How to Rock Your First Family Vacation Photo Session!

Posted on by Bonnie MacKie Gundert

I’m not a hairstylist, fashion expert or professional photographer but I’ve learned a few things from our family vacation photo sessions that I’m sharing here.

Having family photos taken while you’re away is a bit more tricky to coordinate and requires more planning than a photo session done in your hometown to make sure that it goes off without a hitch.

Here are a few things that you can do to rock your first family vacation photo session:

Research and More Research! Ask people that you know for referrals, follow photographers on social media and read reviews from previous customers before booking any potential photographer.

If you are going to an all inclusive resort or on a cruise, there may be an in-house photographer or they may be able to provide you with a referral. We wanted our photos to feel more casual vs. posed so we chose photographers who we felt would be able to capture this after viewing their online photo galleries.

If younger children are going to be included in the photo session you will want a photographer who has experience working with kids. This made a world of difference, especially with our first photo session, when our girls were 10 and 3 years old.

Tristan was 3 years old at the time of this photo shoot. We were at the beach and all she wanted to do was run and play with ZERO interest in having her photo taken. Our photographer suggested playing a game of “chase” with her older sister Reese and he captured this moment when Tristan caught her.

Compare quotes! Contact at least 2-3 photographers for a quote to compare pricing and remember that the cheapest quote isn’t always the best option.

You should be asking the following questions:

What is the time limit for the photo session? How many photos will I be receiving? What format will the photos be in and what is the resolution? If you plan to use them in photo gifts (i.e. custom mug for grandma) or to make larger prints you will want higher resolution photos. What is their cancellation and reschedule policy? How many photo shoot locations are included in the price? Do photo touch-ups cost extra? What is their payment policy? Is there a deposit required and when is the balance due?

Book early! We booked approximately 6 months in advance for both vacation sessions to ensure that we could get the photographer that we really wanted. Some photographers are booked a year or two in advance!

Plan your outfits in advance! We didn’t want to look back on our photos 20 years later and wonder “what were we wearing?”

I’ve never really had to coordinate outfits before for my family so this is where I struggled the most. What could we wear that was a bit more “dressed up” than what we would wear around the house but not too dressy that our family and friends wouldn’t recognize us because we were too formal?

I wanted us to match but not look like we put too much effort into it. A friend suggested looking on Pinterest and that’s where we found inspiration on what to wear.

For our vacation to Prince Edward Island, Canada we went for a barefoot and casual look. I purchased inexpensive dark blue dresses from Old Navy for the girls and myself (all 3 a slightly different style) and Joe was able to to wear something he already had in his wardrobe.
Our lake photo shoot in Alberta, Canada took place at the end of summer with cooler temperatures so we needed to wear something a bit warmer than a dress and shorts. The girls wanted to choose their own outfits so Joe and I did our best to wear something that coordinated with what they were wearing. It wasn’t perfect but it worked.

Don’t stress about being perfect! We were 7 days into our RV trip in Alberta by the time the photo session happened. Despite my best efforts, our clothes were wrinkled and we didn’t have an iron in the RV. On the day of the shoot, the temperature had dropped significantly from a few days before and it was raining and windy.

Our photo shoot was scheduled months in advance so we had no control to ensure a beautiful warm and sunny afternoon. We couldn’t just cancel or reschedule so we made the best of what we had and I think that the photos still turned out pretty amazing.

Location, Location, Location! This may seem silly but you should take full advantage of the outdoor scenery of the place you are visiting for your photo shoot. Why spend extra money and time while on vacation with an indoor studio photo shoot when you can easily do this at home?

We tried to pick locations that were different than the scenery where we live. We don’t have red sandy cliffed beaches or mountains with glacier-fed turquoise coloured lakes at home so it made sense that we would want to capture that in our vacation photos. Your photographer can suggest photo shoot locations that are unique to the area.

Purchase a digital version of the photos! The first time we did this, we made the mistake of going cheap and ordering prints instead of a digital copy. The photographer is no longer in business so we are out of luck with having any more photos printed.

We did purchase quite a few copies of our favourite ones but it would have been nice to make some photo gifts using them. We would also like to create a photo wall in our house but are stuck with using the size of the photos that we purchased instead of being able to print the size of photos that we want. Most photographers in 2020 offer digital copies of photos so this really shouldn’t be a problem.

And finally…pack outfits that you plan to wear for the photo shoot separate from your other clothing. Save them to wear until the day of the photo shoot so that they look as fresh and clean as possible.

Click here for our other blog post on why you should have professional photographs taken on your next family vacation.

We would love to hear your tips for rocking your family vacation photo sessions in the comments section below.

54 thoughts on “How to Rock Your First Family Vacation Photo Session!”

  2. I had never thought about getting a professional photographer for vacation photos but now I am rethinking that. Yours look great! Thank you for this helpful post.

  4. Great photos. My favorite is your daughters in their black dresses. Very sweet. Thanks for sharing and all your suggestions.

  5. Your pictures are great! We recently used an in-house photographer on our last trip. We were hesitant, but decided to give him a try anyway and just loved how they all turned out! We now love doing vacation family photos!

  6. I always dread family pictures! They are usually so stressful for us. I think it’s a fun idea to get professional vacation photos. What a terrific souvenir to bring home that would be.

    1. Me too! Having someone else take them has been so much better for us and it’s a great reminder of our trips after the fact.

  7. I like this idea. I have never done it but have friends who have. Such precious memories.

    1. Yes…we love looking at the photos months and even years after they were taken.

  8. What a great time to take family pictures! Memories and everyone is always happy on vacation!!

  9. I love that you schedule photo sessions for your vacation. It’s so hard to get my whole family in a shot together. I need to do a better job planning it out!

  10. Good points in what to look for when booking a photographer! I’ve never booked one, so I would have no clue what to ask, so thanks for the tips!

  11. Great tips. I never considered having a professional photo shoot when on vacation. Something to consider.

  13. These look awesome! It is totally worth it to go with a pro. We just did it and have no regrets!

  15. Getting the clothes right was the hardest part of our family photoshoot. We wanted to look coordinated without all dressing alike. I can’t even imagine attempting to pull it off while on vacation. Your photos show that it is worth the effort.

    1. Yes…who knew that picking out clothing for a photo shoot would be so difficult 😉

  20. Very nice! With three kids, I’ve always got one that has a funky, weird smile, no matter how hard I try.

    1. We usually have that with our youngest – she’s the funny face kid in every picture but she’s on her best behaviour when someone else is taking her photo 😉

  23. Love this idea! We tried to do a Flytographer session in Germany, but couldn’t find a local photographer who was available. Your pics turned out Soooo nice!!

  25. I love this idea! It would be so fun! (now let’s see if I could convince my family….)

    1. It took some convincing the first time for me but now everyone looks forward to having them taken!

  27. I can see the tremendous value in having professional photos taken while on a fun vacation. Wonderful idea!

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