3 reasons to schedule family photos at home

Outdoor Family Session at Home | Maryland Family Photography

Have you ever been interested in an at home session? I absolutely love them! I get to do in home sessions most often during Lifestyle Newborn sessions, however, it’s not as often that I do in home sessions for family sessions with older children.

This blog post will give you a few reasons to convince you that your home is perfect for a family session!

Here are reasons why you should schedule a session at your home:

1. you don’t have to pack up the kids, snacks, etc!

   If you have small kids you totally know how long it can take to lay out all the clothes, make sure the kids have recently eaten and had potty breaks. Amiright? Save your self some time and schedule a family photo session at your home, outside!

   When you have a session at home all you have to do is walk outside and find the beauty of your front yard, backyard, side of your house, foliage, sidewalks, the list goes on and on!

2. kids tend to be more comfortable in a familiar setting

   When working with young children, we know they can often be a little bit unpredictable. Children are likely to be more comfortable in an area that is familiar to them.

   You probably already have a lot of memories playing outside of your home or in the yard and that will make it easier to get your kids to relax during the session!

3. you will see your home with a new perspective!

   I’m just as guilty of not thinking there is “anything special” about different corners or small areas in our front yard or backyard until I actually have my camera and lens in hand.

   When I am photographing your family, there is intention behind the image and the story and keeping certain elements in or excluding them. One of the things I love about outdoor family sessions at home is showing you a new perspective!

Click the link below to schedule your family session!

Playful Family Session in Washington DC

Here I am sharing another blog post from a session I absolutely LOVED!

This playful family’s session was at the Bishop’s Garden at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

We started off with family portraits (9 times out of 10 I will ask you to pick up your children for these), moved around to get moments of connection, portraits of the children, mom and dad, and parents with the kids.

I’m a lifestyle family photographer and what I know time and time again, children want to play!

I want you to absolutely love your photos from your session and I know you will when we let high expectations go and let children play.

What I love about lifestyle family sessions is that they are relaxed and I tend to follow your child’s lead as much as possible.

At the beginning of the family session I focus on getting the “safe” shots of everyone looking at the camera and portraits of the children. Those two poses to be the hardest to get towards the end of the session if the kids lose interest so I try to get those within the first few minutes. These two girls were so much fun and they had a lot of energy and seemed to want to just play with each other and with mom and dad. The best part is that they didn’t seem to get bored of getting their photos taken!

Related Blog Posts:

• Spring family session Bethesda Maryland

• Maternity family session National Cathedral Washington DC

Have you already scheduled family photos this year? If not, send me an email or fill out my contact form and let’s chat if we will be a good fit to work together!

Outdoor Newborn Session | Glenview Mansion Rockville

Most of the time when families schedule their newborn session with me, they decide to have the newborn session in their home.

This lifestyle newborn session was in the DC area at a location that I love- Glenview Mansion!

It was so great to spend time with this large family. All of the siblings enjoyed helping and we even got the grandparents in there too!

Newborn sessions will always have my heart because there are so many moments of connection, love, intimacy, strength and every other emotion there is to be felt when you have a new baby at home.

When you look at the images below you’ll get an idea of all of the variety you’ll get in your gallery- parents with the children, siblings, feeding, and most of all- connection.

As cliché as it sounds, the newborn phase is so so fast so please reach out and help document this precious time!

Relaxed Family Photos at McCrillis Gardens | Bethesda Family Photography

I have had several family sessions at McCrillis Gardens and I definitely wanted to share this beautiful family’s session on the blog!

If you’re new here, welcome!

I’m a lifestyle family and newborn photographer in the DC area. I offer relaxed family sessions for laid back families looking for photos to show connection and emotion. I offer sessions in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia and all in between!

If you’ve been here already and you’re familiar with my work - welcome back! So happy you’re here.

I love having family sessions at this beautiful hidden garden in Bethesda. McCrillis gardens has several beautiful plants, flowers, and scenery right in a little tucked away garden in Bethesda. There are several areas I like to use at McCrillis and they include the foliage, the bridge (of course because I love TEAL), the trees, the greens, and the house to name a few. There are some areas I like to use at each session but I’m very flexible and family sessions can actually vary per family. There are several unique areas and I love incorporating new spots to photograph!

Other sessions on the blog taken at McCrillis Gardens:

5 tips for Successful Family Sessions

What I look for in a Session Location

The twins were new walkers and I wanted to make sure I spent some time documenting this amazing milestone while they were holding onto Mommy and Daddy. We moved around and a few times to have variety at this family session and we ended snuggling on the blanket.

During your family session I will pose and guide you in great lighting and scenery and I will photograph sweet moments of your family interacting with each other. I do tend to take a few “everyone look at me for a second” photos at the beginning, but once we’ve got those we shift over to more relaxed, organic photos that actually show emotion and connection.

Have you recently had your family photos taken? Send me a message and we can schedule your family session!

Kensington Maryland Family Photographer | Clum Kennedy Park

This was my second family session at Clum Kennedy Park in Kensington Maryland. Check out this Newborn Session to see more of the beautiful spring blooms! Clum Kennedy is a small, quiet park in the Kensington neighborhood of Maryland. It’s super close to shops and walking trails in Kensington Maryland and I thought it would be perfect for a lifestyle family session. My photography style is vibrant, colorful, and playful and all of those worked really well at Clum Kennedy with the beautiful, colorful flowers!

Are you interested in a family session? I’m booking sessions outdoors and even in the comfort of your own home!

Send me a message to schedule your lifestyle family or newborn session.

Photos I like to take at each Family Session | Maryland Family Photographers

So you want to take family photos, that’s great! I’m so glad you’ve made it here on my website. I’m Tabitha and I’m a family and newborn photographer in the DC area. I offer lifestyle family sessions that are joyful and connected.

It’s so important to me to document your family in a way that is organic and accurate. You would be surprised how many photos I can take within the hour of your family session. Sometimes we even do it in less than an hour! There are several different photos I like to take at each family session because I think it helps to have a variety of images in your gallery. Maybe you want to print the photos, maybe you want to put them in an album! Kids can be unpredictable so I don’t guarantee any specific images in your final gallery, but here’s a general flow of what your family session with me will be like.

Keep reading if you want to see all of the photos I like to take at each family session.

your family engaged & connected

I will guide you all to interact with each other. This can mean hugging, being close, singing a song, or doing an activity specific to your family.

a “money shot” photo

Some families do want 1 or 2 photos of everyone looking at the camera. Whether this specific “money shot” is for the grandparents or the holiday card, it’s best to take this one at the beginning of the session just in case the children lose interest.

portraits of each child

I think it’s important to take a few minutes to get photos of each child. I will talk to the children, play, sing, and do whatever it takes to make them relaxed and eliciting a natural expression. Sometimes the portraits will be the young child in their parents arms too. It can still be a beautiful portrait even if the little one just wants to be held in their parent’s arms.

sibling shot

Sibling shots can be tricky so I don’t have really high expectations for these. Of course it’s great to have them looking at the camera, but I don’t sweat it if they don’t. After all I’m not looking for picture perfect sibling shots here. I’m a lifestyle family photographer. It’s more important to document your family and focus on the emotions and interactions, whatever that might look like for your family.

each parent with children

We definitely want to get each parent with the children to document the relationship, however silly, playful, or loving the relationship is.

parents

We can’t forget about the parents! I usually do these at the end once I know I’ve gotten the rest of the photos with the children.

extras

There are definitely going to be moments and cute things that happen throughout, or maybe these happen at the end.

When you book a lifestyle session with me you aren’t limited to picking your favorite 5 or 10 images. You’ll receive all of the images that best represent the family connection at your family session. I don’t like to put away my camera until I get to my car because funny moments can happen at the very end of the session!

There you have it! I can’t wait to photograph your family!

Differences between Lifestyle Family Photography and Traditional Family Photography

If you’ve ever searched for a family photographer you may have an idea of what you’re looking for and how you want to experience your session. You may have a special place in mind and you might already have the family’s outfits picked out. That’s great! There are likely several photographers in your area and it might be overwhelming to choose whether you want a lifestyle family photography session or a traditional family photography session. I wanted to share this blog post to give you an overview of the differences between lifestyle family photography and traditional family photography.

at a traditional family session,

You will receive images of everyone looking at the camera:

Typically with traditional family photography, your photographer will do a lot of posing and guiding to make you all look your best while you’re looking at the camera. It’s a great way to get that shot of the family that Grandma wants and it’s great for holiday cards. Your photographer will have tips or noise makers to have the little ones pay attention to the camera and smile so that everyone is looking together at the same time.

the photos will show what you look like:

Traditional family photography focuses on what you look like and tend to be a little more formal (in my opinion) and they are great for documenting photos that are perfectly composed and perfectly lit and just, well, “perfect” but doesn’t necessarily always focus on what it feels like.

at a lifestyle family session,

Children want to play:

During a lifestyle family session I encourage your children to play. It might take them a little while to get comfortable with a new person following them around with a camera. I encourage playful interactions when I photograph your family, which means if your child wants to play a game of chase or enjoys tickles or wants to look at the flowers, I will follow you and document those moments.

Sometimes children want to be comforted:

If your child needs a nap or hugs from mama, please take advantage of that time. I love photographing those little moments when she’s reaching for your  hand or when he needs a paci to be comforted. As your children get older they will grow out of these little moments that will make you wish they were still that little. Sometimes these moments can be missed at traditional family sessions when your photographer is working hard to have the children look at the camera rather than focusing on family connection.

We can capture everyday moments:

Everyday moments of your family can take place outdoors at the park or right in your own home. When you book your lifestyle family session with me I want you to share those moments that are special to your family and see how we can incorporate them into your family session and get photos of those moments. I offer in home lifestyle family sessions as well, which is perfect if you want your home as a natural backdrop. It’s also great for the kids because they can grab a toy or book and I’m right there to photograph it! There isn’t usually as much flexibility at traditional family sessions because there isn’t as much of a focus on family connection and interaction.

you don’t need to smile:

I tend to photograph children as they are. If they’re happy they will smile. If they’re engaged with their family, they will laugh and want to continue playing with their family. I try to be quick when photographing so that I can catch those fast moments. At a traditional photo session your photographer may have a lot of tricks to get the child to look at the camera and smile and it might also take some bribing. I don’t focus on that when I am photographing families but rather make sure to catch those moments and ensure I’m right there when the children are having a good time and smiling naturally.

you don’t even have to look at the camera:

I mentioned this at the last point and think it’s important that family portraits don’t require everyone to be looking at the camera and smiling. Some of my favorite photos of myself and others are when the people in the photo are engaged with one another and you can see the engagement in their face and expressions. Traditional family photographers are typically looking to find ways for everyone to look at the camera and say cheese.

Don’t be surprised at your session when I tell you to only look at the camera at certain moments. Sometimes moments are better uninterrupted and rather photographed, than interrupted making everyone stop having a good time just to look at the camera and smile.

Do you think you now know enough about the differences between traditional family photography and lifestyle family photography?

Please reach out to me and we can schedule a session that you feel will be great to capture your family!

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