10 Fun Family Photo Ideas

10 Fun Family Photo Ideas

I’ve used most of the ideas below successfully during family photo shoots.

1. Let kids play.

Sometimes it’s fun to just let kids play and capture some in-the-moment activity.

2. Focus on one individual.

Focus on one person.  Everyone else in the photo can look at or interact with that person.  This can make for great images to incorporate into a family photo album.

3. Have families interact together.

Having the family interact together can make for some great, more candid looking shots.

4. Involve everyone in a game.

I like to have people pretend to be in a photo booth and pose at the count of 3.  This is often a fun activity and some of the best shots are the in-between moments.

5. Everyone walks together.

Shoot action shots of everyone walking together.  Usually towards the camera works best, but sometimes away or in a different direction can work too.

6. Kids running towards camera.

This can be a lot of fun for the kids.  Sometimes I vary it by putting parents out of focus in the background, or just walking slowly behind.

7. Ask everyone to look at each other.

Having families look at each other instead of at the camera tends to work well because their expressions can be more natural and shows their connection.  This can also lead to laughter, which can be fun and looks great in photos.

8. Let the kids take a stab at posing parents.

I haven’t tried this one yet, but it sounds fun and a great way to make the kids feel more involved.

9. Use a prop.

Sometimes using a stuffed animal or toy to get the children to look and possibly even laugh, is necessary.

10. Have someone whisper a secret.

This can be cute with kids, but can also work well for adults.  Having one person tell the other a private joke can lead to some great expressions.

If your interested in booking a session with me, fill out the form on my contact page. 

Photo Shoot Locations 2

Photo Shoot Locations 2

In order to get more familiar with Austin and to find some good photography locations, I’ve been scouting around different parks and other areas.  This is my second post about photo shoot locations.  My first post, titled Photo Shoot Locations was written back in April.

The Photo above was taken in Wimberly at Cypress Creek Nature Preserve.  This spot has a lot of trees, which is great for two reasons.  First, it provides nice color for a backdrop and second, the shade can be helpful when the sun is harsh. I prefer to shoot closer to sunset, or earlier in the morning, but that doesn’t always work out.  So it’s nice to have shady options

On the topic of shade, Garrison Park (top left) also provides much of that.  There are some trails, a building with restrooms and a few benches around as well.  Having a bathroom nearby is also nice, not only for the obvious reasons.  It’s handy to have a place to change clothes if that’s something that is desired.  This park is located on Manchaga Road.

Big Stacy Park (bottom left) is located in Travis Heights, not far from the I-35. This park has some really nice trees and a few benches.  Having a place to sit can be useful for portraits if you don’t want to sit on the ground or stand in every shot.

Both parks don’t seem saturated with people and I think it’s just because they are fairly small neighborhood parks.  Of course the weekend could bring in people, but I have a feeling it’s still not bad.  Having less people around is definitely a benefit when shooting portraits.  The biggest reason for that is being able to find a place to shoot that doesn’t have people in the background.

That’s it for this round of locations. Stay tuned for more in the future.