Family Portrait Combinations

Your guide to family portraits for private sessions and events

Often times when we think of family portraits, we automatically envision the oh-so-perfect photo of everyone together smiling, looking right at the lens of the camera. While this is obviously an essential part of any family photo collection, I want to tell you more about other combinations I aim to capture during any family portrait session and why they are so important in completing a collection.

Scroll through to see the 10+ combinations you can do with 4 people!

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Every one together

Here we have an example of the “perfect family photo” I mentioned before. Scroll down to see more examples of other combinations.

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Mom and the kids

Capturing each parent individually with the kids I think is an essential. Why? Because your children have different relationships with each parent, and I think it is important that both be captured. Plus, on holiday’s such as Mother’s day or Father’s day it is nice to have a nice photo of just you with your children.

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dad and the kids

For some reason, dad’s are always harder to get in front of the camera! But taking a look at this image, I’m sure any dad would love to have a photo such as this with their children.

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Just the kids

This one may be obvious for most of you, but having a photo of just the kids is definitely an essential part of any family collection. Your kids can look back and see a timeless and happy memory of just them and their sibling together. It is a photo they will cherish forever.

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Individuals

A lot of times parent’s say “I just need a good photo of the kids together”. So why do I think it’s important to have photos of the kids individually?

Well, if I look back on photos of my childhood I have some great ones of my brother and I but I also appreciate the images I have of myself. Especially because I was at an age when everything my brother did annoyed me and I had a certain “look” on my face! (LOL I’m sure many of you know what I’m talking about!)

Looking back on those solo shots I was able to see a more authentic version of myself in front of the camera. Also, as you get older I think it’s important to be able to have solo portrait images of your childhood to be able to share.

*Another option if your really trying to fill up the album is individuals of each parent too! Just think, husbands love having a beautiful photo of their wife for their office!

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Candid moments

Ok, so these to me are the most IMPORTANT images to have in your collection. You might be looking at this image and saying, “Nicolette, but their not all looking at the camera”. That’s actually the point though!
I want to capture moments where you forget I’m even there, to capture the true essence of you and your family. These are the moments you will look back on forever and smile.

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Include the family pet

When client’s ask me “Is it ok if we include the dog in the picture?” my answer is YES! YES! and YES!

This isn’t just because I’m a huge animal lover and will most likely hug your dog, but I strongly believe they are family too. When I look at this picture for example it simply makes me smile and I know this family will appreciate having their dog in the photo for many years to come.

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just the parents

That’s right mom and dad, I’m totally putting you on the spot with this one! The most common response I get when proposing this combination is “Oh, we really don’t need that!”

My response, “Well, when was the last time just the two of you took a photo together?”

Most common answer: “Our Wedding day”

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Parents, if you don’t want the photo for yourselves, fine. But I can guarantee your kids want a photo of you together just as much as you want a photo of them together!

I always say, just take the photo, if you don’t want it you don’t have to keep it but in most cases couples are really happy to have it!

More family combination ideas

The samples I’ve shown you above are what I consider essential in every family photo collection. Depending on how many children you have and if they are boys/girls here are a few more options to consider:

  • Just the Boys/Girls: Mom and daughters, dad and sons, just the daughters, just the sons

  • Grandparents: JUST THE GRANDPARENTS!!! Everyone always forgets this combination but trust me the family will want this one! Even better if you can get both individually. Other than that, both grandparents with entire family, grandparents with just the grandkids, grandparents with their child and the grandkids

  • Grandma: Grandma with entire family, three generations with daughter and granddaughter, grandma with grandkids, grandma with their child and the grandkids, grandma with just granddaughters, grandma with just grandsons, grandma with kids individually

  • Grandpa: Grandpa with entire family, three generations with son and grandson, grandpa with grandkids, grandpa with their child and the grandkids, grandpa with just granddaughters, grandpa with just grandsons, grandpa with kids individually

Fun photo combination with the dog as the main focus!

Fun photo combination with the dog as the main focus!

What about the “girlfriend” or “boyfriend”?

In some cases such as a family reunion or party, your children or even your sibling might have their new partner present. I NEVER want to make someone feel uncomfortable so I always take a photo with and without this person. After the session when you see the photos you can always decide if you want to keep the image with them or not. I’ve never come across a case where anyone was offended when I asked them kindly to step out of the photo, as long as they were included in the initial shot.

Filling out your questionnaire

Whenever you schedule a family photo session with me, you will receive a thorough questionnaire asking for the names of every person involved in the session, that way I know exactly who to expect. We can go through these combinations prior to the session to see exactly which ones are a “must have” for your shoot so I have a shot list ready. While these are some examples of different combinations the list is endless! Feel free to create your own combinations for the session.