Best Places for Family Photos in Palm Springs

When families picture a Palm Springs photo session, they often imagine a dramatic desert backdrop — and the desert can be breathtaking. But after many years photographing families across the Coachella Valley, the settings I reach for most are quieter and closer to home: a living room on a slow morning, a shaded neighborhood park, a garden patio with the mountains glowing behind it. Those are the places where children relax, parents exhale, and everyone forgets the camera is there.

Still, this is meant to be an honest, working guide to the best places for family photos in Palm Springs — so I will walk you through everything from your own backyard to our open desert, with real notes on light, timing, logistics, and what each spot is actually like with little ones in tow. My hope is that by the end you feel less overwhelmed and more excited, already picturing your family in one or two of these settings.

First, a few things that matter more than the location

Before we get to specific spots, let me gently reframe the question. The location matters, but three other things matter just as much, and getting them right will make any place on this list sing.

Season. The Coachella Valley has two very different personalities. From roughly November through April, the weather is glorious, the light is soft, and almost anywhere is a joy. From late May through September, the heat is real and midday is simply not safe or comfortable for a session with young children. I do photograph in summer, but only at the very edges of the day, and I lean toward cool interiors and shaded gardens. More on that below.

Time of day and light. Indoors, I work with the soft natural light that comes through your windows — gentlest in the morning — so there are no harsh shadows, no squinting, just an easy glow. Outdoors, I photograph almost exclusively at golden hour, the hour after sunrise or before sunset, when the desert light turns warm and directional and flatters everyone. The high midday sun is a different animal, and we simply plan around it. If you take one thing from this article, let it be that the when often matters as much as the where.

Your family's pace. A location that requires a long hike, a lot of standing still, or a delicate "don't touch" environment is the wrong choice if you have a spirited two-year-old. I always match the place to the people. The best family photos happen when everyone feels free to be themselves.

With that foundation, here are my favorite places — starting with the ones I find myself recommending most.

1. Your own home, backyard, or patio

This is where I do much of my favorite work, so I want to start here. Your home is the most overlooked location of all — and often the most meaningful. A backyard with a pool and a mountain view, a cozy living room on a slow morning, a kitchen full of pancake-making chaos, a shaded patio in the late afternoon — these are the settings your children will actually remember.

In-home and backyard sessions are relaxed, private, and wonderfully practical with babies and toddlers: naps, feedings, favorite toys, and the family pet are all right there. The natural light pouring through your windows is some of the softest, prettiest light I work with all year, and it asks nothing of you but to be at home. Years from now, photographs made in the home you are living in now become priceless.

What to expect: we tidy the key spaces but do not need perfection — life, gently lived-in, is the point. This is my first recommendation for newborns, and for families who feel anxious about "performing" in a public place. If you have a patio or yard, we can drift outside for the last warm light of the day and then back in.

2. Neighborhood parks and botanical gardens

Close behind a home session, the local parks and gardens scattered across the valley are my other go-to. A grassy neighborhood park, a shaded picnic lawn, or one of our beautifully kept botanical and demonstration gardens gives us greenery, room for kids to run, and easy parking and restrooms — without anyone needing a long hike or a hushed, careful pace.

Children can be themselves here: chasing each other across the grass, climbing a low wall, crouching to look at a flower. That natural play gives us the authentic, joyful frames I love most. Late-afternoon golden-hour light filtering through the trees is soft and even, and there is almost always shade nearby when the little ones need a break.

What to expect: parks are public, so we pick a quieter time — early morning or the hour before sunset — and stay flexible. Some botanical gardens have an entry fee or set hours, which we sort out in advance. These settings are gentle on small legs and easy to pair with a home session if you would like a bit of variety in your gallery.

3. Resort, garden, and golf-community settings

Across Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, La Quinta, and Indio, our resorts and master-planned communities offer manicured lawns, palm groves, water features, and lush gardens that feel like a private paradise. For families who want a softer, more polished look — or who simply want shade, restrooms, and an easy, comfortable experience with little ones — these settings are wonderful.

Many families I work with live in or have access to these communities, and photographing where you actually spend your days adds a layer of meaning. The grand lawns are perfect for the classic "everyone walking and laughing together" frame, and the greenery gives a year-round, evergreen backdrop.

What to expect: most resorts and gated communities require permission or a guest arrangement to photograph, so we sort that out in advance. If you have a home or club access, that opens up beautiful private options. These shaded, irrigated settings are also among the most summer-friendly on this list.

4. Palm Springs and the architectural neighborhoods

Palm Springs is famous for its midcentury-modern architecture, and those clean lines, bold doors, and pops of color make for a completely different — and very fun — family session. Think bright walls, vintage breeze-block, palm-lined streets, and that retro desert-cool feeling.

This works especially well for families who feel more "themselves" in a stylish, urban setting than out in raw nature, and for families with older kids and teens who enjoy a more editorial, playful look. We can build a session around walking a block or two, ducking into shade, and using colorful walls as backdrops.

What to expect: these are public streets and neighborhoods, so we work respectfully and keep things moving. Early morning is best, both for soft light and for quiet streets before the day gets busy. Coordinating your outfits with the bold colors — or deliberately keeping outfits neutral so the architecture pops — makes a big difference.

If you love this look, you may also enjoy my thoughts on coordinating colors and textures in what to wear for desert family photos.

5. The mountains and canyons just outside town

For families who want a little more drama and greenery, the canyons at the edge of the valley are a gift. Rocky walls, native palms, and seasonal water give us texture and a sense of grandeur you cannot fake.

The Indian Canyons area south of Palm Springs is a beloved choice, with its iconic fan palms and shaded streamside spots. It feels like a hidden oasis, and the cooler, greener setting is a welcome change from open sand. The light filtering through the palms in the late afternoon is simply lovely.

What to expect: there are entry fees and seasonal hours, and some areas involve a short walk on a trail, so it suits families with kids who are steady on their feet or happy to be carried. The shade keeps things comfortable, which makes this one of the locations that can work a bit later into spring and earlier in fall.

6. The open desert near Palm Springs

For families who want an image that says Coachella Valley the instant someone sees it, our open desert is hard to beat. Soft sand, distant mountains, golden grasses, and that enormous sky make for something timeless and uniquely ours. It is more of an occasional, special-occasion choice for me than an everyday setting, but for the right family it is unforgettable.

The desert gives kids room to run, dig, and be thrown in the air, and the freedom in those frames is part of the magic. At golden hour the light rakes across the sand and wraps everyone in warmth.

What to expect: uneven footing (bare feet or sandals look wonderful in photos, but bring real shoes for walking), wind that can pick up near sunset, and very few facilities, so we plan timing around naps and snacks. Flowing fabrics and soft, earthy tones photograph beautifully against the sand. This is best from late fall through spring; in the warmer months I will only meet families right at sunrise, while the sand is still cool.

A quick season-by-season cheat sheet

• November–April: anything goes. The homes, parks, gardens, canyons, architecture, and desert are all at their best, and my calendar fills early — reach out well ahead.
• May & October (shoulder months): lean toward sunrise sessions, in-home light, and shaded parks, gardens, and canyons. Beautiful, but plan around the heat.
• June–September (summer): in-home sessions and shaded, irrigated gardens are your friends, with a quick sunrise desert session if you have your heart set on the sand. We keep little ones cool and hydrated, always.

Common mistakes to avoid

A few gentle things I see families worry about — or wish they had known:

• Booking midday to "fit the schedule." I know early mornings with kids are hard, but golden-hour light is worth it. We will find a time that respects naps.
• Dressing everyone identically. Matching head-to-toe tends to flatten a family in a photograph. Pick a loose palette of a few colors you love, then mix in different textures — denim, linen, a soft knit — so everyone reads as individuals who clearly belong together.
• Choosing a location that fights your kids' nature. A delicate, hushed setting and a high-energy toddler are not friends. Pick a place where your child can simply be a child.
• Forgetting the practicalities. Water, snacks, sunscreen, a change of clothes for the baby, and a small favorite toy will save the day far more than any prop.
• Waiting too long to book in season. The best November-through-April golden-hour slots go quickly. If you are visiting for the winter, reach out before you arrive.

How I help you choose

You do not have to figure any of this out alone. When a family reaches out, the first thing we do is talk — about your kids' ages and temperaments, where you are staying or living, the feeling you want your images to have, and the time of year. From there I will suggest one or two settings that fit you perfectly, and I will handle the timing and the light so you can simply show up and be together.

If you are weighing the broader question of timing, you might also like the best time of year for Palm Springs family photos, and if you are newer to the desert, a snowbird's guide to family photos in the Coachella Valley may be a helpful companion to this one.

Let's find your place

The truth I have learned over many years is that the "best" place for your family photos is the one where you forget the camera is there — where your kids laugh, you exhale, and I get to catch the real, fleeting moments that make your family unmistakably yours. More often than not, that place is closer than people expect: your own living room, a back patio with the mountains glowing behind you, the neighborhood park down the street. Sometimes it is barefoot in the dunes at sunrise or against a bright Palm Springs wall. Any of them can be exactly right.

If you are picturing your family in one of these settings, I would love to hear which one is calling to you. Tell me about your kids, where you are staying or living, and the feeling you want these photographs to hold, and we will shape a session around it together. You can reach out to me here, and we will take it from there.