7 Unique Ways To Shoot Family Photographs

Getting your family together for a photo shoot is no easy task. There are disgruntled partners, restless children, and nearly everyone is complaining that you did the exact same photo shoot last year.

Well yes, maybe you did, but times change and it’s important to take as many family photos as possible to document it.

All the same, perhaps there is some truth in their complaints. Are your Facebook albums getting a little stale? Are you ready to put together a new Facebook photo book that documents how much you’ve changed, only to find that your family photos all look pretty much the same? If so, you might want to start doing something about it. 

There are tons of ways to shoot family photographs a bit differently and, while we may not be able to help with disgruntled partners or restless children, we can certainly help you carry out a few of them. All you need is a bit of patience, imagination, and maybe a candy bar or two to give the kids incentive to try them out!

With this in mind, here are seven unique photography ideas to make your next photo book entirely different from the last:

• Triangles Are Your New Favourite Shape

Look back at the last family photo you took. Does it look a bit…plain? Well, there might be a very good reason for that. Often when we shoot group photos, we shoot in straight lines. But remember – this isn’t a formal photo of a football team. 

Change your straight lines to triangles and you’ll see a massive difference in how the photograph comes across. To do this, gather each family member from tallest to shortest, pose them with the shortest on each side and the tallest coming into the middle. This comes across best with family members sitting or kneeling to get the full effect.

• Your Pets Are Family Too

Your pets are part of the family too, so make sure you don’t forget them when taking your family photographs! 

Sure, they might be a little more unruly than your children – only a little more, might we add – but it’s worth the hassle to really get the full extent of the family into your photo book. Plus, as your photo book maker, we love giving your cute pets the glossy treatment they deserve!

• Go Old School

Another interesting way to shoot a family photo is to take it back in time a little. Look through any old photographs that you have of your family. This will include parents, grandparents, even great-grandparents! 

Look at the composition and then replicate it with your own photo shoot. Then all you have to do is find the best retro filters on your phone, apply the best one, and you’ll have a family photograph that transports you back in time!

• Props Are Your Friend

If your family photographs are a little same-same, then think about adding some props to elevate the creativity and give them some pizazz. 

For instance, if you’re taking photos around Halloween, incorporate some pumpkins carved by the kids. If it’s Christmas, go outdoors and do it at the local Christmas tree farm. Even something as simple as purchasing a few cardboard letters to spell out the family name – and having each member hold one – will spice up the photographs and make them unique.

• Snap Your Own Kitchen Nightmares

Another interesting way to capture the family is by getting rid of the staged element. By this we mean, capture your family in the moment. One idea for this is taking a few shots during a family-prepared meal. 

You’re bound to get a better idea of the family dynamics – as well as the chaos that can take place when cooking! Sure, it’s potentially a little dangerous (especially if you’ve got a Gordon Ramsay wannabe in the kitchen) but it always brings about some hilarious and fun photos to enjoy afterwards.

• Go Above And Beyond 

If you’re looking for something a bit more aesthetically pleasing, however, you can’t go wrong with drone photography. With a drone, you can take the family out for a walk and capture some beautiful birds-eye-view shots that include the landscape too. Either this, or get the family to lie down in a circle in the backyard and take a photo from up above. 

The only problem with this idea is that drones are typically quite expensive. Before you invest, you need to ask yourself: is drone photography worth it? If you decide that the answer is yes, then definitely go for it and you will discover a whole new way to photograph the family. 

• Get Your Kids In On The Action

One last way to create unique family photographs is to switch things up a little and get your children to take them instead of you. Giving your child control of your phone may seem like a disaster waiting to happen, but there are a lot of benefits that can come from this tactic. 

For one, you will get a few angles that you would never even have thought of on your own. Secondly, they’ll come up with some interesting and fun ways to pose. And lastly, you will be getting your children interested in photography and it could even become a hobby of their own. It’s certainly worth a shot. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? Apart from a dropped phone, of course. Maybe do this one somewhere with a soft surface!