Documentary (Candid) Family Photography Session Ideas
Ideas for a Candid Family Photo Session
There’s no need to come up with a long list of activities for your family photo session. In fact, I’d much rather photograph the things you already enjoy doing together than have you come up with a bunch of activities just because you’re having pictures taken.
I offer three session lengths: up to one hour, up to three hours, and up to six hours. The more time we have together, the more of your day we can document. A one-hour session might focus on one activity or a small piece of your everyday life, while a three- or six-hour session gives us room to move through several activities, locations, and rhythms of your day.
Think of the ideas below as a little inspiration to get you thinking—not a checklist. Every family is different, and every family has its own particular collection of things they love to do together. Those are the things I want to photograph.
Start at Home
Your house is my very favorite location.
You don't have to go anywhere for a great family photo session. Some of my favorite photographs happen in backyards and living rooms, doing things you probably wouldn't think twice about on an ordinary day.
Play in the backyard
Let the kids do what they normally do outside. That might mean:
Playing on the play structure
Running through the sprinkler
Blowing bubbles
Water play with buckets, cups, or the hose
Gardening or picking flowers
Playing with the dogs
Riding bikes or scooters
Throwing a ball
Digging in the dirt
Chasing each other around the yard
You don't need to organize these activities into a schedule. If the kids naturally move from bubbles to the play structure to bothering the dog, that's exactly what we should photograph.
Hang in the Kitchen
The kitchen is the heart of the house. Hang out as a family in the kitchen, maybe:
Baking project
Making pancakes/waffles/ice cream sundaes
Making dinner
Do something you actually enjoy together
If the Marta train is a current obsession, then let’s do that.
A family session can be a great excuse to spend a few hours doing something fun together. Go somewhere you'd go anyway. The fact that I'll be there with a camera doesn't mean you need to create an experience specifically for your photos.
Depending on your family, that could be:
A morning at the zoo
An afternoon at the pool
Exploring a museum
Getting ice cream
Going to the playground
Running errands together
Grocery shopping
A Target trip
Getting coffee or breakfast
Visiting a favorite neighborhood spot
There is something really wonderful about photographing a family doing something ordinary outside the house. I get to see the way your kids interact with you, the little routines you've developed, who runs ahead, who hangs back, and all of those tiny moments that wouldn't happen if we were simply standing together and smiling at the camera.
Follow the Kids
Sometimes the best plan is to have no plan at all.
If your kids are really into drawing, let's draw. If they want to build a fort, build a fort. If they spend an hour jumping off the couch, that's probably worth documenting. If your teenager wants to take you on a walk around the neighborhood, let's go.
The things your family is obsessed with right now are worth paying attention to because they won't always be the things they love.
That might be a particular board game, a favorite stuffed animal, making elaborate Lego creations, dancing in the kitchen, reading the same book every night, or whatever completely random thing your child has decided is the best thing in the world.
That's the stuff I want to document for you!
Let the day unfold
One of the biggest advantages of a longer session is that we don't have to rush.
With an hour, we might choose one or two things to focus on. With three hours, we can settle in and let the session move through a few different activities. With six hours, we can document a much bigger piece of your day—the transitions, the downtime, the meals, the outings, the chaos, and the quiet moments in between.
And honestly, those in-between moments are often my favorites.
So don't worry about keeping everyone entertained for the entire time I'm there. You don't need a three-hour itinerary. You don't even need everyone together the whole time.
Maybe one kid is outside while another is reading on the couch. Maybe someone needs a snack. Maybe Dad takes the dog for a walk. Maybe everyone ends up in the kitchen together. Let it happen.
Your family doesn't have to do anything special
This is probably the most important thing I can tell you.
I don't want you to pretend to do things for a photograph.
If you don't normally have family dance parties, you don't need to start having them because I'm coming. If your kids hate baking, please don't decide we're all going to bake cookies. And if your family spends Saturday mornings eating pancakes in pajamas and arguing over whose turn it is to pick the TV show, that's what I want to see.
My job is to find the beauty in your version of family life.
So use these ideas to get the wheels turning, but don't feel like you need to choose from this list. Think about what your family actually enjoys doing together, what your kids are into right now, and what a really good day with your people looks like.
That's where we'll start. And then we'll see where the day takes us.
I hope this helps get some ideas for our session together—or helps you decide to plan nothing at all. And just give me a shout if you want to talk about our plan!
Interested in more than one session? Explore a Year in the Life Here.