya arrived at our home midmorning on a Saturday, was bright and cheery and we quickly felt at ease having her in our space. She quickly took some photos around our home and tested the lighting all while chatting us up and getting to know us all better. Prior to our session Freya suggested we have a few easy activities on hand to do as a family, which I thought was really smart and different. She informed us she would mostly be in the background and that we should engage with each other as we normally would. We baked chocolate chip cookies, which is something my son adores doing with me and we had a few puzzles and book scattered throughout the house to look at together. I loved how my children were immediately comfortable with her and were literally crawling into her lap by the end of our session. Freya was wonderful about giving us cues as to where to direct our bodies and reminding us when and when not to look at the camera. We all really enjoyed her orchestration of the whole session and found her cues to be really helpful in our level of comfort. Often times when I am being photographed I feel as if I don’t know what to do with my hands, but with I was surprised to find I didn’t have any of those awkward moments with Freya. We are all looking forward to working with her again and I believe the more you work with a photographer, the better they get to know you and the more intimate the photos become.

You can view more of Freya’s work here on here instagram

We are no stranger to having our family photo sessions in our home and every time I share our sessions on social media I get flooded with questions about them. Everyone always loves the concept, but rarely do I see other people doing this. Most people are already a bit nervous when being photographed, so having a session in your home can add some pressure as not everyone’s home looks Pinterest worthy or out of a magazine. Most people’s homes are lived in, comfortable, somewhat cluttered spaces. But let me tell you, memories of your family in the special space you share together daily are something worth taking the time to document. So today I am going to share a few tips for preparing for and feeling comfortable inviting a photographer into your home and having a family photo session.

Choosing the Right Photographer

If you already have a regular photographer, this would be a great opportunity to call on them since you’re likely comfortable with them and already have established a good rapport. However, if you don’t have someone in mind, instagram is a great place to seek a local photographer out. Most photographers are using this platform to show their work and attract new clients. Searching hashtags with the city you live in followed by “photographer” is a great way to find someone in your area. And if you’re local to Hampton Roads you must check out Freya Wolvin as her in-home sessions are her forte and her work shows it.

Have Your Home as Clear and Clutter Free as Possible

Having an instagram-worthy home is not the criteria to be photographed in it. What really matters is having one or two rooms you plan being photographed clean and clutter free. In the weeks before your session, work on eliminating any clutter in the main areas of your home. It’s a great opportunity to declutter your home, donate some things, and get organized. Additionally, tucking away any distracting or bright objects in your home will keep your the background of your photos clean.

Wear Neutral Colored Clothing

This is a personal preference, but I honestly think wearing a neutral palette of clothing is the best choice for any family photo session. I’m not recommending everyone be super matchy-matchy and dressed in beige, but deciding on a muted and neutral color palette means your photographs are going to come our soft and cohesive. I also recommending avoiding anything with a large logo or brand name on it. And if bold and bright colors are the theme to your life, I think it would be really interesting to lean into it. Some people love mixing colors, patterns and textures and execute it very well. This is something I would also consult your photographer about.

Get to Know Your Photographer Beforehand

With today’s technology, having a few icebreakers before meeting with a potential photographer is so much more accessible. Offer to facetime them, message them or even have a traditional conversation over the phone. The goal is to make sure you will be compatible working together and have a similar vision. Our photographer, Freya communicated with me several times via email and she also sent me a super fun form to fill out which helped her learn more about me. I was really appreciative of her lines of communication prior our session as it eliminated any awkwardness the day of the shoot.

Choose an ideal time of day

This is such an important concept and a responsibility that most photographers will take on themselves. However, since the photographic location is in your home, this responsibility also becomes yours. Know which direction the main areas of your home face and which ones get the best light at different times of the day so you can relay that information to your photographer and together you can decide which rooms to be photographed in. For example, most of the windows on our home face south east, so we get a ton of morning and early afternoon light. I knew it was fine for Freya to visit our home any time before mid afternoon in which we get very little light in our home thereafter.

Have a Handful of Light, Family Oriented Activities to Do

This is something our photographer, Freya recommended to us and I personally thing it is genius. It made our session more comfortable, gave us something to do with our hands, and also provided our photographer with lots of opportunities to capture our unique family dynamic. For our session and since we have two young children I chose to bake cookies in our kitchen and assemble a small puzzle in our entryway. We also read books upstairs in our bedroom. They were all activities we could all be involved in, but they were simple enough that we could walk away from them easily.

Having our space and family dynamic documented as it is in this very chapter of our lives is invaluable to me. It is something I deeply desire to remember as my children get older. Sure, we can hire someone to photograph us on the beach just like everyone else does in this area, but how special is it to invite a photographer into our home where we play and love each other every single day? Let me tell you, it is so special. I am so grateful to have these memories to look back on for years to come.