How to Prepare your Home for an In-Home Photo Session

If you’ve ever thought about doing an in-home session, I bet one of the things that might’ve stopped you is the thought of how much cleaning you’ll have to do and how spotless the house has to be. It’s a totally valid concern! But let me tell you, your home does not need to be spotless, perfectly decorated, or ready for the cover of a home magazine. I am coming to photograph your family in the place where you actually live, not conduct a surprise white-glove inspection.

There will probably be toys. There might be laundry. Someone may have left a water bottle on the counter five minutes before I walked in. That’s real life, and real life is exactly what we’re here to photograph.

That said, there are a few simple things you can do beforehand to make things easier.

Give the Rooms We Might Use a Quick Reset

If you already know there are certain rooms you’d love to have photographed, give those spaces a quick tidy before I arrive.

This doesn’t mean deep cleaning. Think more along the lines of putting away the things you don’t want in your photos, clearing off a cluttered counter, straightening the couch, or making the bed.

If there’s a pile of laundry that has been living on the chair for three days, this is your official permission slip to relocate it. 😉

And if your kids’ rooms are particularly chaotic, you can do a quick pickup there too. Or don’t! Depending on the space and what we’re doing, a little bit of kid clutter can actually make the photos feel more like them.

But also, if life is crazy and you can’t get to it? No sweat! We can always relocate clutter so it’s not distracting in your photos.

Don’t Only Prepare the “Pretty” Rooms

This one is important: I may use parts of your house that you weren’t expecting.

When I arrive, I’ll pay attention to the light, the layout of your home, and how your family naturally interacts with the space. That means the room you thought would be perfect might not be where we end up spending much time.

A hallway with beautiful light? Yep.

Your bed? Absolutely.

The kitchen while everyone is making breakfast? Maybe!

A cozy corner of the living room you never thought twice about? Very possibly.

So rather than spending an hour making one room immaculate, it’s better to give the main living spaces a general reset and let me figure out where the best photos are hiding.

Let the Light In

Natural light is one of my favorite things to work with during an in-home session.

Before I arrive, open your blinds or curtains in the rooms we might use. You don’t need to worry about turning your house into a sun-filled photography studio. I can work with all kinds of homes and all kinds of light-I even have a flash that I use to create natural looking light when the light in your home may just be a tiny bit too dark.

If your house is darker or doesn’t have giant windows everywhere, please don’t worry. Your home doesn’t have to be “photo-worthy” for us to make beautiful photographs there.

I’m looking for pockets of good light, interesting spaces, and moments between your family. I can work with what your home gives us, and I’ve got that backup flash to help out too.

Be Okay With Me Moving Things Around

I may move a few things while we’re shooting.

A chair might get scooted over. A lamp might move. I may relocate a basket of toys or clear a little space on the bed. Nothing dramatic, and I’m not coming in to redesign your living room. I just want to give us a little breathing room when we need it, and I always want to help put everything back after we’re done so it’s not more work for you.

If there’s something you absolutely do not want moved, just let me know!

Keep the Things That Make Your Home Yours

Please don’t feel like you need to hide every single toy, book, stuffed animal, or piece of kid artwork.

Those things are part of your family.

If your child has a favorite stuffed animal they carry everywhere, I want to know about it. If you have a stack of books you read together every night, leave them out. If your kids love piling onto the same old couch, let them.

We’re not trying to create a house that looks like nobody lives there. We’re trying to photograph your family in your home.

Think About What You Actually Do at Home

You don’t need to plan a bunch of activities for your session, but it can help to think about the little things your family naturally enjoys doing together.

Maybe your kids love crawling into your bed on Saturday mornings. Maybe everyone hangs out in the kitchen while dinner is being made. Maybe you read books together before bed or have a favorite spot where you all pile onto the couch.

Those everyday routines can become some of my favorite photographs.

And you don’t have to make them happen perfectly. We’ll let the session unfold from there.

What You Don't Need to Do

If you take nothing else away from this post, let it be this:

You do not need to deep clean your house for your in-home photo session.

You do NOT need to:

Scrub your baseboards
Clean every room in the house
Hide every toy
Buy new decorations
Rearrange your furniture
Make your home look like a vacation rental
Stress about whether your house is “nice enough”

Instead, I recommend:

✓ Straightening the rooms you’d love photographed
✓ Putting away things you definitely don’t want in the photos
✓ Making the beds if bedrooms might be used
✓ Opening blinds and curtains to let in natural light
✓ Giving yourself permission to leave some of the real-life stuff alone
✓ Keeping meaningful things that make your home feel like yours
✓ Letting me help figure out which spaces will work best

Your home doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be yours.

That’s one of the things I love most about in-home family photography. Years from now, you won’t just remember what everyone looked like. You’ll remember the couch where your kids always piled on top of you, the little room where bedtime stories happened, the kitchen where everyone gathered, and the home that held this particular version of your family.

And those ordinary details are worth remembering, too.

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