Family Photos with Adult Children: How the Hour Works

Family photos with adult children work best as a walk, not a lineup. Teens and grown kids relax once they have something to do: walk, talk, tease a sibling or hold the dog. Parents join in, take a few minutes for themselves, and each child gets a moment alone. In one picturesque area, about an hour covers all of it.

This guide comes from four recent sessions: a Dutch family with two grown daughters and their dog, three siblings on a trip from the US, a family of five with three daughters, and two families at Keukenhof with daughters of about eighteen to twenty. Every photo below is from those hours. They also show how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work: I choose the spots and guide you through them, so nobody prepares a thing.

How Does an Hour with Adult Children Work?

Much like a walk you would take anyway. With toddlers, I plan around play and short attention spans. With teens and adult children, the hour has another rhythm: we move from spot to spot, everybody talks, and the photos happen in between. In these sessions, that meant a bench, two bridges and a stoop on the canals, one big tree and a quay, and the daffodil woods at Keukenhof.

The order follows the people. I start with everyone together while the energy is high. Then come smaller groups, the parents alone, each child alone, and often everyone together again at the end. For family photos with adult children, that mix matters, because every pairing shows another side of the family.

Why Walking Works Better Than a Lineup

Grown children can tell when they are being posed, and a lineup makes most people stiff. Walking, however, gives everyone something to do. In August, a Dutch family walked along a quay under the trees, with the dog in a daughter’s arms. Within a minute, they were teasing each other, and the laughing started by itself.

In March, three siblings walked arm in arm across a bridge, again and again, until nobody could keep a straight face. I still guide every walk: where to start, how close to stay, when to look at each other. Their hour on the canals is in a sibling trip to Amsterdam.

What Breaks the Ice?

Something that has nothing to do with the camera. A dog is the easiest, because pets usually need the least direction of anyone. In August, Guus, the family’s little dog, sat on a stone block and lifted a paw for a tennis ball, and his family laughed with him. Their hour is in grown daughters and their dog on the canals.

A sibling joke works just as well. At Keukenhof, a younger brother who thought photos were not his thing got one small job from me: make your sister laugh. Within minutes, the two of them stood back to back among the daffodils, both grinning. The two families’ afternoon is in two families at Keukenhof.

Sometimes the place does it. On a bridge in March, an old cast-iron lamp post became a dance partner. One of three siblings swung around it and waved, and soon another joined her for a hug around the post.

What Do Parents Do in Family Photos with Grown Kids?

Two things: join in, and take a few minutes for yourselves. Joining in means staying close, laughing at the jokes and, when I ask, giving a hug or a kiss on the cheek. At Keukenhof, a mother and her daughter could not stop laughing on a wooden walkway between the tulips. On a bridge in August, a mother and one of her daughters stood face to face in the sun.

Taking a few minutes means a moment as a couple, while the kids hold the dog or step aside. In July, the parents of three girls stood under a big tree by the canal and simply smiled at each other. For the kids, it is a short break.

That family’s hour, with hugs in every combination, is in a July afternoon on the canals.

Does Everyone Get a Portrait of Their Own?

Yes, if you would like that, and with teens it is often where their confidence shows. In July, the middle of three sisters stood tall by the water with a hand on her hip. A daughter in August stood in front of a gray stone house with her hands in her pockets. And in March, one of three siblings grinned behind a pair of glasses, arms crossed.

I keep each portrait short and give a word or two: where to stand, which way to turn. On a trip with two sons, one teenager’s favorite turned out to be a photo with his brother, sitting on a railing: family photos with a teenager.

Can Adult Children Come Without Their Parents?

Of course. Grown-up siblings are as welcome as parents with toddlers, and the hour works the same way. In March, three siblings who live in three different states booked an hour for just the three of them. They hugged on bridges, sat on a stoop and finished with a group hug in a quiet street.

Siblings also get their own minutes when the whole family comes. In July, the two eldest of three sisters hugged close by the canal for a minute. For a mother with her grown daughter, my mother and daughter photoshoot ideas show more sessions.

How Long, and What Time of Day?

About an hour, in one picturesque area, is usually enough for family photos with adult children. These four sessions each took between 47 and 65 minutes, and none of them felt rushed. If you would like to move between different surroundings at an easy pace, two or three hours give us room.

The time of day is yours to choose. The August and March sessions started just after noon, one in bright sun and one between big white clouds. The July family met at five past five, with warm light through the leaves. At Keukenhof, the sky stayed white from three to a quarter past four. Each light looks different in the photos, yet all of them worked.

Planning photos with your grown-up family? Discover how my family photoshoots in Amsterdam work.