Why you should do your family session indoors
One of the things I recommend all my clients (especially those with younger children or the first time having a family session with me), is to start the family photography session in a home setting - this could be your home, or if you are on holiday, the hotel or airbnb accomodation. Don’t worry, we can go outdoors for the second part of the session.
Here are a few reasons why you should have a portion of your family photography session indoors :
Soft surfaces
A home setting allows us to use soft surfaces such as sofas and beds to get more intimate photographs of your family together.
Kids can jump around, roll around in bed, you can be a tickle monster - all within a safe setting.
“As a mama who loves taking photos of my family, I know how challenging it can be to coax a toddler to smile for the camera. Jon however quickly put my daughter at ease, and managed to capture not just moments of laughter and joy among our family, but also her energetic and spirited nature.
All in all it was a relaxed and engaging family photography session that produced wonderful pictures which evoke the warmth and magic of a Sunday morning at home. ”
2. Allowing your kids time to warm up
Kids take time to warm up to someone new and it can be quite daunting for some children for a photographer to come in and point this big camera at them. This is where being in the comfort of a home setting helps speed the process up.
I also am very intentional and try and make it a point to come a bit early to play with your children before whipping out my camera.
This helps them warm up to me as a person before we start the photo taking process. I’ve had countless parents message me after saying that their children want me to come back and play with them again, which always makes me smile.
“It was such a joy to work with Jon! The photoshoot was chill and casual, and it felt more like we were hanging out with an old friend. We love how great he is with kids - our toddler warmed up to him with ease and he quickly became her playmate.
Jon has a great eye for details and he captured well a mix of fun but also intimate moments. Thank you for these memories that we could look back fondly on ”
3. Weather
I generally recommend not doing the full 90 mins session outdoors unless we’ve already done a few sessions together before (so your kids don’t need much time to warm up to me) or your kids are of an older age.
For sessions in Singapore (or other hot & humid places), I find for 90 mins fully outdoors, everyone is sweating by the mid way point because of the humidity, which isn’t exactly the most photogenic or comfortable. In my experience, kids (& even adults) tend to get more cranky and hard to manage, and then it’s all downhill from there.
For the outdoor portion of the session in a hot & humid location, here are things I would definitely recommend bringing - portable fans, change of clothes, a towel for the sweat and mosquito spray / patches.
“We had the honour of having Jon behind the lens for our first ever family photoshoot with a 16mo and 3.5yo, and he is the best person for that job. The kids warmed up to him easily and he was so patient and understanding with them, it made everything feel more at ease and natural. We absolutely LOVE the photos - no idea how he managed to capture tiny details in just a short photo session. He worked around the challenges of an overtired baby, a toddler with his own will, and two camera shy parents - a feat in itself! We love that he didn’t try to over-engineer the photos, and yet he was able to tease out the little things that I really wanted to capture - a cheeky smile from my firstborn, an adoring younger brother trying to copy him, our everyday routine snacking around the kitchen counter.. We’re so thankful for your talent, Jon!”
But Jon, my house is so small and cluttered!
In this case, size doesn’t matter.
I’ve photographed families in 1 bedroom apartments and small hotel rooms - remember, it’s for the soft surfaces and part of the process of kids warming up to the idea of being photographed. In any case, remember that half the session will be still done outdoors!
If there is clutter, we can move it around but honestly, I’m here to document what real family life looks like and clutter sometimes adds to the story.
“We were introduced to Jon by my sister who had done an at home session with Jon with great success. We really appreciate that Jon took his time to let our children adjust to him and was able to interact well with them despite their initial wariness! Three highly active and emotionally labile children are difficult to capture in 1 frame, let alone in flattering light and so we are beyond thrilled with the photos that encapsulate our children at this age. Jon managed to work around the spatial constraints of our home as well, which is no mean feat. We look forward to working with him again as our family progresses through different seasons of life.”
