How to Take More Family Photos (Easy Tips for Busy Parents)

As we step into a new year, many of us make resolutions to spend more time with family and cherish the moments —which often includes a self-promise: take more photos of the family.

My own kids are the biggest reason I took the leap into family photography full-time. I never want to miss a single small (or big) moment of their childhood. Those stages disappear so fast, and photos are how we hold onto them forever.

If we share the same resolution this year, here are some practical tips that have helped me make it happen.

1. Keep Your Camera (or Phone) Ready at All Times

The best photo doesn't have to be fancy: whether from your phone or your real camera (even a film one). The key is accessibility. The more accessible it is, the more you'll use it.

Capture everyday moments—kids running out from the school entrance, or playing catch in the park, or watching their favorite cartoon. Indoor or outdoor, messy or calm—anything!

Play with angles and distances too: shoot from up high (like standing on a chair), down low (at kid's-eye level), far away for more storytelling context, or zoomed in close to capture raw emotion.

2. Adopt This Mindset: There Is No “Perfect” Picture

We often fall into the same loop: waiting for that magical second when our kid looks at the camera, smiles perfectly, and poses cutely. Then the kid covers their face, or runs off. Then we get all frustrated.

I still fall for it too sometimes!

These days, I just click the shutter anyway. The "imperfect" shots—the silly ones, or the pure chaos—are often the ones that make me smile the most years later. They capture the real mood, true personality, and joy of the moment. Let go of perfection!

3. Make Sure You’re in the Photos Too

I'm usually the one behind the lens, so I'm missing from most family pictures.

I've been reminding myself that I am part of this family story too. So my biggest tip: ask a friend or a kind stranger to take a photo for you. I also have a secret obsession with mirrors—they're fun, quick, and priceless for getting everyone in the frame!

Every year, I make sure to organize a proper family photoshoot for us—usually while we're on vacation. My youngest is only 3, and we've already had three beautiful sessions together.

4. Organize and Print Your Pictures (This is Important!)

Taking photos is step one. Actually enjoying them later is the part most people skip.

Organize your pictures early: sort by year, then by month. It makes revisiting them so much easier. Personally, in addition to backing everything up on my computer, I run a private Instagram page just for my kids' moments—sorted neatly by year and month so we can scroll through their whole little lives in order.

And remember to print them! Printed photos live on walls, in frames, or in albums where everyone can flip through them. Kids especially love looking at their own baby pictures or fun moments with friends and family.

Start small—pick your favorites each month, print a handful, and put them in an album or a frame.

Make it a habit, and you'll be so glad you did!

The Bottom Line

If this is your resolution this year, let's not delay! The sooner you start documenting your family's story, the richer that time capsule becomes.