Last time you tried to get your family photographed at the mall studio your littlest hurled THE.ENTIRE.TIME.
It was rough. It was a disaster.
You are not doing THAT ever again.
I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t either.
Your family portraits don’t need to be forced on your little ones.
Family photography should be about spending time together, going on adventures, playing, laughing and having FUN – all while capturing REAL memories that you will LOVE looking back on.
I am a family photographer who loves to photograph families in their home, but I know a lot of people would prefer to do something else, or wonder about what I would photograph for 90 minutes + in their “boring” regular lives. So, I put together a list of 50+ ideas for your next portrait session.
Have more ideas? Please leave a comment below and I’ll add them to the list!
IDEAS FOR PHOTOGRAPHING FAMILY AT HOME
- Family playtime – let’s do all your favourite family activities!
- Tickle war
- Reading stories
- Baking your favourite cookies, letting the kids really get their hands, and probably everything else, DIRTY!
- Painting together (paint brushes optional!)
- Bubble bath (your tub and a whole lotta bubbles! we can accessorize with goggles or snorkelling gear!)
- Learning how to ride a bike
- Family dance party
- Saturday morning routine – from breakfast to nap time and everything you do in between
- Morning routine. bed head, breakfast and bath. bring it.
- Craft time, the messier, the better!
- SUPERHERO costume day! try them ALL On!
- Playing dress-up & a tea party
- Getting a pet? Let me be there to capture the look of shock and happiness on your little one’s face!
- 5 little monkeys jumping on the bed…or even just one or two, however many you’ve got will do.
- Day in the Life (4+ hours of capturing your family on a regular day)
- Naptime adorableness, because they are so so cute when they sleep
- Playing instruments together
- Favourite card & board games
- Moving? Let’s celebrate the end of a chapter in your current home
- Walk, aka adventure, through the neighbourhood
Crazy stuff we do with our kids before they get too big and heavy:
OUT AND ABOUT: FAMILIES ON THE GO
- A trip to your favourite ice cream parlour, the more sprinkles the better…
- A trip to the Montreal Biodome
- First train ride for your train lover
- Trip to the library
- Trip to the farm
- Apple Picking
- Exploring the streets of the old port or downtown
- A day at the zoo – capturing your little one’s eyes lighting up as they see the animals!
- Getting your first fish from the pet shop
- Going Fishing
Bowling:
Collecting Pokemon:
SUMMER
- Backyard bonfire and roasting marshmallows
- Backyard camping
- Splashing in the lake
- Family picnic, with a blanket a basket and all the picnic trimmings!
- Backyard fun – swimming, swinging, making bubbles and kicking the ball around
- Feeding ducks at the lake
- Hiking through the local wooded trails
- Front porch family time
- A trip to the beach
- Trampoline!
- Strawberry Picking
WINTER FAMILY MEMORIES TO CAPTURE
- Building a snowman, family style
- Snowball fight
- Making snow angels
- Dancing in the falling snow
- Building a fort
- Backyard skating rink
- Snow day sessions can end indoors with a nice cup of hot cocoa topped with everyone’s fav, marshmallows!
SPRING
- Dancing in the rain
- A trip to the Apple Orchard, where the trees are in full bloom and the animals are waiting
CELEBRATING YOUR CHILD’S BIRTHDAY
- Birthday celebration – capturing all your little one’s favourite things on their birthday, right through to icing the cake and licking the spoon
- Birthday balloon surprise! Surprise your child by having a room filled with balloons waiting for them when they wake up! We can have a morning breakfast party!
GENERATIONS
- Picking up your beloved family member from the airport
- Hanging our with Grandma & Grandpa
- Playing cards with grandparents
- Looking through old photographs together
The best time to do this is now, before life gets in the way.