Cool for the Summer: A Non-Traditional, 90s-Nostalgia Studio Session
I’ll say it, standard family portraits are boring.
Standing in a neat little line in a park wearing matching khaki pants is a recipe for stiff smiles and none your actual personality. If you’re looking for a unique family photo session that is completely non-traditional yet timeless, you have to be willing to break the mold, throw in some weird props, and bring your actual life into the studio.
For this summer shoot at Alchemy Studios Phx in Phoenix, Arizona, we went full-tilt into a vibrant, high-energy 90s Summer Nostalgia theme. Complete with bright plastic kiddie pools, towering stacks of colorful sunglasses, and giant beach balls, this session proved that studio portraits can be incredibly fun, deeply sentimental, and completely chaotic in the best way possible.
Setting the Scene: Edge & Atmosphere Indoors
Shooting inside a stark white studio backdrop can easily feel sterile if you don't know what you're doing. My approach to indoor sessions is always a little more dramatic, punchy, and edgy.
Dramatic Lighting: Instead of flat, washed-out studio light, I kept the contrast high. This allowed the saturated, neon colors of the props—like the bright red popsicles and neon sunglasses—to pop intensely off the white backdrop without losing the depth of my clients' expressions.
Creative Lens Choices: I love pulling out my wide-angle lens for indoor studio work. By shooting wide and getting down low, it stretches the perspective of the frame. It makes elements like the blue plastic pool and the giant beach balls feel larger than life and incredibly dynamic.
Intimate Macro Textures: To balance the wide, chaotic action shots, I also zoomed in for ultra-tight, high-contrast crops—like a split-face portrait of mother and daughter laughing, or a macro detail shot of colorful sunglasses hooked onto denim shorts. These tight crops add a modern, editorial edge to the gallery.
The Rulebook: Kids, Posing, and Putting Pets in Sunglasses
When it comes to posing, the goal is always to get the clients to completely forget about the camera.
Bring the Whole Family (Yes, the Dog Too!): If your dog is your child, they belong in the photos. We put pink retro glasses on their gorgeous pup, sat them right in the middle of the kiddie pool, and let the real, unscripted laughs happen naturally.
Props as Posing Tools: Stiff posing disappears when you give people something to do. Eating popsicles, tossing beach balls, and stacking five pairs of sunglasses on your head instantly gives your hands a purpose, breaking down that awkward "what do I do with my body" barrier.
Authentic Connection: When you look back at these photos in twenty years, you won't remember a photographer telling you to say "cheese." You’ll remember the sticky popsicle juice, the dog refusing to shake off, and the genuine, loud belly laughs. That is what makes a session timeless.
Ditch the Stiff Portraits. Let’s Get Wild.
The Phoenix heat is no joke, but that doesn't mean your summer photos have to suffer. Let’s head into the studio, crank up some nostalgia, and capture your family exactly as you are—messy, loud, and entirely original.