Summer family vacation photos — you’ve thought about it, maybe searched for a photographer, looked at Pinterest for some inspo. You’ve been counting down to this trip for months. The air bnb is booked, the calendar is cleared, and somewhere in the back of your mind there’s a quiet little hope: can we actually get one good photo where everyone’s eyes are open and nobody’s crying?

I see you. And I promise — your summer vacation family photos do not have to be one more thing on the trip that stresses you out.

Some of my favorite sessions have started with a toddler refusing to wear shoes and ended with a gallery that made a mom tear up at her kitchen table three weeks later. That’s not in spite of the chaos. That’s because of it. Let me walk you through how this actually works — what goes sideways, what makes a vacation session feel real instead of staged, and the one thing I find myself gently correcting for almost every family before we ever pick a date.

When It All Goes Sideways (Spoiler: That’s Usually the Best Shot)

Here’s something no one tells you: the moment your plan falls apart is almost always the moment the magic shows up. And when you’re taking summer family vacation photos, that’s almost guaranteed! 

Imagine a family beach session where we have maybe eight minutes of good light left and the two-year-old decides he is done. Full meltdown, sand in the eyes, the works. Mom looks at me like, “Well, that’s a wrap.” But instead of fighting it, maybe Dad scoops him up, flips him upside down, and the kid goes from sobbing to belly-laughing in about four seconds. Big sister piles on. Mom throws her head back laughing at the whole circus.

That frame — the upside-down toddler, everyone mid-laugh, nobody looking at the camera — I would bet money on every single time, will be the one they print huge for their hallway. Not the tidy one where everyone was lined up and behaving. The real one.

Moments like that happen constantly. The wave that knocks everyone over. The dog that photobombs. The kid who bolts down the shoreline and forces the whole family to chase him (yes, I’m sprinting too — it’s part of the gig). Those aren’t the moments that ruin a session. They’re the moments that make the gallery feel like your family instead of a catalog. So when something goes sideways on your trip, don’t apologize to me. That’s where I’m pointing my camera.

Why “Just Be Yourselves” Falls Flat — and What Actually Works for Summer Family Vacation Photos

Almost every photographer says it: “Just relax and be yourselves!” And every family hears it, stiffens up, and immediately has no idea what to do with their hands.

Here’s the truth — “be yourselves” isn’t direction. It’s a wish. Nobody knows how to “be natural” while a stranger points a camera at them. What actually pulls a family out of performance mode is giving them something real to do together.

So I don’t ask you to pose. I ask Dad to whisper the worst joke he knows to the kids. I have everyone walk holding hands and tell you to try to knock each other off balance. I get parents to swing the littlest one between them on the count of three. I’ll ask a couple what they were arguing about in the car on the way over (works every time — the eye-roll-and-laugh is gold). The camera catches the in-between: the reaction, not the pose.

What makes summer family vacation photos genuinely work:

• Timing it around your kids, not the “ideal” light. Golden hour is beautiful, but a session scheduled right at bedtime with hungry kids is a recipe for tears. Sometimes mornings are better. We work with your family’s real rhythm.
• Picking a spot that means something. The walk you take every morning for coffee. The favorite ice cream spot. Familiar places relax people far more than a “scenic” location they’ve never seen.
• Keeping it short and playful. Little kids have about 30–40 good minutes in them. I’d rather get 30 alive, joyful minutes than push for an hour of forced smiles.

What makes a session not work is the opposite: rigid expectations, a packed schedule jammed in between activities, and the pressure to make everyone “behave.” The families who let go of the perfect-portrait idea are the ones who walk away with the photos they actually love.

The One Thing Families Get Wrong Before They Book

If I could clear up one misconception before a family ever reaches out, it’s this: you do not need your kids to cooperate for this to work.

I hear it all the time — “We’d love photos, but our kids are wild, maybe we should wait until they’re older.” Or, “Let’s do it next year when the baby isn’t in this phase.” Please don’t wait. The “phase” is the whole point. The gap-toothed grin, the threenager attitude, the way your little one still reaches for your hand — that’s exactly what you’ll ache to remember in ten years. Waiting for them to be “easy” means waiting until they’re a completely different kid.

The other worry I hear is about looking awkward or not being photogenic. Let me take that off your plate entirely. My whole job is to guide you — to take charge just enough that you never have to wonder what to do, while keeping things loose enough that it never feels stiff. You don’t need to know how to pose. You don’t need a Pinterest board of perfect outfits. You just need to show up as the family you already are.

So before you book, the only things worth knowing are: come ready to play, not to perform; trust me when I say “just go with it” (even if I’m crouched in a tide pool to get the shot); and let go of the idea that there’s a perfect version of this. There isn’t. There’s just your version, and that’s the good stuff.

Summer Family Vacation Photo Inspiration

My family and I always try to get family photos when we’re on a trip in the same state with one another. Since we don’t live down the street and can’t see each other every day, having these moments of us enjoying our time together is something I always cherish. From cousin photos to all the grandkids with grandma, and the individual family photos, I never regret making the time to capture them!

Let’s Make Some Real Memories on Your Trip

There is no perfect pose. The magic lives in capturing people exactly as they are — sandy, laughing, a little chaotic, completely yours.

If you’re planning a summer trip and want family photos that feel like an actual memory instead of a stressful chore, I’d love to be the one behind the camera. I’ll handle the timing, the direction, the toddler wrangling, and the inevitable plot twists. You just bring your people.

Reach out on social media (@brookebakken) or click the image below check my summer availability to capture your summer family vacation photos!