In-Home Family Session

A Winter In-home Family Session, and Why In-Home Sessions can be Better Than a Studio Session.

Making and enjoying meals together, church services, sipping tea, walks to the park, and running errands. These were the “big things” on my to-do list for my recent trip to Ohio. I spent two full weeks visiting my younger sister and her husband, their five boys, and their loveable little cockapoo, Rusty. Our only goal for the time together was simply to do life together in ways that we can’t normally. The little things are the big things, you know? And photos. Lots of photos. We really had the best time!

I love these photos. Being Abbie’s sister, and proud Aunt of these handsome young boys, I’m totally biased, of course, but as their photographer, I love them too.

Maybe it’s their cozy, English, eclectic styled home. The wooden shelving full of classic literature, the antiques peppered in from corner to corner, and the Burleigh pottery mugs that all beg you to sit down and get lost in good conversation.

Maybe it is the late winter sunshine peeking through the window.

Maybe the nostalgia of shooting on film, and the natural color palette and comfortable style.

Indeed, all of these things are part, but truly, I love the connection and emotion in these images. And that it all takes place right in their own home.

With 5 boys, let me assure you, every stranger in the grocery store will comment, “wow, you sure have your hands full!”. And yes. Yes, they do have their hands full.

But what I love about these images is that they show the other part of their life story, the part those grocery store strangers will never see.

There is always an adventure buddy, and someone to help. Someone to do chores with. Someone who wants to read a book and someone who wants to be read to. Someone who’ll share a snack and someone to laugh with in bed, late at night when everyone should be sleeping.

Mom always has a son to hug and kiss. Dad’s stories always have a captive, lively audience.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love my studio sessions, and many moms have good & perfect reasons for choosing my studio over an in-home session.

Even still, some moments are just better captured at home. In YOUR home. Kids in their own space. The space that you’ve made their home. The perfectly imperfect place where life happens.

Being at home can amplify the intimacy and emotion in ways that can’t always be replicated in my studio or any rented space. It’s just not quite the same. There’s just something about the comfort of home, and kids are especially sensitive to comforts and stresses. So yes, your house might not feel picture-perfect. There might be toys hidden in unsuspecting places and some furniture we need to adjust a smidge. Or maybe the best light in your house is in the kitchen or a hallway and that seems weird to you, but I promise it’s not!

Your home is worthy of being photographed with you in it. It’s where you live, where you play, where you teach, where you cry, and where you love. And that alone is why it’s worthy.

I love these photos and what they tell of the Compston Family, in 2023, of this season of their life with five young kids.

So tell me, will you consider an in-home session for your next family or newborn session? What do you think of these family photos? What do you notice first and most?