Book a Family Photoshoot
in Honfleur

This happens all the time, and our family photographers are prepared for it. The secret is that the best family photos don't come from asking kids to pose — they come from play. Your photographer will turn the session into a game: racing along the beach at Biarritz, feeding ducks in Annecy, hunting for gargoyles on Paris' old churches, storming the towers of Carcassonne. Tantrums and shy phases get waited out with a break and a pain au chocolat, and sessions are scheduled around naps and meals. Even a session that feels chaotic in the moment produces wonderful genuine images — often better than the ones where everyone behaved.

There's no wrong age — each stage photographs differently and beautifully. Babies bring quiet, tender close-ups; toddlers bring motion and hilarious candid moments; school-age kids love the adventure of exploring châteaux and beaches on camera; teens relax once they realise nobody is forcing stiff poses. Multi-generation shoots with grandparents are among the most treasured bookings we see, especially on family reunion trips to Provence or the Loire. The one practical tip: with children under five, book morning sessions when energy and light are both at their best. Your Photo France photographer adapts the pace and games to the ages in your group.

Aim for a coordinated palette rather than identical outfits: two or three soft colors that everyone wears in their own way. Creams, soft blues, sage and sand tones look wonderful against Paris' pale stone, Provence's ochre walls and the Atlantic's grey-green sea. Skip big logos, characters and neon shades. Dress kids in clothes they can move and play in — the session will involve running, climbing steps and sitting on beaches or lawns. Bring a change of clothes for little ones (French fountains and beaches are irresistible) and comfortable shoes for cobbled lanes. Your photographer will send simple styling tips for your specific location and season when you book.

Professional photoshoots in Honfleur start from €310. Packages vary by duration and the number of edited photos — from an hour around the Vieux Bassin to a longer session that crosses to Deauville for Les Planches and the beach huts.

The Quai Sainte-Catherine side of the Vieux Bassin, where tall slate-fronted houses double in still water; the stone Lieutenance gate at the harbour mouth; the wooden church of Sainte-Catherine with its belfry standing separately across the square; Rue Haute and the galleries behind; and the Côte de Grâce above the town for the estuary and the Pont de Normandie. In Deauville: Les Planches, with parasols in rows and beach cabins named after film stars, and the wide sand at low tide.

Early morning, before the terraces around the Vieux Bassin put out their chairs and while the water is still enough to hold the reflection. The Normandy light is soft and silvery and changes every twenty minutes, which is exactly why the Impressionists worked here — overcast is an asset, not a problem. At Deauville, late afternoon is the hour: the sun comes in low along the boards and rakes the parasols. And the tide matters: at low water the beach turns into a mirror and empties of everything else.