Getting together as a family and preparing to take photographs can be a challenging task. Whether it’s a struggle to get everyone together at the same time, or getting your little ones to smile, we’ve come up with some inspiring ideas to help make family portraits an enjoyable experience and most importantly, a successful one.

Make it fun

Things that are kept simple and fun normally offer the best results. Natural light will always work better for these types of shots, but the background doesn’t need to be spectacular – as you can see from the image below. As long as everyone has a smile on their face, then this will be the main focus of the image and the backdrop will be forgotten.

© Via Heather Millenaar Photography

Be creative

Be creative with your body shapes, and have a think about different positions you can try when creating your family portrait. The below image is perfect if you have a little one on the way, because the whole family can get involved and it is a picture to treasure for years to come. A plain background works best for this kind of photograph – but whether you decide to take it indoors or outdoors, the choice is yours.

Introduce props

Props can add the finishing touch to a photograph and really add to the fun factor. Whether it’s a photo frame like below or something more inventive, the options really are endless.

Bring in your pets

Well, they are part of the family after all! Be wary that pets won’t always do what they’re told, and will rarely sit still, however capturing these ‘real life’ scenarios can make a really effective photograph. One thing you should remember is that it isn’t completely vital that you look at the camera, action shots like this can work just as well.

Stand out

Be cool and be different! The shot below completely stands out, as it’s completely different to any other family portraits that we have come across. This shot obviously involved some editing after the photograph was taken, but if you have the skills, it’s definitely worth using them to create something artistic and unique.

© Rolland András Flinta

Do you have any family portraits that you’ve taken and are proud of? We’d love to see them!

Family portraits stand out even more when they’re brought to life and displayed for all to see and admire. Why not check out our wall décor range for some inspiring ideas?