When planning your family session you stress about outfits, cleaning your home, getting everyone to the location without any blowouts, mysteriously stained clothes, and if the kiddos will cooperate. Often times you completely miss out on planning the FUN parts of your session! Your family photos should feel like your individual family when you look at them. You should be able to look back on those photos once the toddlers are high schoolers and don’t need you as much and feel like you’re back in those days. You should be able to look at those images and remember their laughter, the messes everywhere all the time, and look back on it with love- because those days aren’t here anymore.
So, you may be wondering what you need to do to get that feeling from your images. Let’s dive in!
- If your kiddos love being outside- do your session at your favorite park to hike at!
2. Cook your favorite meal together! Pizza, breakfast, make cookies- you name it! Have a little food fight in the middle of it even! (Sorry mom 🙈)
3. If it’s a morning time session, make lattes and breakfast together! This an easy one to do for newborn photos too!
4. Go on a walk around your neighborhood! Get out the bikes, and scooters, and get outside!
5. Do a family fun day at the beach! Big Creek, Lake Red Rock, or Greys lake are all good and easy beach spots to get to!
6. Go to a local Ice Cream shop to end your session! My little family is going on an Ice Cream Crawl this summer so I’ll have some good ideas on places to go!
7. Do bath time! This is more for babies and toddlers- but littles loooove bath time! Put them in a swim diaper or make the tub really sudsy and soak in those giggles!
8. Play a game! A physical game- card or board- is fun to get all those giggles out!
9. Make a blanket fort! These are core memories, and so fun and bonding!
10. Go to your favorite coffee shop! Those kids’ lattes are ALWAYS gonna be a hint!
11. Have a campfire and make s’mores! Set up some patio lights, and get a fire going! (I’m an expert fire starter 🤣)
12. Having your photos in your home and backyard automatically makes your photos more personal!