Family pictures are a must for any family. Whether you get them done by a local photographer or set up self timer with an iPhone, they freeze time for just a second so you can look back and remember special years or specific moments as a family. 


Personally, I am very passionate about providing affordable family photography because I understand how quickly life changes. The years fly by so quickly and photography is the only magical power that can pause and capture time forever!


In this post, I want to help you prepare for your own family photoshoot. If you are still looking to book a photographer, learn a little about me and contact me to see if we’d be a good fit!

What to Wear for Family Photos


When you are preparing an entire family to take family pictures, you definitely want to make sure there is an overall cohesive style for the photos. Whether you have two members of your family or 10, choosing what each person will wear can be a little challenging.


In a previous post, What to Wear for Family Photos, I gave some tips on what to wear (and not to wear) to family shoots. While some people choose to have every family member wear the same outfit, others may want diversity while also “matching.” 


Here are some of my top choices when deciding how to dress your family for photos:

  • Find something comfortable: if they are not comfortable, it will show on camera
  • Find something that won’t pick a fight: either dress all the kids alike, or the entire family
  • One or two common colors: find one or two colors that are the same in every outfit. Maybe Dad will wear a baby blue shirt while a child wears baby blue shoes or a pink dress with baby blue flowers.
  • Stay neutral: if colors overwhelm you, stay neutral with whites, tans, blacks or grays. They always match and look nice no matter where you are!


Whatever you do, don’t spend a million dollars on all new outfits for the family. While it may be tempting, remember that photos are designed to capture the personality of your family and who they really are – especially if the kids will never wear those outfits again.


Family Photo Poses


Posing your family to be “picture perfect” can be intimidating. But the key to a perfect photo is not necessarily the posing, it’s capturing your family in their most comfortable and genuine expressions.


Of course every family wants the classing “looking at the camera” kind of pose. For these kinds of poses, I recommend both a standing photo and sitting photo. Some tips for these posed images include:

  • Place parents in the middle and children around
  • Make sure everyone is close enough to touch another person (no gaps)
  • Parents sitting in middle and kids sitting around 
  • Parents standing outside of kids while kids stand in middle


As a family photographer, my favorite family photos are those that show genuine expressions. Some of my favorite prompts for families to create theses are:

  • Look and laugh: tell the family to “look and laugh” and the person who… (fill in the blank with something funny)
  • Walk and talk: have the family line up and walk toward the camera while talking to each other (tell jokes or discuss mom’s cooking)
  • Play: with little kids, their most joyful expressions come through play. Parents can throw their little ones up in the air or kids can play tag while running around their parents.
  • “Act Natural”: I had one family who wanted a photo of what the family looks like every day: on their phones. We had all the kids hop on their smartphone and the parents loved it! 


When posing with families, I always try to get some kind of movement in the photos, whether that’s kid’s running and skipping or girls spinning in their princess dresses. The key is to actually play and have fun, and laugh with each other along the way!


Best Places to Take Photos Near Detroit

The best places to take photos near Detroit, in my opinion, are parks. There are so many parks around Detroit, and it’s hard to go wrong with choosing one! I usually try to choose parks that have a special element to them, like water, bridges, or lots of flowers.


Some of my favorite places to take family pictures near Detroit are:

  • George George Memorial Park in Clinton Township, MI: this park has multiple bridges and specific locations designed with photography in mind.
  • River Bends Park in Shelby Township: This park is large, which makes it a good option for finding a free spot to take photos. However, the best locations require a little bit of a hike to get to. It has a few bridges and a river running through the entire park.
  • Lake St. Clair Metro Park: This park is beautiful at sunset. If you want beachy photos, this is the place to go! Keep in mind, though, it does have an entrance fee to get into the park if you don’t have a Metro Park Pass.

If you have a newborn or a very young baby, you may also want to consider in-home sessions. In-home sessions are great to capture genuine moments of you and your family in your natural habitat, while also being convenient for your baby if they were to need anything like an outfit change, a feeding or just a nap while other family members are in the spotlight. Learn more about my newborn photography sessions on my website.

Book Your Michigan Family Photographer


If you have not booked your Michigan family photographer yet, don’t worry! I may still have availability to work with you and your family. Check out my family photography page to learn about my photography packages as well as check out some of my recent work.


I love working with families and would be honored to be invited to work with yours! I believe in affordable photography that serves the family so they can create memories and photograph special moments in their journey.

Contact me today with any questions or to check availability.