Underwater Photos of Your Kids: What a Frisco Pool Session Looks Like

Fourth of July, backyard pool, my own two kids. Somewhere between the hot dogs and the fourth round of cannonballs I grabbed my underwater housing and started shooting. No plan, no posing, no “okay now look here.” Just them doing exactly what they were already doing. Those turned into some of my favorite underwater frames I’ve ever taken, and they’re the reason I wanted to write this. If you want the full picture of how underwater sessions work, start with the complete underwater guide. This one is specifically about kids.

Kids are the easiest underwater subjects I shoot

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Here’s the thing nobody tells you. Styled underwater sessions with teens and adults take real coaching. I’m talking someone through every breath, every hand, every slow turn so the fabric moves right. It’s worth it, but it’s work.

Kids are the opposite. They already know how to play in a pool. My job is mostly to get out of the way, float there with the camera, and catch it. You don’t pose a kid underwater. You just add water and let them go.

That’s why these photos feel the way they do. Nothing is staged. It’s the same chaos that was already happening, except now it’s frozen in that weird, beautiful, weightless way that only happens under the surface.

You don’t direct it, you follow it

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The whole approach with kids is different. With a senior I’m building a shot. With a kid I’m chasing one.

I let them pick what they want to do. Cannonballs, dive-downs, racing to the wall, sitting on the bottom step pretending to be a shark. I just keep shooting through it. Some of my favorite frames are the ones I didn’t see coming: a mid-dive tuck, a faceful of bubbles, a kid frozen mid-sprint across the shallow end.

If your kid is shy about it at first, that’s fine. We start on the steps, in the shallow end, wherever they feel safe. Ten minutes in they usually forget the camera is even there. That’s when the good stuff happens.

What they wear: basically whatever

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I get this question a lot, and for kids the answer is easy. Whatever they already live in all summer. Regular swim trunks, a swimsuit, goggles if they want them.

Bold solid colors pop best against the blue water, so if you’re picking something out, lean bright. But don’t overthink it. My son wore stars-and-stripes flag trunks for the Fourth and it honestly made the whole set. If you want the full breakdown for styled sessions, I wrote a whole underwater wardrobe guide, but for kids you can skip most of it. Bright, comfortable, done.

A parent stays poolside the entire time

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This part isn’t optional, and I want to be clear about it. For any kids session, a parent or guardian stays poolside for the whole thing. Not inside grabbing snacks, not scrolling on a lounge chair. Right there at the water’s edge, eyes on your kid.

That’s how I run every underwater session with a minor, no exceptions. I keep sessions short, I shoot in shallow water, and I let kids rest and pop up whenever they want. Nobody gets pushed past what they’re comfortable with, and no shot is worth rushing a nervous swimmer. If you want the longer version of how I think about this, I broke it all down in is underwater photography safe.

Where we shoot

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Your backyard pool works great if it’s clean, sunny, and has a shallow area. A light-colored bottom and clear water give the cleanest look. Most of the DFW pools I shoot in are exactly that: someone’s Frisco or Plano backyard on a bright afternoon.

Time of day matters more than people expect. Midday sun punching through the water is what gives you those rays and that glow. We’ll plan around the light when you book. If you want the full prep list, here’s how to prepare for an underwater session.

What you actually walk away with

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Photos of your kids that don’t look like anyone else’s. No stiff smiles at a park, no “everybody say cheese.” Just pure motion and joy and that one frame you didn’t know you needed until you saw it.

If your kids basically live in the pool all summer, this is the session that turns that into something you’ll actually hang on the wall. It pairs naturally with a family session too, if you want both the pool day and the classic stuff.

See the whole set

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The Fourth of July shoot that started all this is up as a full gallery. Flag trunks, cannonballs, and a whole lot of bubbles. Take a look at the July 4th underwater gallery to get a real sense of what a kids pool session looks like start to finish.

I’m not booking new client sessions right now, but you can see more of this kind of work on the underwater portraits page and across the galleries. If you’ve got a creative collaboration in mind, get in touch. My inbox is always open.