Photos to take with Dad this Father’s Day

Our Dad’s are our heroes.  We learn how to be a provider and a protector from our fathers.  Our dads teach us about honesty and respect, how to be hard working and understanding with compassion and integrity.  The influence that our fathers have on us helps shape the people we become in life.  Not to compare to our fantastic mothers, who are amazing.  We love them and appreciate our moms so much.  However, it is Father’s Day, and our fathers are the other half of our life’s equation. 

Dads deserve a day to be recognized.  Father’s Day gives us an opportunity as their children to show our dads how much we love them, appreciate them, and acknowledge their work and achievements.  This day is to make them feel wonderful, special, and loved.  Dads still need love too, even if they may not always show it.

Father’s Day is a celebration that is honored throughout the world.  Our memories we have with our dads are some of our most precious and significant.  Fathers are so important that even clichés like playing catch in the yard and going fishing still has, and will always have, tremendous meaning.  We carry these moments with us through our whole lives, and so do our dads.

Your dad will always love receiving your hugs, kisses, and awesome Father’s Day gifts.  A terrific way you can capture those memories forever is with a camera.  Putting together a fun Father’s Day photography activity with creative ideas that will honor his legacy will perfectly compliment his special day.  Let’s have a look at some of my favorite Father’s Day photoshoot ideas.

Hugs, Kisses, & Gifts

We begin with an easy one.  Giving gifts and opening presents is classic and will always provide good times as well as good photos.  As soon as opening presents are involved, we tend to forget that there is a camera around.  Meaning, you’re going to get genuine photos with emotional attachment.  Let the love and excitement in the air direct your shots.  You can be creative with it too.  For example, tell the kids to see if they can prevent dad from opening his gifts by distracting him with hugs and kisses and photograph the whole process.

Dads Special Activity Ideas

What does you dad love to do?  This is his day.  Are you planning one of his favorite activities?  From golfing, to fishing, to a backyard grill out, we know our dads have their choice of pastimes.  Father’s Day is a perfect time for dad to do what he loves, but with his family.  This will also provide the perfect settings for photographing him in his element.  You may want to take him to his favorite museum or to go see his favorite sports game.  If he is active and enjoys being outdoors, perhaps on a relaxing hike and a picnic may be the right choice.  When you go on events during special days, you also can catch him off guard with a spontaneous gift which will give you quality photos.  Lifestyle gifts work very well in this situation.  Examples would be an active lifestyle gift vs a technology lifestyle gift as long as it’s related to the activity.  Consider taking like-father, like-son photos.  Lastly, topping off a Father’s Day activities with a favorite meal will bring a nice added touch.

A special day is not necessarily limited to something your dad would typically like to do.  He may enjoy a mini vacation, or car show.  Imagine getting some photos of your dad sitting in his favorite vintage sports car with the kids.  A change of scenery may be a nice thing to consider for him.

Many dads’ favorite times are when they spend it with their kids, so its possible you can do something as simple as kid’s games together too.  It is ok to be creative if you have kids, you can have them put on a show that highlights their talents and skills.  Maybe even write a song that you can sing to him together.  There are many imaginative ideas you can do as a family that would make any father proud. 

*I suggest make a point to always keep your camera at the ready during activities and bring the right lens for the activity.  You never know when the right moment will present itself for the perfect shot.  Leverage pivotal moments to your advantage, dad will most likely be distracted from the camera during these moments and give you a great authentic reaction.  Also, take some general family photos in his environment.  Looking back at these pictures in the future will bring him the fondest of memories.

Newborn Baby Photo Ideas

Nothing spells father more than a new baby and babies are ideal for a Father’s Day photoshoot.  This is a great idea for catching the vulnerability and love of life in a very artistic manner.  Create a cozy setting that you can shoot closeups and portraits.  You can be creative with concepts like just hands or feet, or simply capture the intimacy as they gaze into each other’s eyes.  I suggest working around your baby’s schedule for this idea as you will want to have a happy and fed baby that is relaxed and playful.  I highly recommend this idea for new parents.  Don’t forget to use automatic modes on your camera so everyone can join in the photoshoot.  The results of these photos will be worthy of prime real estate location on your wall.

Generations of Dads

This is definitely one of the better Father’s Day photography ideas.  I love this concept photoshoot because it is a thoughtful way to incorporate all dads of the family into the celebration and honor the legacy of the past, present, and future.  It is also a lot of fun and I find that dads tend to really like this idea.  You can make this photoshoot very simple by gathering the generations together for a photoshoot or create a theme using outfits or specific location and theme that may add something extra to the experience and final product.  Do incorporate portraits of past generation dads in your shot if you have them.  The dads will be very impressed with the thought of including past generations of Fathers and showcase their continued legacy through their children and children’s children. 

Honor the Accomplishments

Being a good father is a great accomplishment.  People are inspired through many aspects of life which provides motivation to achieve the goals they set forth for themselves.  Through family, career, and hobby, a person strives to better themselves each and every day.  We find great strength from these inspirations and motivations which leads to our accomplishments.  Father’s Day is a day to honor these life accomplishments.  Combine your dads’ proudest achievements together for a photoshoot that will highlight his qualities, hard work, love, and achievements.  It could be anything from his military metals to the Shelby Cobra (famous car) he built in the garage.  With this theme in mind, you will find many photo ideas for dad that will give him the warmth of love and recognition from his children and family while providing a great sense of pride and achievement. 

Dad may be great at a lot of different things, but it is definitive that a father’s proudest accomplishments will always be his children.  Any of the Father’s Day photo ideas you choose will provide dad with a long-lasting memory that he can look back to and cherish forever.

Happy Father’s Day!