Summary Although cooperative interactions among kin have been established in a variety of biological systems, their occurrence in plants remains controversial. Plants of A rabidopsis thaliana were grown in rows of either a single or multiple accessions. Plants recognized kin neighbours and horizontally reoriented leaf growth, a response not observed when plants were grown with nonkin. Plant kin recognition involved the perception of the vertical red/far‐red light and blue light profiles. Disruption of the light profiles, mutations at the PHYTOCHROME B , CRYPTOCHROME 1 or 2, or PHOTOTROPIN 1 or 2 photoreceptor genes or mutations at the TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE OF ARABIDOPSIS1 gene required for auxin (growth hormone) synthesis impaired the response. The leaf‐position response increases plant self‐shading, decreases mutual shading between neighbours and increases fitness. Light signals from neighbours are known to shape a more competitive plant body. Here we show that photosensory receptors mediate cooperative rather than competitive interactions among kin neighbours by reducing the competition for local pools of resources.