Family Photos at JW Marriott Desert Springs

The first time I walked the grounds of the JW Marriott Desert Springs with a camera in my hand, I remember thinking that someone had designed this place for photographs without quite realizing it. The water taxis gliding along the interior waterways, the great atrium full of soft filtered light, the flamingos, the long colonnades that catch the desert sun late in the day — it is a resort, but it photographs like a small world all its own. Over the years it has quietly become one of my favorite places in the Coachella Valley to make family portraits, and families who stay there often ask me the same questions before we begin. This is the guide I wish I could hand to every one of them.

Most of my family work happens close to home — in my clients' living rooms with the morning light pouring through the windows, or at the neighborhood parks, gardens, and shaded patios scattered across Palm Desert and Indian Wells. That is my bread and butter, and it is where most families feel most themselves. But every so often a particular place earns a session of its own, and the JW Marriott is one of those places. Whether you are a family gathering for the holidays, out-of-town relatives meeting for a reunion, or a couple celebrating an anniversary with the kids and grandkids in tow, I want you to walk in knowing exactly what to expect. So let me share everything I have learned about photographing families here.

Why the JW Marriott Desert Springs works so beautifully for family photos

Most desert resorts give you a pretty pool and a wall of palm trees. The JW Marriott in Palm Desert gives you something rarer — variety within a few hundred steps. In a single session we can move from grand architecture to lush water gardens to intimate, shaded corners, all without anyone having to load back into a car. For families with little ones or grandparents along, that ease matters more than almost anything else.

A few things make this resort genuinely special for portraits:

• The waterways and water taxis. The interior lagoons are the signature of the property, and they make a gorgeous, distinctly-Desert-Springs backdrop. A family standing on one of the bridges with the water and boats behind them is unmistakably this place.
• The atrium light. That enormous glass atrium filters the bright desert sun into something soft and even — a lifesaver during the middle of the day or in the heat of summer when the light outside runs hot and contrasty.
• Layered landscaping. Fountains, flowering beds, manicured lawns, and tall palms give us depth and color in every direction.
• Architecture with rhythm. The long arcades and repeating arches create natural leading lines that draw the eye straight to the people who matter.
• The flamingos and gardens. A small delight, but for families with young children, the wildlife on the grounds turns a portrait session into an adventure they actually want to be on.

The best spots on the property for portraits

After many sessions here, I have my favorite corners, and I plan our route around the light and your family's energy. Here is where I love to work.

The waterways and bridges

This is the postcard. The arched bridges over the lagoon give us a clean foreground, beautiful reflections, and that gentle motion of the water taxis passing behind. I like to photograph here when the light is lower and skims across the water — early morning or the last hour before sunset — so the surface glows rather than glares.

The grand atrium and lobby

When the weather is extreme — a July afternoon at 110 degrees, or one of those rare gray winter days — the atrium is my refuge. The diffused overhead light is kind to every face, and the scale of the space makes even a large extended family feel anchored and intentional rather than crowded. It is also wonderful for multigenerational groups where mobility is a consideration; everything is flat, shaded, and close.

The garden paths and fountains

Tucked between the main buildings are quieter planted areas with fountains and greenery that feel worlds away from a busy resort. These are where I get the candid, in-between moments I treasure most — a grandfather lifting a toddler, siblings whispering, the unguarded laughter that happens when nobody is being told to say cheese.

The colonnades and arches

For something a little more formal and timeless, the repeating archways are stunning. I use them for clean, editorial-feeling portraits, especially in the late afternoon when warm light rakes down the length of the walkway.

The lawns and palm groves

Open green lawns framed by tall palms give us room for movement — kids running, a family walking toward the camera hand in hand. These are perfect for the relaxed, lifestyle-style images that feel honest and alive.

When to schedule: light and season in the desert

If you take one piece of advice from me, let it be this — timing is everything in the Coachella Valley. Our light is glorious, but it is also intense, and the difference between a 4 p.m. session in June and a 5:30 p.m. session in January is night and day.

Golden hour is your friend

My favorite outdoor light here is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, what we call golden hour. The sun sits low, the harsh shadows soften, and everything takes on that warm desert glow that makes skin look luminous and the palms turn to gold. I almost always build outdoor family sessions around this window.

Because the desert sky is so clear, sunset times shift dramatically across the year. In December and January, the light goes golden remarkably early — we might start around 3:30 or 4 p.m. In June, golden hour does not arrive until close to 7 p.m., and even then the day's heat lingers. I will always tell you the exact ideal start time for your specific date when we plan.

Snowbird season (November through April)

This is the sweet spot, and not coincidentally it is when most of my family sessions here happen. The weather is glorious — warm, dry days and cool, comfortable evenings — and the resort is at its liveliest. If your family travels to the desert for the season, or gathers here for the holidays, you are arriving at the most photogenic time of year. I do book up quickly during these months, especially around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, so reach out early if you have a particular date in mind.

Summer (May through September)

I never want anyone to rule out a summer session, because we absolutely can make beautiful work in the warm months — we just work with the heat rather than against it. That means an early sunrise start before the day climbs, or leaning into the cool, shaded atrium and covered walkways. Bring water, keep the littlest ones comfortable, and we will move at an easy pace. Some of my softest, dreamiest images have come from quiet summer mornings here.

What to wear for family photos at the resort

Wardrobe tends to cause the most second-guessing, so let me make it simple. The goal is for your family to look like your family — pulled together, relaxed, and comfortable enough to forget you are dressed up.

• Choose a palette, not a uniform. Pick two or three colors that work together and let everyone pull from that range. Head-to-toe identical outfits tend to look dated; a shared palette looks timeless.
• Lean into soft, desert-friendly tones. Creams, warm neutrals, sage, dusty blue, terracotta, and muted earth tones sit beautifully against the resort's sandstone architecture and green landscaping. Bold neon and very busy patterns tend to fight the background.
• Add gentle texture. Linen, flowing fabrics, and light layers move beautifully in our desert breeze and photograph with life and dimension.
• Dress for the temperature. This sounds obvious, but I have seen families sweltering in heavy sweaters for a December shoot that turned out to be 80 degrees, and shivering in sundresses at a cool evening session. Check the forecast and I will too.
• Comfortable shoes for the kids. We will be walking the grounds, and a happy, comfortable child is worth more than any perfect outfit.

If you want more detailed help thinking this through, I wrote a fuller piece on what to wear for desert family photos that walks through palettes season by season.

What to expect during our session

My whole approach is built around making this feel like an experience, not an ordeal — especially for families with young children. I have photographed enough sessions to know that the magic happens when everyone relaxes, so my job is to set that tone from the first hello.

Here is roughly how it goes. We will meet at an easy spot on the property, and I will spend the first few minutes simply letting everyone get comfortable with me and the camera. I rarely ask families to hold stiff, formal poses. Instead I gently guide you — a walk along the waterway, a quiet moment on a bench, the kids leading the way to the flamingos — and I photograph the real connection that unfolds. The frames I keep coming back to are almost never the posed ones; they are the unguarded expression or gesture in between, the look that says exactly who you are to each other.

A typical family session runs about an hour to ninety minutes, which gives us time to move through two or three of the spots I described above and to let young children take the breaks they need. We never rush. If a toddler needs a snack or a teenager needs a minute, that is part of the day, and some of my favorite frames come from exactly those pauses.

A few practical notes for booking here

Because the JW Marriott Desert Springs is a private resort, a little planning goes a long way:

• Let me know if you are a guest. Sessions on the grounds are easiest when your family is staying at the property. If you are not a registered guest, it is worth checking with the resort about their policy for outside photography before we finalize plans.
• Tell me about your group. The number of people, the ages of the children, and any mobility needs all shape how I plan our route and timing. A family of four moves differently than a twenty-person reunion, and I will tailor everything accordingly.
• Think about your goal. Are these holiday card photos, a generational gift for grandparents, or simply a record of this trip together? Knowing what matters most to you helps me prioritize the images you will treasure.
• Book early in season. As I mentioned, November through April fills up fast. If you are planning around a specific stay or holiday, the sooner we connect, the better.

If you are weighing other gorgeous Coachella Valley backdrops, I also love working at the nearby resorts and gardens — you might enjoy my guide to the best family photo locations across the Coachella Valley, which puts Desert Springs in the context of the whole valley.

Common questions

How long does a family session take? Plan for about an hour to ninety minutes. That is enough to capture variety without exhausting the little ones.

What if the weather does not cooperate? It rarely rains here, but if it does or if the heat is extreme, the indoor atrium gives us a beautiful, fully covered option. We can almost always make it work, and if we genuinely can't, we will simply reschedule.

Can you photograph large extended families? Absolutely — the resort's scale is one of its gifts. I love multigenerational sessions, and I will plan our pacing and spots to keep everyone comfortable, grandparents and grandbabies alike.

When will we see the photos? I deliver a carefully edited gallery after our session, and I take real care with the retouching so the final images feel honest, warm, and timeless — never overdone.

Let's plan your family photos at Desert Springs

There is something I find genuinely moving about photographing families here. The desert has a way of slowing people down, and this resort — with its water and light and quiet garden corners — invites the kind of ease where real connection shows up in front of the camera. Whether we end up working at the JW Marriott, in your own living room, or under the trees at a park near you, my aim is the same: pictures that still feel true to your family years from now.

So if a holiday gathering, a reunion, or simply a trip to the Coachella Valley has you thinking about family portraits, send me a few details about who will be there and what you are hoping to remember. I will tell you the best time of day for your dates, help you sketch out a plan, and take it from there.

You can get in touch with me here, and I will write back soon.