They are always, always worth the effort, but sometimes having our family pictures taken can kind of be a painful event, right?
The choosing of the color-coordinated (but not in too intentional of a way) outfits, figuring out the right location, hoping everyone is in a happy mood on the day of the blessed event . . . and can make it from the house to the car to the photo location, without leaving their shoes, messing up their hair, wetting their pants or spilling something all over their shirt.
And then all we ask is that everyone smile & pose for 2 hours straight?!
I have always been so thankful that we have put in the effort for these little photo shoots, but by the time they are over I kind of feel like I need a 5-hour nap!
So I have been loving this new trend that is beginning to show up here and there, of having your family photos taken at home.
I’m talking about a photo session where you hire a photographer to capture your day-to-day moments of living life in the place it all goes down . . . In the place where you are all most comfortable, most at ease and where the majority of your memories are made.
Last year, we tried this out and we absolutely loved the results.
We had just recently finished renovating our 1oo year-old Tudor home, when we found out we would be moving across the country. We loved this home and all the happy times we had there and wanted to make sure we documented our life here before we left. These photos were all taken the day before the moving van showed up. (And our grandpa surprised us by stopping by to take us to lunch, right as the photographer arrived, so that is why he is in some of the photos!)
Every time I look at this photograph, and see those legs up in the air, I have to smile… that’s our boy who is in constant motion.
At the end of the day, what is it that we want to remember about this time in our lives? If we really think about it, I believe it is these day-to-day moments that are the most precious, and the ones we will miss the most one day. So wouldn’t it be great to document them at least once or twice during their childhood?
TIPS TO CAPTURING YOUR DAY-TO-DAY MOMENTS IN YOUR HOME
1. Think about one or two of the activities each of your children love and spend a lot of their time doing, so that your photographer can capture them doing some of those things.
2. Have the photographer photograph you doing an activity you love to do as a family in your home. . . whether it’s baking cookies, playing your favorite board game, or snuggling together and reading stories in bed.
3. And happily (or sadly, depending on how you look at it!) you still should come up with coordinated outfits for everyone!
4. Make sure the rooms you will be taking pictures in are free of clutter.
We have had family photos done almost every year, and these ones taken in our home are the ones I treasure the most, because they are the ones that most authentically capture ‘us’.
INSTAGRAM: @gillargirl
WEBSITE: gillargirl.blogspot.com
ALL PHOTOS BY: carin davis photography