Some of my favorite locations to photograph families in and around the Coachella Valley and WHY they are my favorite places. Family photos should be personal and unique to you, so lets dive in and chat about all the options.
Parks… A park is a great place for family photos because it offers a relaxed, natural setting where kids can play and families can interact comfortably. The open space, greenery, and soft natural light help create warm, genuine moments that feel authentic and timeless. Parks also offer a variety of backdrops—trees, paths, benches, and open fields—making it easy to capture a mix of candid and posed portraits all in one session. It gives the kiddos room to run and play and generally be silly and I know I sound like a broken record, but its important for everyone to be themselves. While the Coachella Valley is very much a desert, we have plenty of lovely parks. If you need help or ideas in this arena, hit me up, I’m happy to offer my suggestions!
Hotel/Resort… Since so many of my families are coming in the Palm Springs area on a holiday or family reunion, I often suggest we shoot their session right there on the hotel property. Particularly if there are lots of family members or little ones to wrangle. It is just easier and more convenient for everyone to assemble at a central location on the grounds than it is to coordinate and pile everyone into cars and drive to a separate location. Of course it does depend on the hotel, some won’t allow photography without a hefty fee, but most do not.
Your home or AirBnB… There’s no place like home, right? LOL! When its just a few of you, just staying right at your home or AirBnB can be the perfect solution to location dilemmas. If you are on your own turf, you are more likely to already by relaxed and comfortable which makes having your photograph taken much less stressful and go faster. The resulting photos will reflect that. I find quite often that it can take a little while to “get warmed up” when everyone has been rushing around in traffic and worrying about where to park etc. Typically those sessions take a little longer because its towards the end that clients begin to relax and have fun with it.
So whatever location you decide will work best for your family, I’m with you! The more fun we have capturing these lovely memories the better. No stress, no fuss, just fun moments that you will cherish forever!
Locations for family photos in the Coachella Valley