The number one thing I tell people for photo sessions is to be yourself! I get it though…easier said than done. We all have our own insecurities. It's so easy to feel boring and just like everyone else. But guess what? Here are the top 5 ways I see families be totally uniquely themselves.

Adult and two children sit on a couch reading a colorful illustrated map book together.
Parents and toddler reading a colorful picture book together on a cozy sofa at home.
Two women and a young girl sit together on a bed, smiling while reading a book together indoors.
Family of five sitting on couch, parents with three children including newborn baby, sharing a tender moment together.

Reading Favorite Books


This happens in most in home family sessions, yet every time I am so amazed at how unique this experience is to each family. The books are often different and the way in which you interact with the books is so unique to you. Your intonation, the special voices, the pausing to prompt your children, and the way each kid either nibbles on the pages or turns the pages with clumsy still new hands or reads to younger siblings or pets. Seriously…it’s so you every time!

Family playing a card game together around a wooden coffee table in a cozy living room.
Group of five adults laughing and playing a board game together in a cozy living room setting.
Family playing a stacking block tower game together at a coffee table, laughing and having fun indoors.

Playing Games


Some families play board games, some play keepy uppy with a balloon, others play charades or some get into a full on sports battle with teams and sweatbands and everything (ok…maybe not the sweatbands, but you get the gist). Even if I encounter the same board game, the tiny stories I get to show are so different depending on the characters involved. 

Family baking together in a bright kitchen with a red stand mixer on a marble countertop.
Family gathered around a dining table sharing a meal during a Jewish Shabbat or holiday celebration at home.
Family baking together in a bright kitchen, parents helping two young girls decorate a muffin tin on a wooden counter.
Family enjoying time in a bright kitchen, mom holding baby, daughter sitting on counter, dad preparing fresh fruit smoothie.

Cooking or Baking.


Unique cultures really shine in the kitchen, but even just baking cookies is something that everyone does just a little differently. The way you arrange the dough on the tray, the way you pause to let your kid lick the spoon, the way you laugh and spilled flour or any accidental mess along the way.

Family of four laughing and dancing together in a modern kitchen, creating joyful memories at home.
Three girls playing music at home, two with guitars and one singing into a microphone, with guitars displayed on the wall.
Family dancing together in a bright modern kitchen, parents and two young girls in red dresses spinning joyfully.

Dance Party


Omg! I wish my own family did this regularly! So many families do. Whether you blast a kareoke machine with a microphone, put on your bluetooth speaker from your phone, or throw on a record...your family does a dance party totally unique to you...guaranteed! It doesn't matter if you are blasting Raffi or Casper Baby Pants, Taylor Swift, or Pearl Jam...whoever it is, just go with it and have fun! Give everyone in the family part of a favorite song and DJ your heart out.

Three people enjoying a large outdoor trampoline with safety net enclosure in a lush green backyard.
Two boys jumping and holding hands on a backyard trampoline surrounded by trees and wooden fence.
Two children playing on a blue trampoline in a backyard, girl smiling at camera, boy climbing up beside her.

Seasonal Activities


Depending on the season, we all have favorite activities both indoors and out. Sprinklers, bubbles, trampoline action…these all look unique to each family! Same with holiday related activities...decorating a gingerbread house, hanging ornaments, baking sugar cookies...all will look totally unique to you because of all of the unique relationships and all of the tiny stories packed into each activity.


Young girl in red floral jumpsuit smiling on wooden indoor swing set with adults relaxing in background.
Family with toddler playing on outdoor plastic playground set in backyard patio area.
Family enjoying outdoor playtime with young girl on wooden swing in autumn backyard garden.
Happy baby sitting in a teal indoor swing while a parent in an orange shirt gently pushes them.

It's so easy to fall into the mental trap that we are just like everyone else...aka...boring! It's so easy to feel like we don't have any real unique things to do or show in a photo session. Our subconcious often compares our own day to day lives to tv, magazines, and social media influencers without us even realizing.


We often wonder what it is that we even do all together. Trust me, I've been there too. The last in home family session I had I felt the exact same way. My kids were starting to feel older and didn't have all their cute legos, dolls, coloring, baking with me activities that we used to do. So, we played a game of charades, ate chips and guacamole together, and went to the neighborhood parking lot to skateboard and bike around together. So fun! So boring, so common, and yet still so uniquely us! The activities above are such fail safe ways to show off your own family if you just want to document the age and stage that you are in.