Family Photo Inspiration

With Christmas cards flying into mailboxes left and right, I’ve got family photos on the brain. Although it’s fun (perhaps not quite the right term to use here) to get everyone dressed to the nines for shiny, happy poses, my very very favorite shoots are families at home – together, like this one below…

On any given day, there are tears and tutus, bumps and breakfasts, smiles and sprinklers.

The real and true and “average” everyday moments – the tiny ones that are strung together to make something bigger: a life well-lived.

Tyler Branch recently shot a beautiful series of a Canadian photographer and his family at home, and the inspiration is just so very tangible. Snacks and snuggles, beds and books.

It’s a season of transition, a family hunkering down with a new baby and togetherness.

The kind of season you want to document, because it’s the kind you’ll need to remember to carry you through the next years.

I imagine these are the kind of photos you spot – days, months or years later – and instantly smile, knowing you’ve stumbled on the secret of life. The knowing glances, the familiarity, the comfort.

These are the moments we get to keep – the ones that carry us through scabbed knees and forgotten permission slips.

The ones that carry us through anything.

The ones that carry us through everything.

Image Credit: Tyler Branch

p.s. My favorite family photos to date.

  • These *are* the best. It’s why I enjoy ‘mommy’ blogs, and Instagram – seeing those little glimpses in to other’s lives – it’s just so fascinating and familiar and lovely.

  • yes!!! As a photographer capturing all these “fun” photos of people dressed up and looking “perfect” I myself am growing weary of it. (though it pays the bills my friend!) I am craving simple and real myself. I haven’t created my own cards because I struggle with wanting to send something real and meaningful, not just a boastful sentiment of a perfect family. You know? (I ran with your first sentence of talking cards…)

    • I love this! Here’s to more photos at home – with books and bruises and burnt dinner on the stove! :)

  • YES. This is my thing (as a photographer) too. I love the idea of children having photos of themselves in the home they grew up in. And I love how much more natural kids/families are in their own space. It is a beautiful thing to witness and document. Thanks for putting this out there, hopefully more and more families will realize the most beautiful way to be is how they live and love every day. It’s what we want to remember in the end, no?

Comments are closed.