What To Do For An In-Home Couples Session
Hello and welcome to the Justin and Lauren Photography blog! We are Justin and Lauren, photographers based in Charleston, South Carolina. Our journey began in 2015 when we met during training to become photojournalists for the U.S. Air Force. Our passion for photography has only grown since then, which led us to start our own business. We’re your photographers for all kinds of events– Weddings, engagement and couple photos, branding, and more! If you’re interested in learning more about us and what we offer, visit our website! We love taking photos in unique locations, so if you’re up for traveling to a beautiful, secluded and peaceful location, we’re going to get along just fine! As your photographers, we are dedicated to providing you with the best of the best in images and an unforgettable experience. Candid photos are some of our favorites to capture. We pride ourselves on being raw, real, and authentic. We also provide prints, canvases, and albums. Contact us today so we can help bring your dream photoshoot to life. We can’t wait to meet you!
Our last article discussed bridal sessions and why you should have one. Bridal sessions are typically formal photography sessions that are used to get individual portraits of the bride in her full dress or outfit, before the wedding day. On the actual wedding day, there isn’t always enough time to get all of the detailed shots you want, so a bridal session is the perfect opportunity for that. If you are interested in learning more about why you should have one, check out our last post!
Today, we’ll be talking about ideas for in-home couples sessions. A couples portrait session is a great way to get photos of you and your partner outside of major events like an engagement or wedding. You don’t need to be celebrating a special occasion in order to have photos taken! These photos capture an accurate reflection of your relationship, especially when done at home. Having an in-home session allows you to feel more comfortable and relaxed, and it’s the perfect location for a couple of reasons: You don’t have to worry about the weather, and it’s the center of your life with your partner. Your home is decorated in a way that represents you two as a couple– It’s the place you’ve built together, which makes it a direct reflection of your relationship in many ways. Plus, your home is unique in the fact that no one else will have a photoshoot at that exact location!
Despite all of these things, it may be difficult to figure out what exactly you want your photos to look like. If you cringe at the thought of posing or being too professional, there’s no need to worry. As photographers, we aim to capture those pure, candid moments where you and your partner are just chilling and being yourselves. Having your couples session done at home provides a great opportunity to further personalize the session– So we’ve put together a list of ideas you may want to incorporate into your session. If you’re interested in finding out more, stick around! Let’s get right into it.
Hobbies or Fun Activities
Do you and your partner have a particular hobby or interest that you share? An in-home couples session is the perfect opportunity to capture you two doing something you enjoy. For example, maybe you both enjoy cooking. If so, having your session take place in your kitchen would be a great way to showcase that! You can even have photos taken while you actually cook one of your favorite dishes together. If you both play board games every Friday night, let’s set up a session revolving around that! Do you both have completely different interests or hobbies? That’s no problem, either. If one of you is a bookworm and the other is more into video games, we can absolutely capture the moment where you’re reading on the couch while your partner is leveling up! The possibilities are really endless– One of our favorite things about couples sessions is simply capturing the two of you being as natural as possible. And what better way to do that than when you’re both in your element?
Props
Bouncing off of hobbies and interests, incorporating props into your session can be a great way of personalizing it. These can be items connected to hobbies such as books, like mentioned above, or you can choose other objects of meaning to you and your partner. For example, if your first date was at the movies and you happened to save your movie ticket from that night, you could hold that up in some of the photos! Are you both foodies? Consider preparing your favorite snack or meal and using that in some of your photos. If there is a milestone in your relationship that you are celebrating, such as buying your first house together, getting engaged, etc., you can hold up house keys, pose in front of your new home, or write your names and date of your milestone on a chalkboard to hold up in some of your photos– You can even write the date that you officially started dating!
Include Your Furbabies
If you have pets, consider including them in your session! Being pet owners ourselves, we know how important our pets are– They’re like family! If your pets are part of your everyday life as a couple, why not let them be part of the fun? Dogs, cats, birds, snakes, hamsters… No matter what kind of pets you have, they are unique to you and will help paint a more vivid and accurate picture of your relationship! We’ve also found that when clients have their pets included in their sessions, they feel more relaxed in front of the camera.
Outfits and Accessories
One of your biggest questions might be, “What should I wear?” Our answer is– Be yourself! Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. In order for your photos to look as natural as possible and be a great reflection of you and your partner, you’ll more than likely want to dress the way you normally would. Want to do a session in your pajamas? You got it. Are you both athletic and tend to wear workout clothes? That’s fine too. However, if you want to use your couples session as an opportunity to get glammed up– Go for it! It ultimately comes down to what you both feel comfortable with. For extra personalization, you may want to take a look at the smaller details of your outfits, like accessories. Do you have a piece of jewelry from your relationship that has a particular meaning or memory attached to it? For example, the first necklace or ring your partner got for you. If so, wear that! You can do the same thing when it comes to clothing– Do you still own the shirt, shoes, or hat that you wore on your first date? You may want to incorporate that into your photos as well!
As you can see, there are a variety of ways that you can personalize your in-home couples session. Having a couples session, especially in your own home, is a chance to get creative while making lasting memories at the same time! These photos can later be used for holiday greeting cards or save-the-date cards, can be printed onto canvas to hang up in your home, or can be compiled into a beautiful book for your coffee table! Whatever you decide to do with your photos, they’ll certainly be great to look back on your relationship down the road!
At Justin and Lauren Photography, we are all about capturing candid shots that show who you really are as a couple. We are dedicated to capturing the unique beauty of those special moments in your life and celebrating love! We are located in Charleston but are available to travel– In fact, we have tons of places we just have to see on our bucket list. Let’s have an adventure together! If you have any questions about our services or would like to book a session, reach out to us today so we can meet in person or over Zoom to talk about your ideas and help bring them to life. We would love to connect with you!
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We love to take photos in unique locations, so if you’re up for a hike or a drive to a secluded. peaceful spot, we’re your photographers.
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