This Isn’t a Photoshoot. It’s Your Family’s Story. | Lifestyle Family Photographer in Menifee & Southern California
There’s a moment in almost every traditional photoshoot where the energy shifts.
The kids stop cooperating. The adults start performing. The photographer is making noises at your children that no grown adult should ever make in public. And somewhere between “stand here” and “everyone look at me,” you stop being a family and start being an act.
You’ll probably still get a few beautiful photos. But will they feel like you?
If you’ve been searching for a lifestyle family photographer in Menifee, Temecula, Murrieta, or anywhere in Southern California, and something about the standard photoshoot experience has always felt a little off, you’re in the right place.
At Designed In Love Photography, I don’t build sessions around a pose list or a clock. I build them around your story. Who you are. How you live. What you want to remember.
And yes, that looks completely different for every family. That’s the whole point.
Why I Stopped Doing “Traditional” Family Photography
Somewhere along the way, family photography became about performing a version of your life instead of living it.
Perfect outfits. Perfect smiles. Perfect behavior from children who have never once in their lives stood still on command and aren’t about to start today.
I couldn’t keep shooting that way. Because those photos aren’t memories. They’re performances. And your family deserves better than a 60-minute recital nobody asked for.
I became a photographer because I wanted to capture connection. The way your people exist together. The inside jokes and the chaos and the quiet moments and the absolutely unhinged things your kids do that you never want to forget.
The strawberry-stained apron your grandma always wore in the kitchen. The tiny sandy footprints across the floor. The way your partner looks at you when they think no one is watching.
That’s what I’m here for.
Your Session, Your Story
I offer three different session experiences, and none of them start with “pick a package.” They start with a conversation about your life and what you want to remember about it.
Here’s how each one works:
The Everyday Story: Your Real Life, Beautifully Documented
Best for: Families who want their home, their routines, and their real life captured exactly as it is.
Some of the most powerful sessions I’ve ever photographed happened in living rooms. In kitchens. On couches surrounded by dog hair and throw pillows and the beautiful, ordinary chaos of a life being lived.
I showed up to this one and found this mama exactly as she should be. No studio. No field. No perfectly coordinated outfits. She wanted her home, her partner, and the bump that was about to change everything.
She was in jeans and a Calvin Klein sports bra, bump out and completely unbothered about it. Her partner in jeans and a tee. Both barefoot. And their dog, their sweet, soulful, fully convinced she was people dog, making sure she was included in every single frame.
We moved through their space the way they move through it every day. Kitchen light hitting that bump while she leaned against the counter. The two of them tangled on the couch together, their girl in the middle giving her little sister kisses, nose to belly, soft and slow, like she already knew. Quiet moments. Laughing ones.
Nothing was staged. I do help clients think through what to wear so they feel good and the images feel cohesive, but this wasn’t a production. It was just their life, on a regular day, with someone there to notice it.
The images are stunning because of it. Not despite the realness. Because of it.
This is for you if: You want to look back at these photos in twenty years and recognize your life in them. Every body, every shape, every age, every season. You don’t need to look a certain way or have a certain house. You just need to show up as yourself.
The Adventure Story: Turn What You Already Love Into an Experience
Best for: Families who have a “thing.” A place, a ritual, a hobby, a spot that’s already woven into your everyday life.
This is my personal favorite to shoot, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
Because here’s what I’ve learned: the most meaningful photos don’t happen in the most beautiful locations. They happen in the most true ones.
The Home Depot Session (Yes, Really)
After getting to know this family, it was clear. Weekend DIY projects aren’t just something they do, it’s how they spend their time together. The kids are always involved, always underfoot, always part of it. So when it came time to talk about their session, I wasn’t scrolling Pinterest looking for inspiration. They were the inspiration.
I suggested Home Depot and they were immediately in.
The kids loved pushing mom through the aisles in a cart, getting creative inside the store, exploring every corner like it was somewhere worth exploring, because with the right people, it is. A quiet moment in the paint section where the parents leaned into each other while the kids fanned paint sample cards with full dramatic commitment. An unexpected pause between shelves in the lighting aisle, the kind of moment that only happens when you’re present enough to catch it.
Every image is alive because the people in them were living.
The Museum Session
This Adventure Story couldn’t be more different. Which is entirely the point.
After a conversation about what this couple loves, art, color, the kind of afternoon where you wander without a plan, a museum felt like the only right answer. A colorful space with a slower pace and a completely different kind of energy.
This one wasn’t about chaos and movement. It was about two people being completely present with each other. Hands brushing as they moved between exhibits. There’s a moment in the elevator that I helped create, a little direction, a little space, and suddenly you have a photograph that feels like it happened by accident and is better for it.
Some clients need guidance. Some moments need a gentle nudge. That’s part of what I bring. You don’t have to figure it out on your own.
Your Adventure Story doesn’t have to be dramatic. It just has to be yours. The coffee shop you’ve been going to every Sunday for five years. The garden you’ve been building together. The hiking trail your kids have walked so many times they could do it in their sleep. The kitchen where your family cooks every Sunday, every holiday, every time someone needs feeding.
If it matters to you, it belongs in your photos.
The Glimmer: Dreamy Light, Beautiful Backdrops, and Connection That Feels Like a Fairytale
Best for: The client who wants something a little more ethereal. Golden hour on the beach. A lush hillside with long grass and whispery trees. Sunrise light that makes everything look like it was painted.
Not every family wants to document the chaos. Some want to step outside of it for an hour and feel something softer.
The Glimmer leans more traditional when it comes to the feel of the images, and that’s completely okay. You’re allowed to want dreamy. You’re allowed to want that glowy, golden, almost-too-beautiful-to-be-real look. This isn’t about posing stiffly in front of a sunset, it’s still rooted in real connection and genuine feeling. We’re just wrapping it in light that makes your heart ache a little.
Think: the beach at sunrise before anyone else shows up. A nature setting with soft, filtered light coming through the trees. A field at golden hour that makes everyone look like they belong in a painting.
If you’ve saved a hundred photos to your phone that all have that same warm, glowing, fairy-tale quality and you’ve been wondering if that’s even possible for your family, the answer is yes. That’s what this is for.
Photos That Couldn’t Belong to Anyone Else
Here’s the thing most people don’t realize until they see their gallery:
You’re not just getting photos that look different. You’re getting photos that are genuinely, structurally impossible to belong to anyone else.
You will not walk into someone else’s home someday and see your photo on their wall. Because your session is shaped by your routines, your energy, your relationships, your specific version of an ordinary Tuesday.
That’s not a selling point. That’s the whole philosophy.
Is This the Right Fit for You?
I want to be honest with you, because I think you deserve that more than a sales pitch.
My sessions are not for everyone. If you want classic, posed, everyone-looking-at-the-camera family photos, there are photographers in this area who do that beautifully, and I mean that. That style has its place and there’s nothing wrong with wanting it.
But if what you’re looking for is something that feels:
- Playful and a little unscripted
- Warm and completely pressure-free
- Body positive and welcoming to all bodies, all ages
- Deeply personal and impossible to replicate
- More like you than any photo you’ve ever taken
Then we might be exactly right for each other.
Here’s what I need you to know though: this is a collaboration.
I can’t do what I do well without you. I need clients who are genuinely here for the process, who want to participate, who understand that showing up open and willing is half the work. When that’s there, I can do something really special. When it’s not, nobody goes home happy.
Your kids don’t need to sit still. They do need to be kids, which means engaged, present, and part of what we’re building together. Your house doesn’t need to be perfect. You don’t need to have it all figured out before you reach out. But you do need to want this, not just a photo, but the experience of making one.
If that sounds like you, I’d love to hear from you.
Let’s Find Your Story
It starts with your inquiry. You’ll fill out a short form telling me what you’re looking for and what’s calling to you, and from there we’ll connect to see if we’re a good fit. If we are, I’ll help guide you through everything, which session type makes sense, what location fits your story, how to prepare so the whole thing feels easy instead of stressful.
Based in Menifee, California. Serving families across Southern California including Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, San Diego, Orange County, and beyond.
Ready to find your story? Inquire here.
Questions You’re Probably Already Asking
What if my kids won’t cooperate? Kids don’t need to sit still or perform on command, they never did. What I need from them is just to be themselves. Energetic, silly, distracted, emotional, all of it works. The chaos is not a problem. It’s usually where the best moments are hiding.
Do I need a “good” location or a nice house? No. The location matters less than you think. What matters is whether it feels like you. A lived-in home with good light beats a perfect backdrop with no personality every single time.
What if I’m not comfortable in front of a camera? Most people aren’t. That’s why I don’t ask you to perform for one. I give you something to do, somewhere to be, someone to connect with, and I work while you’re busy doing that.
Do you photograph families outside of Menifee? Yes. I work with families across Southern California, including Temecula, Murrieta, Riverside, San Diego, and Orange County. Adventure Stories especially, I’ll go where your story lives.
Do you work with all body types? Without hesitation, yes. This is a judgment-free space, full stop.
Designed In Love Photography | Lifestyle Family Photographer | Menifee, CA | Serving Southern California
Explore more: [Family Sessions] | [Maternity Sessions] | [Branding Photography with She Leads Brand Co.]
