Lexington KY Family Photographer
Family pictures for the childhood filling your home
You don’t have to make the house perfect or talk your kids into acting calmer than they are. As a Lexington KY Family Photographer, my sessions are for you if you want pictures that feel like the life your children know best, with porch steps, muddy boots, backyard exploring, and everyone they love gathered in the place they know as home.
in-home
Hi, I'm Michelle your in-home
Lexington KY Family Photographer
I’m here to turn your everyday chaos into beautiful family portraits
The child who always ends up in your lap. The way dad can make everyone laugh with one look. The dog following from room to room, little hands reaching for yours without thinking. As your Lexington family photographer, I’m there to notice the pieces of your life that already say so much about who you are together, and turn them into pictures that feel like your family, not like a version of you made for the camera.
For families in Lexington who are creating a slower, more intentional life
Kind Words
"Michelle's ability to capture and romanticize the un-posed realness of family photos is what makes her work unique, timeless, and priceless. Her photos are beautiful, and she has the ability to come into a home and put everyone at ease for an enjoyable experience (which for family photos with a baby and toddler is no small feat). We will always cherish our pictures and look forward to getting updated photos with Michelle as our family continues to grow!"
- Lisa M Prospect, KY
1. Say Hello
Once you reach out, we’ll talk through what family life looks like right now, the little details you already know you’ll want to remember, and how you hope these pictures will feel years from now. From there, everything is planned around your home, your people, and the everyday moments you want to keep.
Before your session, we’ll plan what everyone will wear, where we’ll photograph, and what parts of your home or outdoor space feel most like your family. Your house doesn’t need to be spotless or beautifully updated. As long as we have natural light, we just need the places where your family already gathers and feels most like themselves.
2. Planning the Details
Your session has room for your children to play, wander, come close, run off, and be exactly who they are. We’ll move through the places that are familiar, inside, outside, on the porch, around the yard, with the animals, and through the little things that already hold so much of your family life.
3. Your Family Session
A few weeks after your session, your gallery will arrive ready to view at home. This is where you’ll go through the pictures together, choose your favorites, and start deciding which ones you want printed, framed, or turned into an album for your home.
4. Your Gallery Arrives
Instead of staying tucked away on a phone, these pictures become part of the home your children grow up in, hanging near the places they run through every day, beside the shoes by the door, and filling the albums you’ll pull out when they want to relive their childhood.
5. Your Pictures As Artwork
The way your session unfolds
For The pictures they'll return to for years
For the walls your children grow up looking at
The pictures hanging on your walls and tucked into your albums become part of what your children see and return to over the years. They grow up seeing themselves surrounded by the people who love them, reminded of the family they belong to. A daily reminder that they have always been loved and always belonged.
I'll help you every step of the way
I'll help you choose the albums, wall galleries, and prints that fit your home, becoming part of loud family dinners, crayon drawings on the fridge, and the everyday life your children grow up surrounded by, reminding them every day of the people who love them most.
No, your house doesn’t need to be perfect for me to come over.
You don’t need to deep clean, hide the toys, or make every room look like it belongs on a Pinterest board. I really just need a window of good light. I’ll find the spots that work best, move what needs moving, and work with the home you’re already living in.
Portfolio
Lexington KY Family Photography
Year of Life Collection
Choose 2-4 sessions to remember more
One day you'll notice how much has changed
Your newborn will soon be sitting at the table, taking first steps across the living room, and reaching for your hand instead of being carried in your arms.
Through two, three, or four sessions over 18 months, the Life in a Year Collection documents the many little chapters that make up your family's story.
Family Session Investment
Lexington KY Family Photography
A family session that includes thoughtful planning before, gentle direction during, and help afterward with the pictures you want printed for your home.
- Planning and preparation support
- Outfit guidance for the whole family
- An in-home family session
- Professional editing of your images
- A private online gallery
- Album design and ordering support
- Optional hair and makeup coordination
Session Fee: $300
This includes your date secured on the calendar and all preparation beforehand. Albums and digital images are purchased separately. All in, families typically plan to invest $1000+
Kind Words
“Michelle is a great photographer. The whole process to schedule and arrange everything was so easy and she got such great shots of our family, especially our toddler. 10/10 would recommend and plan on booking her again in the future 100%.”
- Jennifer L. Louisville, KY
From the blog
Most family photo sessions with me run about an hour, though there’s no strict clock. It might be shorter if your kids warm up quickly, or longer if we need a few minutes for a snack break, a feeding, or a shy toddler to settle in. I’d rather slow down and let real moments happen than rush to get the shots within a set amount of time.
I love fall in Louisville, and in my opinion the best fall activities in Louisville are Huber’s Orchard & Winery for pumpkin picking, Boo at the Zoo for Halloween fun, and a walk (or drive) through Cherokee Park for foliage. Fall color usually peaks here around the third week of October, and the most family-friendly events cluster into a handful of weekends, so plan earlier than you think you need to.
Six month photos catch your baby right at the sweet spot — sitting up, full of personality, giggly, and not yet mobile enough to squirm out of frame. Tucked between the newborn haze and the whirlwind of a first birthday, this milestone session captures a stage of your baby you’ll be so glad you slowed down for.
My mini sessions are short, five-to-ten-minute studio sessions with three edited images, perfect for a quick portrait update or holiday cards. Full sessions give you unlimited time, full wardrobe planning, and a complete custom gallery, and it’s the better fit for documenting an actual milestone like a newborn, maternity, or family season. If you’re just looking for a quick refresh, go mini. If you want the whole story told, book a full session.
Wondering if your house is “nice enough” for in-home photos? Here’s the honest answer, plus exactly what to clean (and what to skip) before your session.
Extended family photos are one of the most requested sessions I photograph, and also one of the most postponed. Everyone wants them. Almost nobody starts planning them early enough. If you’ve got a gathering on the horizon and you’re trying to figure out how to actually make a session happen, here’s the honest truth: the session itself is the easy part. Getting four or five families to agree on a date is where most people underestimate the timeline.
Something to read from the porch swing
Frequently asked questions
What does an Lexington in-home family session look like?
We’ll strike a balance between posing you so you look fabulous and letting things unfold naturally so we capture the real you. Your job is simply to show up ready to love on your people and let me do the worrying. Kids are much more themselves when no one is trying to make them follow every direction, so the pressure is off. If there are things you love doing together, like cooking or reading, we can include those too. And if you’re looking for snuggles, giggles, and the beautiful mess of everyday life, that’s exactly what we’ll document.
Where do family photography sessions take place in Lexington?
Family sessions can take place in your home, outside, around your yard, on your porch, or in a Lexington location that feels familiar to your family. The best place is usually somewhere your children can move, play, and settle into themselves without feeling like they have to perform for the camera.
What if my kids don’t sit still for pictures?
They don’t need to sit still the whole time. Children don’t want to pose for photos, they want to play, and that’s exactly what we’ll do. Your session will look like playing, wandering, snuggling, taking breaks, and warming up slowly. I’ll gently guide you when needed, but your children are allowed (and encouraged!) to be themselves.
Does my house need to be picture-perfect for an in-home Family session?
Not at all. Your home doesn't need to be beautifully updated, spotless, or Pinterest-perfect. We only need a little natural light and the people you love most. These Lexington KY Family sessions are about documenting your family and the life you're living together, not showing off your house.
Lexington KY Family Photography
