How to Plan a Fort Lauderdale Family Photo Session Everyone Actually Enjoys

SHAY Photo Studio · Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Family photographs should not feel like an hour of telling children to stand still and smile.

Some of the best photographs happen when everyone forgets for a moment that they are participating in a photo shoot.

Children laugh.

Parents look at each other.

Someone says something ridiculous.

Grandparents hug their grandchildren.

A toddler decides they are completely finished with posing and runs directly toward Mom.

We want the traditional photograph where everyone is looking at the camera.

But we also want everything that happens around it.

Planning the session correctly gives us time for both.

Choose the Location for Your Family, Not Someone Else’s

A beach may look beautiful online, but that does not automatically make it the right choice for every family.

Think about who is participating.

Are grandparents coming?

Do you have a toddler?

Will someone have difficulty walking through sand?

Do your children love the beach?

Are you visiting Florida and specifically want ocean photographs?

Would everyone be happier in a tropical park?

The easiest session often creates the most natural photographs.

Schedule Around Your Children When Possible

Beautiful light matters.

So does a three-year-old’s bedtime.

If a child normally falls apart at 7 p.m., choosing a later sunset session simply because the light is beautiful may not produce the best family photographs.

Morning can be wonderful for young children who naturally wake early.

Older children and adults may prefer later afternoon.

The best session time balances light and people.

Coordinate Clothing Without Making Everyone Identical

Everyone does not need a matching shirt.

Choose several colors that work together.

Lay everyone’s clothing on the bed before the session.

If one outfit suddenly looks dramatically brighter or busier than everything else, you will see it immediately.

Textures and layers can add interest.

Most importantly, make sure everyone can move.

A child who is uncomfortable in an outfit will probably tell us through every expression.

Start With the Most Difficult Outfit

If the family is using two looks, begin with the harder one.

Formal clothing, heels, carefully styled hair and outfits that wrinkle easily usually belong at the beginning.

As the session progresses, changing into something more casual can help everyone relax.

This works especially well for beach sessions where families may want to finish barefoot near the water.

Bring Water

South Florida heat matters.

Bring water for everyone.

A small towel or handkerchief for perspiration is useful.

Bring whatever you normally use for quick hair or makeup touch-ups.

These things take almost no space and can save a photograph.

Feed Children Before the Session

Hungry children rarely become more cooperative because a photographer asks nicely.

Give everyone enough time to eat beforehand.

Bring a clean snack if necessary.

Avoid anything immediately before photographs that stains mouths, clothing or hands.

Save the chocolate cupcake for afterward.

Let Children Be Children

We do not need a toddler to behave like an adult.

We can photograph children walking with their parents.

Sitting on shoulders.

Being carried.

Holding hands.

Running toward Mom and Dad.

Hugging siblings.

Playing.

Those interactions often produce genuine smiles because the child is actually doing something enjoyable.

We will still stop and create the traditional portrait.

Then we let them move again.

Do the Most Important Group First

If there are ten people in the family, do not wait until the end to photograph all ten.

Start there.

Everyone is present.

Everyone is fresh.

Then make the groups progressively smaller.

For an extended family, the order might be:

• Everyone
• Grandparents with everyone
• Grandparents and grandchildren
• Each household
• All siblings
• Parents and children
• Mom and children
• Dad and children
• Parents together
• Children individually

Once someone is completely finished, we should not discover that we still need them for the most important photograph.

Give Us the Family Groupings Beforehand

For large families, send the important combinations before the session.

Names help.

A photographer can organize posing, lighting and composition.

What we cannot automatically know is that two people are divorced, Grandma particularly wants a photograph with all five grandchildren or one sibling needs to leave early.

Tell us.

For larger groups, choose one organized family member who can help call out the next combination.

That makes everything move faster.

Parents Need Photographs Too

We always want photographs of the children.

But Mom and Dad should exist in the gallery as more than the people holding the children.

Take a photograph together.

It does not have to become a twenty-minute couples session.

Sometimes two minutes is enough.

The same is true for grandparents.

Photograph Grandma and Grandpa together.

Photograph Mom with her mother.

Photograph Dad with his father.

These combinations become more meaningful with time.

Hands Create Connection

One small thing makes family posing look dramatically better: connection.

Put a hand around someone’s waist.

Rest it on a shoulder.

Hold hands.

Bring bodies slightly closer.

Parents can hold younger children.

Children can lean against parents.

Small points of physical connection prevent a group from looking like unrelated people who happened to stand beside each other.

Tiny Movements Change a Photograph

A new photograph does not always require an entirely new pose.

Turn your head slightly.

Move your chin.

Shift your weight.

Look at your child.

Look at your spouse.

Pull someone closer.

Change one hand.

Laugh.

Those micro-adjustments can create an entire sequence of different photographs without constantly rebuilding the group.

Bring Something Fun

A family session can include things you actually enjoy.

A blanket.

Picnic basket.

Sunglasses.

Hats.

Flowers.

Sports memorabilia.

Champagne for the adults.

A favorite toy.

Something related to your family’s traditions.

Props are not required.

They are simply another tool for creating interaction.

What About the Family Dog?

If your dog is part of the family, you may want your dog in the photographs.

Check whether the selected location allows pets.

Bring water, treats and waste bags.

If possible, bring another person who can take the dog after we finish the pet photographs.

That lets us continue without someone spending every remaining photograph holding a leash.

Beach Family Photography

For many visiting families, beach photographs are exactly what they want from South Florida.

Plan for wind.

Hair will move.

Dresses may move.

The ocean will not behave like a studio backdrop.

That movement can be beautiful.

We work with it.

Beach photographs can include traditional portraits, walking, children playing, parents carrying younger kids and relaxed photographs near the water.

Extended Family Vacations

Sometimes a South Florida vacation is the first time an entire family has been together in years.

That is a perfect reason for photographs.

Instead of leaving with hundreds of phone pictures where one person is always behind the camera, everyone gets to exist in the photographs.

We can photograph the entire family and then break it into all the relationships inside that family.

Those smaller combinations are just as important as the big group.

Do Not Stress About Perfection

A child may cry.

Someone’s hair may blow in the wrong direction.

The toddler may refuse the pose we planned.

That does not mean the session failed.

Family photography is about people.

People move.

They laugh at the wrong time.

Children have opinions.

Sometimes the unplanned photograph becomes the favorite one.

Our job is to guide the session while recognizing those moments when they happen.

Fort Lauderdale Family Photography With SHAY Photography

SHAY Photography photographs families throughout Fort Lauderdale, Broward County and South Florida.

Sessions can include immediate families, extended families, grandparents, children, couples, vacationing families and multiple generations.

Depending on the time reserved, we can incorporate outfit changes, multiple nearby locations and personal props.

We guide posing and family combinations while also giving everyone room to interact naturally.

Your photographs are edited and delivered through a forever gallery whose links never expire, with printing and digital rights.

Frequently Asked Questions