Your House Is Not Cute - And Other Lies You Tell Yourself

My house was built in 2006, in a suburban neighborhood of other houses that look very similar. The thing about building a bunch of houses that are all the same is that you have to build it with a bunch of features that not every family will need or want. Things like a separate dining room or formal living room, for instance.

Since we had the need for neither a formal living room or a dining room, we turned one of those spaces into a play room for the kids. It gets great afternoon light (which is perfect because it has no wiring for overhead lighting) and the kids have made it their own. The other room is where we change diapers and it holds all of the stuff that we need to donate, give away, or sell in an imaginary yard sale that I’m not really planning for. The rooms work for us. But they are not cute. I can’t imagine what people think when they walk into our house and see the two rooms that greet visitors. Thankfully we don’t get a lot of uninvited visitors (#millennials).

I imagine you have a similar situation in your house. Maybe not a dining room with a diaper pail in it, but as you live in your house, you LIVE in your house. Its “customized features” work for you, but you’re not inviting any magazines into your home for a photoshoot any time soon.

So, the idea of having an at-home family photo session is an immediate no. Your memory automatically goes to the dirty carpet, the saggy furniture, the piles of clutter that you really do have a plan to go through, just as soon as you get ahead (another lie you tell yourself).

But here’s where I argue about why you should consider an at-home family photo session anyway.

Nobody cares about your dirty carpet.

It sounds harsh. But even you won’t remember how the carpet looked in 20 years. And you might wonder how you ever let the carpet keep you from doing something fun with your kids. More importantly though, the dirt doesn’t show up in the photos. While, yes, you should vacuum or sweep to get the really obvious stuff up, nobody is looking closely enough to notice if you vacuumed a day ago or a week ago.

The details of your home are unique artifacts of your life that will change with each new season of life.

The donation pile can get shoved in the trunk of your car (not that I know from experience or anything). The laundry and toys can be put into windowless rooms; we won’t be taking photos there. But those small things that can’t be moved, can’t be changed, are part of your life right now. The diaper pail won’t always be there in my dining room (we’re so close). The play room won’t always be filled to the gills with stuffed animals and babies and dolls that we somehow keep collecting. And there won’t always be kids’ artwork strewn across the walls of the living areas of our house. Those things will change slowly, or very quickly, and that part of our life will one day be over forever. One day, the house will be a lot more empty.

There are things your kids do at home that you want to remember, but that you can’t possibly re-create out in public with your professional photographer.

The way they giggle uncontrollably when you spin them in the office chair. Their insistence to “help” you cook/bake/make coffee in the morning. The way they climb all over you when you sit down on any chair. How they dress themselves with their clothes on backwards (you always fix it before you leave for daycare). Her little fist stuffed down your shirt because YOU are her comfort item. Those tiny daily things you want to remember with more than just a phone pic, but that just don’t translate to a park setting when you meet up with your photographer.

Doing a session at home helps connect the memories you have of your daily life with a visual reminder that you were there, too.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, because it needs repeating. Yes, we can get beautiful photos of you in a park with your kids. But in 20 years, your memories of your daily life will far outweigh the memories of that park. Wouldn’t it be nice to document how you lived together? How you laughed at the breakfast table, played in the playroom, helped them dress in the “dining room” each morning? Not just images of them doing all those things, but you doing those things with your kids.

If you’re still not sure about whether a Home or Park location would be best for you, I have a quiz you can take (multiple choice! no wrong answers!) to help you choose. Pop on over here to check it out.