Editorial Portraits Session at Home

I’ve always wanted to do session for editorial portraits in my home. As soon as the idea came to me, I knew Sam would be perfect for it! Sam and I met through my husband when they were both working a Starbucks in downtown Franklin, TN. Immediately, we had to have a shoot together. Before getting together, we texted back and forth, set a date, and next thing I knew, Sam was at my door with a suitcase. Yes, a suitcase. And not just one of those carry on suitcases. Like, a full blown, pack the whole family up for a two week Disney vacation suitcase. Oh, and a duffle bag full of shoes.

Getting dressed for creating Editorial Portraits

To start, we hauled the luggage on over to the guest bedroom and unpacked it all. We created piles and piles of tanks, tees, and dresses to sort through for the shoot. After sorting through it all, we landed on a a few basic pairs of jeans, a basic white tank, and a simple leather jacket. Funny enough, our favorite photos of the day were styled with Sam in the jeans she came over in and well, nothing else!

Budgeting for an editorial portraits styling

Often, people feel daunted by styling for editorial shoots. They think you need a big budget. But it was actually rather simple. Most items Sam already had within her wardrobe: White tank, blue jean, basic pumps. For makeup, we kept it fairly simple as well. If you’re missing a few of these items, I definitely recommend checking out local thrift shops. It’s a great way to find unique items you wouldn’t normally find online or at fast fashion shops.

Editorial Lighting

We spent the afternoon chasing the shadows the nearby window gave off, goofing around, playing with black and white backdrops, and shooing away my pups when they tried to steal the show. At first, we mostly tried to mute the shadows. But as we continued, we started to love them! Some of my favorite photos from this afternoon came from the dramatic shadows that would come and go with the clouds.

I couldn’t be any more happy with the outcome! Forever missing Sam and this photoshoot. May or may not borrow her super oversized suitcase to pack her up and steal her back to Phoenix, Arizona so we can shoot again!

Like what you see? Let’s talk! Want to see more? Check out my instagram, view more galleries, or scroll to see more photos from this day.