How to Take Your Own Family Pictures: 10 Easy Photo Tips

Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a professional photographer following your family around 24/7, ready to capture every funny, beautiful, and unexpected moment?

That's probably not realistic for most of us.

Thankfully, most of us carry a pretty amazing little camera in our pockets every day.

Your phone.

Your phone isn't going to replace professional family photography, but it doesn't need to. Professional photography captures important milestones and creates beautiful finished artwork, while your phone allows you to document all those little everyday moments happening in between.

And those everyday photographs matter too.

As a family photographer, I believe one of the best things you can do is simply take more pictures of the people you love, and make sure you're in some of them too.

Here are some simple ways to take better family pictures with your phone.

1. Change Your Perspective

One of the easiest ways to make your pictures more interesting is to stop taking every photograph while standing at your normal height.

If you're photographing children, get down to their level.

Sit on the floor. Kneel in the sand. Photograph them from above while they're playing. Get close and capture the little details.

Changing your perspective can completely change the feeling of a photograph.

When photographing children especially, getting down to their eye level can make the image feel much more personal and connected.

2. Pay Attention to Your Background

Before you take the picture, look behind your subject.

Is there a trash can growing out of someone's head?

A pile of laundry?

A bright sign pulling your attention away from your child?

Sometimes moving yourself or your subject just a few feet can dramatically improve the photograph.

This is something professional photographers are constantly thinking about.

We're not only looking at the person we're photographing—we're looking at everything around them.

3. Use Natural Light Whenever Possible

Good lighting can make a huge difference in your photographs.

When you're indoors, look for window light.

Instead of placing your child in the middle of a dark room, move them closer to a window and watch how the light changes their face.

You usually don't need complicated lighting equipment to photograph everyday family moments.

Sometimes you just need to find the best light already available.

4. Avoid Harsh Midday Sun When You Can

Bright overhead sunlight can create strong shadows under eyes, noses, and chins.

If you're taking family pictures outside during the middle of the day, look for open, even shade.

You might find it beside a building, under a covered porch, or beneath an area where the light is soft and consistent.

Be careful with patchy shade under trees because little spots of sunlight can create distracting bright areas across faces.

Overcast days can also be wonderful for pictures because cloud cover often creates softer light.

5. Capture Candid Family Moments

Not every family photograph needs everyone standing in a row looking directly at the camera.

Some of my favorite photographs come from interaction.

Ask your kids to hug each other.

Have Dad chase the kids.

Let everyone walk together.

Ask your child to tell Mom something funny.

Photograph your family baking cookies, playing a game, walking along the beach, reading together, or doing something they genuinely enjoy.

You can create the opportunity for a moment without completely controlling what happens.

Then watch for the real reaction.

That's where the magic often happens.

6. Tell a Story With Your Pictures

Instead of taking only one photograph, try taking several that tell the entire story.

Imagine your children are building a sandcastle on Navarre Beach.

Start with a wider photograph showing the kids and the beach.

Then get closer and photograph their faces.

Capture little hands covered in sand.

Photograph the seashells they've collected.

Then step back and capture the finished sandcastle.

Those photographs together tell much more of the story than one perfectly posed picture.

7. Take Family Pictures Around Sunset

If you're taking pictures at the beach, the time of day matters.

The light around sunrise and sunset is often softer and more flattering than strong midday sunlight.

And here along Florida's Gulf Coast, sunset can give us some beautiful skies.

If you're taking your own Navarre Beach family pictures, arrive early enough that you're not racing the sun.

Take photographs as the light changes rather than waiting for one exact moment.

Also remember that beaches can be windy. Hair ties, clips, and a brush can be helpful—especially if you have several family members with long hair.

8. Try Shooting Through or Around Objects

You can add depth to photographs by placing something in the foreground.

For example, you might photograph through leaves, flowers, a doorway, or another safe object near your camera.

Keep your subject in focus while allowing the foreground to become softer.

You don't need to do this for every picture, but experimenting with layers can make some of your everyday photographs more interesting.

9. Take More Than One Picture

Children move.

People blink.

Someone looks away.

That's normal.

Instead of expecting one photograph to be perfect, take several pictures during the moment.

But don't spend so much time staring at your phone that you miss what's actually happening.

Take a few photographs—and then put the phone down and enjoy it.

10. Use the Self-Timer and GET IN THE PICTURE

This may be the most important tip in this entire article.

Get in your family pictures.

Most phones have a timer feature. Prop your phone somewhere secure or use a small tripod, set the timer, and get into the photograph.

Don't worry about whether you've lost weight.

Don't wait until your hair is perfect.

Don't wait until you're wearing the perfect outfit.

And don't tell yourself you'll do it next time.

Your children aren't going to look back at those photographs years from now and critique the things you're criticizing about yourself today.

They're going to see Mom.

You're part of your family's story.

Make sure you're in the pictures too.

How Do You Take Good Family Pictures With a Phone?

If you remember nothing else from this article, remember these basics:

Find good light. Clean up your background. Get closer. Change your perspective. Photograph interaction instead of forcing every pose. Take several pictures. And get yourself in some of them.

You don't need a professional camera to document everyday life.

The camera you actually use is far more valuable than the expensive camera sitting in a closet.

Can You Take Your Own Beach Family Pictures?

Absolutely.

If you're vacationing in Navarre Beach, there's nothing wrong with taking plenty of your own pictures while you're here.

Photograph your children playing in the sand. Take pictures while you're exploring. Capture sunsets, silly moments, meals together, and all the things that make the vacation memorable.

Those pictures tell the everyday story of your trip.

However, there's one problem families often discover when they get home:

One person is missing from almost every picture.

Usually it's the person who was taking them.

That's one of the reasons a professional family session can be such a meaningful addition to a family vacation. Everyone gets to be in the photographs together.

When Should You Hire a Professional Family Photographer?

Your phone is wonderful for everyday memories.

A professional photographer can be especially valuable when you want photographs of everyone together or you're celebrating something you don't want to leave to chance.

That could include an extended-family vacation, anniversary, first birthday, maternity session, senior year, engagement, wedding, or simply the rare occasion when your whole family is together.

Professional photography also gives you something that's difficult to create when you're simultaneously trying to be the photographer and part of the family.

You get to be present in the moment.

Someone else can worry about the light, location, composition, posing, camera settings, and getting everyone into the photograph.

You can simply be with your family.

Family Photography in Navarre Beach, Florida

At Inspired By You Photography, I photograph families throughout Navarre, Navarre Beach, Pensacola Beach, Gulf Breeze, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, and surrounding Florida Gulf Coast communities.

I especially love photographing families who are visiting the area together because vacations create so many opportunities for genuine memories.

So keep taking those everyday phone pictures.

Take hundreds of them.

But every once in a while, hand the responsibility to someone else and make sure you're in the story too.

If you're visiting the area and searching for a Navarre Beach family photographer, I'd love to help capture your entire family together.

If you are ever interested in booking a fun photo session with me please Click here! I would love to help you capture precious moments with your family and friends.