New Year's first pajama party (at-home family photoshoot)
What is the most honest way to capture your family? Would you want someone to photograph your chaos in a way that actually happens, at home, where you live now, wearing what you would normally wear, on a typical Saturday morning? If this vibes with you, an at-home family photo session is a least stressful way to create your family portraits and is the most sincere way to do it. Read more to find out how this family did it.
Pajama party anyone? For this large family’s photoshoot their smart mama chose a theme that was fairly easy to prepare for and was super easy to execute. There was no trying to figure how to dress each family member to make her match the rest of the gang and no rushing around to get to place on time (good luck doing that with 5 kids - I have a hard enough time with 3, can’t even imagine how this super-momma does it!)
On the scale of all family photoshoots this one is the most stressless hassle-free! It was an at-home photo session and everyone was dressed in PJs! It was right after Christmas, their tree was still in its place in the living room, so that’s where most of the action took place. There was lots of silliness, climbing on each other and, laughing, and some crying (don’t they go hand in hand in a large family?).
One thing that amazed me was how affectionate the older kids were with their youngest brother, who was about two at the time we photographed. “Come here, Elijah, let’s play! Come sit with me.” And lots of hugs and snuggles. Nobody was telling them to take care of their little brother, they just simply genuinely wanted to do it and they did it with so much love.
The culmination of the photoshoot looked like this: everyone gathered at the kitchen table, drinking tea, eating breakfast, reading, climbing the table.
Though a part of an at-home family photo session is posed, it gives a unique way to preserve the memories of this season of your family’s life: the photos are taken at home so everyone is at ease and interacts with each other the way they normally would, so the photos that are captured are actually moments that really happen in the everyday family life.
The advantages of an at-home family photoshoot are many:
No need to drive anywhere - the photographer comes to you (save time and gas)
No need to get dresses up - you can do it in your PJs!
Everyone feels comfortable and at ease because they are at home in a familiar and familial setting.
Lots of familiar things to grab, hold and use as props.
Real everyday and seemingly insignificant moments captured on camera (brushing your daughter’s hair, feeding your son, having breakfast together) - seeing those moments years later might bring tears to your eyes.
Create documentary-style (candid) images AND posed images (the best of both worlds).
Easy access to outfits and accessories if inspiration strikes to create an improvised look.
If siblings get into a fight, one can go into his or her room to cool off and then, hopefully, come back to join the fun in a little bit.
my big Latin family sunrise beach photoshoot
This large Colombian family wanted to have their photos taken on the beach and when I suggested to do it at sunrise (my favorite time to photograph!) they agreed. I wasn’t asked any questions about outfits because this group had it all figured out and for simplicity sake they all wore WHITE! Girls and women wore white dresses, and men donned white shirts with khaki shorts. It was a very cohesive looking ensemble and we were blessed with a gorgeous sunrise that day.
This large Colombian family wanted to have their photos taken on the beach and when I suggested to do it at sunrise (my favorite time to photograph!) they agreed. I wasn’t asked any questions about outfits because this group had it all figured out and for simplicity sake they all wore WHITE! Girls and women wore white dresses, and men donned white shirts with khaki shorts. It was a very cohesive looking ensemble and we were blessed with a gorgeous sunrise that day.
The sky was very generous with color that morning.
There were several couples in the group so we created photos of each couple as the sun was making its grand appearance.
A few individual shots of the quinceañera princess, as well as playful shots of her with her auntie and a touching portrait with her father.
And another group shot before the sun is officially up!
A few more photos of the love birds and individual shots of the fifteen-year old princess:
The final images of the entire family together, walking, looking straight into the camera and … jumping (we couldn’t resist!)
This concluded our sunrise photoshoot on the beach for this family. The fact that I can speak Spanish definitely came in handy, but I need to polish my skills some more :)
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Looking for a photographer to capture your family’s uniqueness? I photograph families at home and on location. Please reach out if you want to talk about capturing memories for your family ♥
colorful family photoshoot in boca raton
When Zhanna decided to do a family photoshoot with her husband Eber and their two daughters, I knew they would want something original, something unique. Having met her in person before (we did a yoga photoshoot a few years back), and following her on social media, I envisioned their photoshoot as something filled with movement, juicy colors, bursting with emotion.
When Zhanna decided to do a family photoshoot with her husband Eber and their two daughters, I knew they would want something original, something unique. Having met her in person before (we did a yoga photoshoot a few years back), and following her on social media, I envisioned their photoshoot as something filled with movement, juicy colors, bursting with emotion. So when it came to our picking a location for their shoot, Zhanna suggested to do a two-part shoot the first part of which would be at the home of a Boca Raton artist and the second part of the shoot on the beach. Our artist friend Tamara kindly opened her doors for us while we photographed in her home, which literally burst with color, but at the same time is filled with tranquility and peacefulness.
Zhanna brought with her several outfits for each of family member and when we decided which outfits to wear for which part of the shoot and somehow intuitively it all blended so well with the many scenes that this one home offered us. My most favorite photo of them is this one, bursting with juicy colors, all colors coordinating so well with each other and with the hand painted turquoise Moroccan-looking door.
When choosing outfits for a group photoshoot, choose colors that complement each other. Use patterns sparingly, choose clothing that you are comfortable in, and bring more outfits just in case so your photographer can give you advice as to whether a certain piece of clothing photographs well in a certain scene.
My other absolute favorite photo of this family is the one where all of them are sitting on this bench inside the house. But here is how we build up to that shot:
dreamy Zhanna…
she is such a Goddess! ♥
Girls join in for a mom and daughters portrait
Finally, dad joins in for a beautiful family portrait.
Before we graduated to the images above we took some shots in the living and dining rooms. I wanted to photograph them as less posed and look more like lifestyle or candid shots where they were not looking into the camera. The truth behind those shots is that in order to make them happen, you need to orchestrate them :)
There were some photos of them looking directly into the camera and some photos of just the girls together, and of papa and the girls. And of course, another divine portrait of Goddess Zhanna next to the turquoise door.
We didn’t take as many pictures at the beach as the sun was still pretty high in the sky and it was impossible not to squint. But we took some photos in the green shady area and Zhanna loved jumping shots the most. (You gotta have jumping shots, right? They are always fun, and these guys were professionals at these types of action shots. As you may know, the key to getting great jumping shots is to bend your knees as much as possible. Even if you don’t jump high, bent knees and feet going to the sides or one side create an illusion that you are jumping sky-high!) ♥
I also created this composition in Photoshop for their family, and I think they really enjoyed it :)
Check out the photo on the wall behind them - it is a shot of the family on the beach after this shot was taken. Ahh, I ♥ Photoshop! :))
Sometimes, the idea of a family photoshoot can seem daunting: rounding everyone up at the same time, maybe even having to talk a family member into doing it, picking coordinated outfits, making sure you look picture perfect on that day and then being nervous about the whole picture taking experience. It all sounds like a lot of work, but how much value will this family see in these photos years from now? How glad will they be that they took two hours of their time to just show up for this experience, which turned out to be very pleasant and lots of fun.
Interested in having a photography session for your family? Reach out to me and let’s talk about what kind of images will best show the uniqueness of you and your family.