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My Mother’s Day Gift: An in-home session brought to you by Walmart!

Have I ever mentioned that while Jared is super understanding of me wanting to take pictures and is genuinely willing to help me on session, when it comes to our sessions he tends to go from all-in to not-my-thing?

This year for mothers day I wanted new pictures.

I wanted in-home pictures.

When I brought up the idea of doing an in-home session just with us and my tripod it was easy to see that he remembered our last attempt at accomplishing that feat. Annnd it wasn’t pretty. It was right after I had Slade. I was exhausted, felt miserable and the kids were going on a week of late bed times and waking way too early. I could see the doubt in his eyes. I could also see the battle for being ahppy and gifting me the session I was hoping for.

His love for me won out and he said yes to helping me accomplish the goal!

Fast forward 2 weeks and I had yet to prepare for the session. I know it seems off for the photographer to not be prepared for sessions but hey, life happens and the clothes had never been selected. I also got to the end of the month and my budget was dwindling. Figures.

If y’all ever learn one thing about Jared it is that that man LOOOOVES his budget. Like, give him all the excel spread sheets, Dave Ramsey and money goals and he is a happy man.

And then you have me……………….

If you ever learn one thing about me it is that I really like clothes… and shoes… Like, I could probably go shopping every week and be perfectly content. if I don’t love something I don’t buy it but if I love something, ooooh I have a hard time saying no. So, let’s just say it took me working through Dave’s Financial Peace University a few times to grasp the whole concept of budgeting and appreciating it… I wouldn’t quite say liking it but I can definitely understand the importance of it.

So, just remember the end of the month is NOT the time to schedule family pictures and then want to rework everyones wardrobe. But of course, that’s what I wanted.

I talked to Jared knowing my personality and we decided to keep things as simple as possibly which I happen to be a huge fan of.

One of my favorite aspects of in-home sessions are no shoes. Which meant I wasn’t going shoe shopping. I had already picked our color scheme and had gone through closet seeing if we had pieces that would work for my vision and a few would so I pulled those out and laid them on the bed.

Next, I grabbed $50 and went to the store I don’t recommend shopping for clothes at almost ever… Walmart. I had a grocery pickup for later that day and I only had a short amount of time so I ran into Walmart with my colors in mind and raced to the kids sections.

Mind you, I do not spend a lot of money on my children’s clothing. I just can’t swallow watching a $50 shift be ruined the first time they wear it to dinner. And because of my lack of love for doing laundry each of my kids only has 10 outfits. Gasp!!!! I know. I am so mean. But 10 is plenty and it cut way down on the mess in their rooms and the amount of laundry we did.

Okay, back to Walmart. Every once in a while Walmart surprises me and I am happy to say today was one of those day. They had little boys t-shirts in the 3 colors I was hoping to find for Tag for $4 each. I found a dress for Henley on sale for $6 and I found a new pair of pants for Tank for $12. $30 in and I needed something for Slade.

Y’all, have you ever gone and walked around somewhere like Walmart or Target looking for little boys clothes??? For every 4 girls racks of cuteness there is 1 scant rack of “meh” baby boys clothes. So, after having 3 boys I didn’t have my sights set too high. But again, yay for a clearance wrack!!! I found a little outfit for Slade which truth be told I wasn’t actually sure if it was a boys or girls outfit which doesn’t matter and truth be told again, I liked it for Slade so I didn’t really care. Ha!

I walked out of Walmart with $12 left of my original $50. Boom.

When I got home and rushed kiddos into their clothes since I was going to be losing light during my picture time frame. I quickly realized the white shirt I bought for Tag was actually a little girls shirt which was annoying but it fit Henley since they’re almost the same size so whatever. I had a salmony and a sage one left so he got one of those. A quick switch of Tank’s shirt and my pants from blue jeans to white made it all come together!

Can I say the sessions was stress free? Nope.

Can I say Jared was super happy the whole time? Ha! Nope, again.

The pictures weren’t perfect but I can honestly say I super love the way they came out! I love that in-home sessions are more intimate. They are just fun and I really love the confidence the kids show in their own homes and my kids were no exceptions.

There are so many imperfections from this little shoot but getting my prints last week and getting to hang up the pictures in our home this week was a huge deal for me. I lvoe getting to connect through imagery and my kids love getting to see that they have a place in our home. The images just tie them in a different way! I know there is psychology behind that and while I huffed and didn’t really think anything of it I realize that I FEEL better when I can see their and mine and Jared’s faces up on our walls.

If you’re contemplating an in-home this year, I am gonna give you the push and say go for it. It works in every season and during any weather. It doesn’t have to be fancy but It also can be fancy. There are no rules! Whether you’re in a dress from Anthropology or a t-shirt from Walmart, schedule your session. You’ll never regret having the images and capture y’all together in the place you love and are striving to build daily: your home.

Until then,

Beth

Arizona and destination wedding photographer helping the legacy-minded couple feel comfortable and confident throughout their luxury wedding experience. Based in Prescott, Arizona.

The Journal

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  1. Wynona Paley says:

    The article provides some useful insights and practical advice. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us.

  2. I love how your posts always leave me motivated and inspired.

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