Why I Love Photographing Grandparents and Grandkids

Do the grandparents and grandkids in your life live in different cities? Mine do. My parents live a five-hour drive away in St. Louis.

We try to see them as much as we can, but the reality is life is busy. Having three children means my family has a hectic schedule. Between school, dance, swimming, plays and sports, our weekends don’t always belong to us.

So, when we make the trek to St. Louis or my parents come to town, I make sure I document every minute my parents and children are together. My children are now 10, 12 and 13. As they have aged, the visits with my parents have changed too. In the early days, just getting to town and surviving seemed like an accomplishment. We would go to Demun Park, the St. Louis Zoo, maybe hit the Magic House.

Now that they are older, my children are capable of being out from dawn to dusk, soaking up all the opportunities and adventures St. Louis has to offer. Want to know the bad news? As my children have grown older, so have my parents. My parents can’t spend the whole day on their feet anymore.

Finding Ways to Connect

Because my kids are always off running around having adventures or on the couch with their heads buried in their electronics, getting them to have meaningful interaction with their grandparents has become more of a challenge. Having a meal together has become a cherished time for my kids and parents.  Sometimes I need to prod the conversation a little to get things going. I like to ask my dad to tell the girls about how his parents put him on a public bus BY HIMSELF with a ticket pinned to his shirt to go to a World Series Cardinals game when he was 8-years-old. And I ask my mom to tell the girls what it was like to be in middle school in the late 1940’s. Now, staying at the table long after the food has been eaten to hear stories about Nonnie and Grandpa’s childhood has become a favorite part of our day.

So what I have realized is it’s becoming more important that my children and their grandparents just get time to connect, it doesn’t really matter where or how. And if they need a little “talking points” inspiration from my carefully placed questions, so be it! I am happy to help get the conversation going.

I make sure to take my camera out for all of these get togethers. Because life moves too fast. The kids are growing up at a rapid clip. And my parents continue to age. But I want my children to always remember the precious moments we carved out for them with my parents. I want them to have pictures to go with those stories of the time they went to the Science Center or when grandpa took them to lunch at Crown Candy for a special lunch outing.

I want them to remember they were loved and cherished by their grandparents, long after they are no longer here to tell them. I want them to have albums they can show THEIR children some day.

Want Some Help?

And if you feel like your camera or phone camera won’t do the situation justice, call me! I would love to spend time following your children and their grandparents around, documenting their beautiful relationship. The best thing about these photo shoots is you won’t end up with a bunch of static, awkward photos of people standing there looking at the camera. I call my style of photography “family storytelling” or “family photojournalism.” I am very passionate about capturing this beautiful relationship for future generations to enjoy.

So, next time the grandparents come over, let’s make a plan to photograph them. Or next time you go to visit the grandparents, I can follow you. I may be a Chicago family photographer, but I am available to travel out of town to do your grandparent photography shoot. Especially anywhere near St. Louis! Give me a call at 773-510-7105 and let’s talk about it.

Interactive family photos with the grandparents and grandkids might be a new idea for you, but I promise you will never regret having these grandparent photos taken. Let’s have fun with this new twist on family photos!

If you would like to see more examples of family storytelling shoots, please click here , here and here .

Would like to find answers to common questions about Grandparent Sessions and how to book? Click here for all your answers.