Prepare for Your In-Home Photography Session
Prepare for Your In-Home Photography Guide - Read Approx 5 Mins
If you have just booked your in-home newborn baby or family session with us, or are just browsing, we have prepared this guide just for you.
At Grain & Weave, we travel all around, creating beautiful images and wall-art for families with our classic and natural style of photography. We want you to relax and and enjoy your time with us, having had a wonderful and unique experience.
To make sure you get the very most out of our short time together, there are just a few things you can do to prepare:
‘Generations’ Adult & Teen Family Session - Captured in the Lounge, Sydney ©Grain&Weave
Use your session brief
Upon confirmation of booking, we provide you with a ‘Session Brief’ to complete.
This is your chance to think through how you want your images to appear and how the overall look of the shoot should feel. It is also where you photographer can see what you're thinking and begin to prepare what is needed.
During the session we want you to enjoy the moment and not have to worry too much about the details - it’s your experience!
Use the brief to put down ideas for colours, styles, textures and even items that are important to you or represent a side of your family's personality.
Please include any helpful information that you think would be useful for us to know, for example: special needs, building codes, floor numbers or entry directions.
“Taking just a few minutes out to complete your session brief can make the whole experience easier and smoother.
Once we get the session started a lot happens in a relatively short time, so it’s always best to do some preparation”.
Older Baby Photography Session, captured in SW Sydney in the hallway ©Grain&Weave
Keep an open mind
When working with babies, infants, young children or animals, there are a lot of variables! Our photographers are highly experienced and do this week-in, week-out.
Whilst we always a basic plan and some extra details from your brief, we have learned over the years that with kids, it is best to go with the flow and ‘gently guide’.
Things can get seem to get chaotic quite quickly, but this is the nature of working with young children. If you have given us some guidance in your brief however (example: "Amelia, 3 years old, loves pink, dancing and singing Old McDonald…”) we can hit the ground running.
Most people are happy to see how things unfold, but if you do have a specific outcome intended, be sure to put it in your brief and discuss with your photographer when they arrive. They will then be able to guide you as to how best to achieve it, or manage expectations.
The families who relax and work with us to ‘do what we do’ are usually the ones who have the best outcome and the best overall experience. It is, after all, a collaboration!
Adult & Teen Family Session in NW Sydney, Created in the Lounge. ©Grain&Weave
Allow us to guide you
One of the reasons we are one of the most trusted in-home family photography teams in Australia is because we do what we say we will do and keep it fuss free.
We want to capture wonderful memories, design beautiful collections of images and inspire you to have something outstanding and personal in your home.
Our whole team is dedicated to showing you the best possible way to get an amazing outcome and our ‘behind-the-scenes’ system is set up for a smooth, high-quality experience. We will have reserved your retouching, Online Consultation and production so that you know exactly what is happening when and what to expect.
All we ask is for your trust and collaboration to achieve the perfect outcome.
Newborn and Baby Shoots
Change the bed sheets and keep a Doona/blanket handy
We often use beds to shoot on for babies as the bedroom tends to be a warm, soft, quiet and relaxing environment.
If you can, change your main bed sheet or quilt cover to a plain colour the night before, as it might form part of a background, or at least, so it is nice and fresh for our photographer to work on.
Design tip: whites and creams are classic favourites, but anything that has a soft and plain colour is fine. Try to avoid patterns and bold colours. Think: “would I put this on display in my home?
Hold the feed?
Babies will do what babies want to do, when babies want to do it - but they do have their patterns and behaviours, so can be a slightly predictable.
When booking with us we try to determine with you when baby’s feed/sleep cycles are so we can work within that.
Our session times are optimised for the most common feed and nap times and we have allowed enough time to achieve what we need to.
If possible, try to hold off any big naps and meals until just before or as we arrive.
Whilst we are setting up is the best time to change nappies and do the feed, so we can be as best in sync as possible.
If you absolutely must feed before we arrive, prepare a top-up so we have one on hand. In any case, we have allowed plenty of time.
Prepare the room and the temperature
Hot/Cold
If possible, try to warm or cool the room to a temperature you feel that is comfortable for your baby. They don’t have the ability to regulate their temperature yet, so they will need help staying comfortable.
We won’t leave them completely uncovered at any point, so the room doesn’t need to be hot, but warm enough to wear a shirt or t-shirt.
For very young babies, keep the room temperature as consistent as possible, as they cannot regulate their own temperature.
Spares
We also recommend that you have a bottle and a change of nappy prepared, with a comfortable area for you to rest and ready to go, just in case we need a quick pit-stop during your shoot. That goes for you too - have a snack ready!
Plain Wall
To get some of the classic, minimal family images we will use a plain wall space.
A width of around 1 - 2 metres anywhere in the home is okay. You don’t need to worry about screws or hooks as we will remove those in post production.
If you don’t have a space, please let your photographer know. They are very resourceful!
Personal items
Get creative! You can create ultra-personalised portraits by using items around the home. Sometimes the most ‘normal’ thing to you can take a portrait from great to WOW!
We have used fireman’s helmets to put the baby in, wrapped babies in Dad’s favourite soccer team scarf or shirt and even included old grandfather’s pocket watches.
Maybe there is a special toy that someone knitted for them when they were born? Maybe something you picked up on your travels?
Maybe your favourite bear when you were a child is still in the family home.
Tip: Have some ideas to hand. There is no limit to how you want to personalise your images. Of course, we will capture the classics, but it can be fun to explore the different creative ideas and see them during your preview!
Toddlers and Siblings
Naps
Please let us know when booking if your toddler is due to nap around the time of your shoot and we will prioritise any images with them in.
Ages 18 months - 3 years old can be a little tricky to capture sometimes, but it is totally worth the extra effort! A ‘softly, softly’ approach is usually best, so don’t worry if they act a little out of character or make us work a little harder to get them on board.
Games
Kids respond very well to fun and games, not so much to instructions. We will spend a lot of our time during the shoot building rapport, sometimes even without a camera in our hand.
To get great images with kids (and some grown-ups!) you first need to build trust with them and this is done through play. Once they accept you, then they will start to open up and be a little more compliant.
Try to stay relaxed and be patient with your little bundle of fun - they are still very young!
Photographer tip: try to put the iPads and phones away, as once they come out, it is virtually impossible to put them back.
Grown ups: What should I wear?
It’s usually best to wear something that’s semi-casual. If you don’t normally wear a shirt, maybe try a smart t-shirt or a polo shirt. Simple is best, unless you want to do something a little quirky, or have a theme.
Have a change of clothes prepared - we don’t often capture below the waist, but dress for just in case. Plain tops without strong patterns are good, but ultimately something you are comfortable in.
Colour wise, we usually encourage navy, grey, cream/white or pastel block colours as they are very versatile over the years in your home as the style changes, however feel free to express yourself! Black can look great, but it has a ‘heavy’ feel, so be aware.
Check out our guide on what to wear during your family photography sessions.
One of hundreds of customer reviews ©Grain&Weave
Don’t forget to relax and enjoy it
We only have a couple of hours together - let a professional take control and guide you through what is a magical moment in your family’s life.
As parents, we often see this only in hindsight.
Yes, it may get a little difficult if baby is not playing along, but it is normal and almost inevitable, so all you can do is roll with it.
Please, please, put the phones away and spend some quality time together as a family and you will create some moments you won’t forget.
FAQ
Q: Do we need windows or natural light?
A: No, we bring our own light! Our studio equipment is small, portable and gives consistent, high quality light that gives us perfect results every time. We may require a power point to recharge our batteries.
Q: What if my baby cries?
A: That's what babies do! The most important thing is not to worry. We allow plenty of time and always get the shots. Babies will reflect the energy the parents are giving off, so it is very important that Mums and Dads stay relaxed. You'll enjoy it more too.
Read more in our article here.
Q: Our house is very dark/small
A: We have been in hundreds and hundreds of homes and only need a very small area to work in. We know how to deliver a consistent look and experience every time, in any space.
All of the images on this site have been captured in homes from one-bedroom units to large houses.
Q: Can we shoot outdoors?
A: Being an ‘In-Home Family Photography’ company, we specialise on working indoors. We do not shoot outdoors for a few reasons:
The weather is not consistent
Babies should stay indoors
It’s not as relaxing and has too many variables
Our in-home baby and family photography experiences are tried and tested by hundreds of families!
