Photographers, ever been at a session and your mind blanks? Every prompt, pose, idea, inspiration — gone. Out the window, and left the building 🫡 I’ve been there too and there’s nothing more terrifying than standing face-to-face with your client saying “Uhhhh, walk away from SLOWLY while holding hands” as you try to regain your thoughts. I’ve been there too, and I want to help you avoid this feeling. I put together a list of my favorite 15 playful prompts for couples. I find that many of these prompts naturally flow together too, which is a win. Let’s kick that creative slump during sessions together.
For me, a general rule of thumb is the sillier the prompt the better. I preface this to my clients ahead of time by saying something like “Many of the prompts I use are silly, but that’s intentional. Trust the process!” I have found that if you want a smile, giggly photo, the worst way to go about that is to say “Give me your best fake laugh” ☠️ There’s a better way.
The prompts below are intended to evoke emotion. If I tell my client to sniff their partner’s ear, I’m not as interested in the actual ‘sniffing’ part (lol), but the immediate reaction that follows. I can almost guarantee immediate giggles and belly laughs because it’s unexpected, unusual, and tickles lol. A personal fave, for sure.
I shooooould preface that I love to have fun with my couples, so these prompts are not your traditional ‘walk towards me smiling‘ type of prompts. My goal is to help couples loosen up in front of the camera and have fun, which leads to a result of candid, playful photos.
15 playful prompts for couples, to try at your next photoshoot 💫
1. Intertwine fingers and frolic towards/away from me while bumping hips, looking at each other.
2. It’s 2 AM, after the bar closes, and it’s time to snuggle up side-by-side and drunk walk towards me. *Think cutesy drunk, not falling on the floor drunk 🤪* Do whatever you gotta do to get home (AKA, riiiight in front of my camera). Once you’re there, give a biiiiig smooch.
3. Pretend you’re in Antarctica. Stand tummy-to-tummy, and warm each other up as fast as you can. Bonus points for extra kisses everywhere but the mouth 😏
4. Time to get dirty. Let’s barrel roll 🤌🏼 Roll around on the ground on top of each other. Keep going until you can’t go anymore.
5. Stand as close as you can, tummy-to-tummy. Next, intertwine your fingers with your arms down and slowly move your arms all around, like an airplane. As you go in for kisses, your partner should lean back, sway, and try to avoid your smooches. Throughout, stay close together and occasionally wrap up in each other’s arms. And most importantly, have fun with it 🤍
6. Walk toward me hand-in-hand while leaning into each other’s shoulders.
7. Whisper your go-to order from your favorite fast food restaurant in your partner’s in your silliest voice, as loud as you can.
8. Wrap your arms around your partner’s waist, get all sweet and snuggly, and then proceed to give some soft kisses on their cheek. Squeeze them tight around the waist, and as a delightful surprise, blow raspberries on their neck. This is a personal favorite.
9. Get as close as you can, snuggle up, and then machine gun kiss alllll over your partner’s face. In other words, give as many kisses as you can, as quickly as you can.
10. Stand facing in the same direction, snuggle up, and then wrap your arms up like pretzels. Sway side-to-side, and to add a fun twist, have the person in the back whisper the alphabet backward in their partner’s ear.
11. Practice for your first dance and slow dance together. Throw in a dip or two at the end!
12. It’s time to boomerang, baby 💁🏼♀️. To start, have person #1 stand in front of the other with their arm stretched back. Then, go hand-in-hand and begin lightly jogging. Person #1 will pull in their arm “boomeranging” person #2 forward, so now person #2 is leading. As you’re running towards the camera, person #2 will then pull in their arm and boomerang person #1 to the front. Repeat.
13. Hop on your partner’s back, like you’re preparing for a piggyback ride. However, this is not your average piggyback ride. The person giving the ride will place their feet on the ground – with a wide stance. Have your partner hop on. Once they’re ready, tell them to hold on tight and you’re going to sway side-to-side, bounce up and down, and move around giving the craziest piggyback ride.
14. Stand hand-in-hand, facing each other, and then spin in circles like school children ⚡️
15. Run up from behind your partner, and give them a surprise bear hug. For bonus points, see if you can pick them up around the waist and spin them around 1 or 2 times.
Screenshot the 15 playful prompts for couples above, try them at your next session, share some sneak peeks on Instagram, and tag me in them (@morganelizabethphotos). I would loooove to see how they turn out, and be able to hype you up on the ‘gram 💫
— Want additional freebies, prompts, and resources? Join the email list. Don’t worry — I hate spammy emails just as much as you. I’m here to provide tips and resources to help you kick butt as a photographer.
Looking for a photographer to take your engagement/couple photos? Slide into my inbox and let’s start dreaming about what your session could look like together.
In the meantime, keep rocking it, babe. You’re doing big things and I’m so proud of you.
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