So you want to book a family photo session (or you have just booked one). But now the big question clouds your mind: what are we going to do during the shoot? Fret now, I am here to give you some good, tried and tested ideas for your next in-home family photo session. And if you worry that without these or any other activities your session will not produce great photos, please don't. These activities act merely as a starting point to get the whole family in a mood and once everyone is involved in the chosen act... that's when the magic happens. The smiles, the laughter, the cuddling, the kissing, the in-between moments... And I will be right there to capture it all. So without further ado, here are 5 ideas for your in-home family photo session.
Arts and crafts
If you're anything like me, you may feel slightly nervous even at a mere thought of doing arts and crafts with your children. We all know it's fun and the kids love it, but sometimes the MESS that comes with it makes us all stressed out! However, if your kids are anything like mine, sitting down to create some art will keep them still and absorbed in the task - perfect for the photos!
Games and board games
I love a good board game! These are huge favourites in our household (especially Jenga or Pull My Finger) and they always provide good laughs and a bit of healthy competitiveness. The good thing about them is that they don't tend to take a lot of time but they produce LOTS of laughter and funny facial expressions (just ask your kids to keep a straight "poker" face when they're playing to see what I mean!). And it's up to you if you want to let your kids win on the day or take it seriously...
Reading
Smaller children (and bigger ones too!) will love piling on the sofa with their parents, snuggling up and reading picture books. One tip here: the sillier the books the better! I also encourage families to read their kids' favourite books, so these are immortalised in photos and will provide a great talking point in the future ("Hey, remember when your favourite childhood book was....?").
Baking
Just like with arts and crafts, baking may result in some messiness. But it also provides you with a great and delicious bribe for after the photo session. You may not have enough time during the week to bake something for your kids, so this is a great time to get your kids involved and enjoy your yummy baked goods afterwards!
Garden play
Technically an outdoor location but it's attached to your home so that will count, right? If at any point during our photo session you want a change of scenery, we can just open the door to your back garden and play out there. The possibilities are endless! You can play ball, jump on the trampoline, move some of the toys outside, colour with chalk, play tag, run through the sprinkler or spray each other with the hose... Just think of all the fun photos you can get just by playing in the garden!
Ordinary routines
If for some reason you don't feel any of the above activities are you, then I suggest something even more special: being completely natural and capturing your normal, ordinary routines. This is where the real magic lies: in those typical activities that you all as a family do on a regular basis. I'm sure there are certain moments throughout your day when you look at your children and think wow, they are growing so fast! These are the moments worth photographing and freezing in time. Whether it's a way your son play with Lego, or your daughter dresses up in her fancy dress costumes. Or the way they all cuddle with their Dad or chase each other around the room. There are so many moments that are special, endearing and completely unique to your family. Let me capture these for you. And I promise you you will be so glad you've got them in your family album. Just reach out to me and we can talk in detail what you can do at your next in-home family photo session.
