Reading Time: 4 minutes

Lively Raleigh In-Home Family Photos

These lively Raleigh in-home family photos were a fast favorite for me! Maybe it’s because my own home is incredibly lively itself, but I love some good energy in a family photo session.

This was my third time working with the Harper family, and I think it’s safe to say it was my favorite session with them too. Y’all already know I live for a good in-home session, so that’s definitely part of it.

The other part that always makes working with this family so special is that their kids are so close in age to my own. So it always feels a little bit like looking into a mirror when they’re in front of my lens.

Activities for In-Home Family Photos

Nearly everyone thinks the lives they live inside their home aren’t exciting or worthy of being photographed, but I’m here to tell you you’re wrong.

We can take the simplest of activities and make them into something beautiful.

As Diana and I were planning for their in-home family photos, she mentioned two things that caught my attention. The first was that all of the kids end up in their bed in the mornings, and they snuggle together. I immediately envisioned an undone bed and pajamas… because last time I checked no one snuggles in bed together in their Sunday best, right?

The second thing was that they enjoy having movie nights together. For me, movie equals popcorn, and for a photograph that popcorn is 100 percent going to get thrown in the air.

So we planned their in-home family photos around those two things!

Snuggling in bed or wrestling?

The snuggling in bed quickly turned into a game of wrestling with Dad and the boys. As a mom of boys myself, I know how real and raw this is. I watch it happen in my own house all the time. So I left space for it and let it happen.

And as I did, tears welled in my eyes because I could feel their true personalities and bonds seeping through and being documented. I instantly knew how special these photos would be to them; especially 30 years from now once their nest has emptied. The sounds of these photos will echo through their halls long past the days that their children walk them.

This is what makes a Legacy Session so special.