Family times are great opportunities to take memorable photos. You don’t always have to go overboard to find moments or try too hard to pose. Follow one rule, and everyone should have a lot of fun. Your images will turn out excellent. Here are a few family photo ideas to help you out –
1. Standing all together
The simplest of family photo ideas to work on. This one is easy to try, and it works every time. Just have everyone stand together.
2. The group hug
This pose will only work when you’re photographing a smaller group. Say a mom, a dad, and two children at the most. The hug needs to look natural. Remember, you’re looking to capture real emotions and not artificial ones. You could also include a family pet to make things interesting.
3. Sitting down
Probably the second-most simplest of poses to try. Have your group sit down and look at the camera.
4. Find an interesting background
I mentioned standing together for a very simple family photo. That’s the easy thing to do. Finding an interesting background is the next step forward. Find an interesting background that you can incorporate into your composition and repeat the pose.
5. Walking
If you can have the group moving in a slow coordinated walk, that can make for an exciting image. The group is doing something together rather than sitting down. Make sure to make things interesting.
6. Running together
Speaking of making things interesting, there’s this activity which you can always ask your group to do – running together. It’s fun, invokes positive responses, and always results in a lot of laughter.
7. Running together on the beach
If you live very close to the beach, or you can at least make this happen, take the group to a beach for a day’s outing. It will be a lot of fun for the family, especially if there are children in the group. One of the poses you can ask the group is to have them run together on the beach. As I mentioned at the start the primary goal of all family photo ideas is to make sure that everyone has a lot of fun.
8. Jumping with joy
I love this pose. It’s coordinated and always results in laughter and fun, and most of the groups I have asked to perform this have enjoyed it thoroughly. Ask your group to hold hands, maybe not, and jump in the air on a count of three.
9. Three generations in one photo
I had the privilege of capturing four generations and one photograph. It was such a fantastic photographer and one for the entire family to 4 Cortanasavor for years to come. If you do have the privilege of having at least three generations of family members in the photograph, by all means, go ahead and do that.
10. Backlighting
Backlighting as a technique is something that I prefer to do quite often. Backlighting is also a favorite among a lot of photographers who shoot outdoors. It’s used by portrait photographers, engagement photographers, and even Nature photographers. The result is always subtle soft lighting that produces beautiful, uniformly lit portrait photos.
11. Mom, daughters, and granddaughters
This is a creative way to group the genders. You can have the mum, the daughters, and the granddaughters posing together as a gender group, which is fun because the girls would love to have a group photo of their own.
12. Dad, sons, and grandsons
But you can also return the favor to the boys for being the perfect gentlemen. So you have another group that comprises the father, the sons, and the grandsons.
13. Ask only the kids to pose
In one of the frames, you can ask only the kids to pose. It’s a lovely photograph of only the kids in the family.
14. Only the sisters
If you’re blessed with more than one daughter, you can have them all pose together in one frame. It’s one precious image of only the daughters in the family.
15. Only the brothers
Similarly, you can ask all the boys in the family to pose together in one photograph.
16. Kid holding parents’ hand and leading
I love the idea of a small child holding hands with a parent and leading him. It’s probably best served with natural light, especially during the golden hour.
17. Hug mom
We can take that basic hug pose and take it forward by asking the mom and the children to pose together.
18. Hug dad
You can have the children pose with the dad and repeat the same image this time.
19. Hands wrapping
This is yet another of my favorite family photo ideas. You can ask the dad and the mum to place their hands so that they are wrapping each other. Finally, you can sneak in the hands of the child (or her tiny feet) inside the wrap.
20. Family photo ideas with older siblings and newborn
If there’s a newborn in the family, you can ask the older sibling to pose with the newborn.
21. Brothers fist bumping
There’s nothing like a brotherly bond. Fiercely competitive and yet full of love for each other. There is no better way to commemorate than clicking a picture of two brothers fist-bumping.
22. Dad and son fist bumping
If there is a stronger bond than the one between brothers, then it’s the bond between father and son. I also like the fist-bumping picture between a father and son as a great way to celebrate that.
23. Older sibling kissing the belly of her pregnant mother
This is a beautiful picture of an expecting mother and her older child. There are a million different ways to picturise this moment. So, feel free to run with your imagination.
24. Family photo ideas playing an outdoor sport
Always a great image to work with. Especially when you’re outdoors and have a family enjoying being together.
25. Mom and dad hugging each other
A classic image, especially if there are toddlers in the family. You can ask them to kiss while their children try not to look or giggle.
26. Dad and son arm wrestling with grandfather looking over
In this image, the grandfather poses as the referee as the father and the son try out their arm power. All in good fun.
27. Father lifting the child in the air
This is one thing that my daughter still asks me to do, except she is 12 now! Some children love this others are scared. So, it is better to ask the father to do something like this only later in the session.
28. The whole family spending time in the snow
Winters are a great time to shoot outdoor photos with the whole family. Making a snowman, playing Castle Defence, or simply goofing in the fresh snow. Opportunities are plenty.
29. Father piggybacking daughter with mom looking over
Something I have done plenty of times. It’s always fun to give your daughter a piggyback ride and have someone take a picture of that moment. That’s one for the wall.
30. Mom and dad lift the child into the air
How about the mom joining in and lending her hand? Mom and dad holding the child in the air. The ultimate ride!
31. Full-length portrait of the entire family with descending height
Have them all line up in the usual way, except that this time they will stand in descending order of their heights. Sounds fun? Try the other way round as well.
32. Choose the right outfit
Choosing the right outfits for family photos can help you make better photos. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in, but dress for the occasion. If it’s a family photo that involves in-laws wearing something modest makes sense. If it’s an intimate photo with your significant other, choose whatever you want to see yourself in.
33. Newborn sleeping on dad’s chest
Such a tender moment. The best way is to have the mom put the baby to sleep and then ask the father to hold her over his chest gently. You can use props like the ones I discussed on baby photography ideas. But that’s not mandatory.
34. Parents reading a book to a child
Always a great way to capture a beautiful family moment. It’s simple, and it always works.
35. Mom and dad are sitting down with children in their arms
An excellent and cozy family photo idea. This works if the children are toddlers or younger. Works both indoors and outdoors.
36. Granddaughter with grandparents
A beautiful moment when grandparents meet their grandchildren.
37. Dad and son piggybacking on grandfather’s shoulders
This is a trick shot. You need to find an alleviated tool or a bench and then use your creative genius to compose the shot believably.
38. Son, father, and grandfather holding picture frames to their faces
This is a cliched pose, but I like it very much and couldn’t stop myself from recommending it. Use your imagination and find exciting ways to use the props.
39. The whole family prepares food in the kitchen
A family that eats together stays together. What about a family that enjoys cooking together? It is a great way to showcase their shared love for food and the joy of being together.
40. Dad and grandfather holding son’s legs upside down
This is a fun shot. Hopefully, the dad and the granddad are up to the challenge. Take the necessary precautions and do this carefully.
41. Mom and daughter cooking in the kitchen
Another tender moment. A mum teaches her culinary secrets to her daughter.
42. Father and son making barbecue
What better way to enjoy a winter afternoon than to have an old-fashioned barbeque with your dad? Make this a simple yet classy shoot with the use of good lighting.
43. Granddaughter kissing grandma
Grandmums are the delight of any household. She is the source of all bedtime stories, old songs, and family photos that are a century old. What better what to cherish our love for them than to plant a kiss on their cheek and say, “I love you.” Make sure you capture the moment excellently.
44. Mom and dad kissing a child at the same time
While this is a great way to capture a tender family moment. The best way to capture this moment is to make sure that the child is giggling. And there you have the best image for your picture wall.
45. Siblings kissing their mum at the same time
Just a slight variation of the above pose. This will only work if at least two children are in the family. Ask them to kiss their mum at the same time. Works great both indoors and outdoors. But I’d prefer an outdoor shot with golden light.
If you don’t have a golden light, you can always add that effect to your images using Colorcinch.
Step 1 – Navigate to Colorcinch.
Step 2 – Upload the image using the Upload button.
Step 3 – Click on Overlays.
Step 4 – Select Light Leaks.
Step 5 – Choose the effect that you feel is appropriate.
Step 6 – Click Apply so that the changes take effect.
Step 7 – Don’t forget to click Save to have a copy of the edited image downloaded to your computer or saved in the cloud.
46. Teaching their children to ride
It’s a beautiful time when parents are teaching their children to ride. It’s not only about riding a bike, but it’s about taking the first steps towards personal independence. A moment worthy of being captured and savored for life.
47. Pillow fight
If you’re having trouble warming up your family for a photo shoot, this is the best technique, ask the children to start a pillow fight! You will get them all charged up and ready to move mountains. On the downside, a couple of pillows will be wasted. But that’s alright.
48. Find a muddy puddle
George loves muddy puddles. And so do we! They can be ugly and obnoxious and a nightmare for mums (sorry, mums). But they’re a good deal of fun to jump up and down and make some perfect photos of how to enjoy your childhood. Don’t you like muddy puddles? Ok, you still have 49 other ideas to work with.
49. Bring in the family pet
Another of my favorite family photo ideas. You can’t keep your pets away from any family shoot. They’re an integral part of the family and deserve to be on every family photo. However, working with them requires special skills and loads of patience. It will help if you’re a pet lover and can handle them to a degree. Else, you will need the assistance of the family members.
50. Christmas
It’s the best time of the year to take family photos. And there are hundreds and thousands of ideas that you can explore. But I love doing something Christmas-themed; and hopefully funny.
