First, what is indoor lifestyle photography? You’ve likely seen it — enamored parents cradling their new addition in the nursery. The whole family cuddled up together on Mom and Dad’s bed. Often, it’s a very natural-looking shoot, made to capture a small piece of everyday life. Somehow more intimate than family pictures anywhere else, because the surroundings are also personal.  

Indoor lifestyle photography sessions are perfect any time of year, but particularly in the winter or summer, when you have a new little one you want to shield from the chill or blazing heat. They allow you to get beautiful images in your own comfy space without braving the elements. All you really need is each other and some natural light, and your Boise family photographer will do the rest!

Given I’ve had a little practice at this, while it might be your first time, here are three tips for capturing a beautiful indoor lifestyle session.

Schedule a time when there’s good light

A lot of people assume it’s easy to schedule an indoor session. No need to worry about rain or snow, right? But the reality is that a successful indoor lifestyle shoot requires just as much careful planning and scheduling.

First, you don’t want to pick a time that’s too dark or too bright. That will depend, of course, on a couple things:

• Which way your house faces — does it capture bright sunshine in the morning from an eastern-facing window? What about in the evening when the sun is starting to set?
• How many windows there are and where — if the baby room has just one small window that faces into the side of a neighboring house, for instance, there likely won’t be a lot of natural light coming in.

Everybody has that room in their house where, for a few minutes of the day, there’s an influx of blinding sunlight. Usually it’s the dining room, right as Thanksgiving dinner is being served, so half the table is eating with one hand shading their eyes. Or maybe that’s just my family. 😉

First things first. Decide what room or rooms you want to have your session in. My top pick is the master bedroom, with the living room and kitchen being close runner-ups. These are usually the larger rooms of the house, so there’s plenty of room for me to move around and get the right angle for each shot.

Once you’ve decided where to have the lifestyle session, spend a couple days paying attention to that room. Do you have gorgeous morning light that streams in right around 9:00? Or is it pretty evenly lit all day? Is there a time of day we should avoid because the room turns into a dark cave with hardly any sun at all? These, and others, are the questions I’ll ask when we book your session.

So you know, I generally turn off all the lights in the house and shoot with natural window light. However, if the only available time to do the session does not allow for much natural light, that’s okay. I do have studio lighting we can use to fake a window if necessary.

Do take the time to clean (at least a little)

While an at-home session does not require you to Marie Kondo your whole house, some light tidying is helpful. I know I feel a lot less stressed in a clean house, particularly when someone besides me and my husband is present.

I like to see clean surfaces with little clutter in lifestyle photography. Not only does it keep me from getting distracted with a game of unintended I-Spy, but it also ensures the eye doesn’t wander away from what’s truly important in each photograph — you!

If you’ve ever sold a house and had to prepare your home for pictures and showings, you may already know the trick of getting as many things off the counter or other surfaces as possible. It makes the space look bigger and brighter — something you’ll remember is so important, according to tip No. 1.

All that said, if you just finished a crazy week and tidying did not happen the way you’d hoped, fear not! I’m a huge advocate of just pushing things out of the way if they are too distracting. Even if you live in a house that could make it onto Hoarders, that sort of clutter probably will just make for some interesting pictures.

The takeaway: Do not let your house’s cleanliness level stress you out in the time leading up to your photos. Everyone’s house gets out of hand sometimes. I have two large dogs who’ve been known to dig massive holes in the yard and then take a muddy nap on my bed. And guess what? When that happens, sometimes I just turn the pillow over and go to sleep. If you don’t judge me, I won’t judge you…

Wear the clothes you wear at home

Photos of you and your boo snuggled up on the bed probably aren’t the place for evening wear.

PJs, on the other hand…

To be honest, I probably wouldn’t go quite that far, but it’s up to you! Consider dressing up your normal house clothes just a touch, and go for casual, neutral outfits. I never saw a mom in jeans and a chunky beige knit sweater that I didn’t love. Basically, imagine you’ve been cast in an Ikea commercial and just wear what you would for that! Neutral colors and soft textures look great! For more advice on what to wear in a family or couples photoshoot, check out my blog post on that subject!