I loved my time with the beautiful Shuknecht family! Every frame shows their sweet relationship and closeness.
When I photograph an extended family, I’m never looking at it as one big group that I need to fit into a single photo. I’m looking at all the relationships within that family, because that’s where these sessions become really special. Yes, we’ll absolutely get the photograph with everyone together, but that’s only one part of what we can create while we have grandparents, grown children, siblings, cousins, and individual families all in the same place.
One of my favorite parts of an extended family session is breaking the group down into smaller combinations. I’ll photograph each individual family, grandparents with their grandchildren, siblings together, cousins, couples, and other groupings that make sense for your family. Sometimes those smaller groups end up being the photographs people love the most because you may not realize how long it’s been since you had a picture with your siblings or a really beautiful photograph of Grandma and Grandpa with all of their grandchildren.
If you’re thinking about booking an extended family session, one of the best things you can do ahead of time is let me know who will be there and how everyone is connected. Give me the family rundown! Knowing which children belong to which parents, who the siblings are, and any combinations that are especially important to you helps me make sure we don’t miss something you were hoping for. You don’t need to arrive with a giant shot list, though. Once I understand your family, I can help guide the session and keep things moving.
Wardrobe is another area where a little planning makes a big difference, especially with a larger group. Instead of putting everyone in the same color, choose a general palette and let each household work within it. Mixing complementary colors, textures, and subtle patterns gives the photographs some dimension while still making the whole family look connected. It also allows everyone to wear something that feels like them, which is especially important when you’re dressing several generations at once.
I also recommend thinking about the youngest members of the family when we plan the session. Little ones usually do best when we aren’t asking them to stand still and smile for every photograph, so I like to get the larger groupings taken care of while everyone is fresh and then give kids opportunities to move around and interact. Some of the sweetest extended family photographs happen when everyone relaxes a little and the cousins start being cousins or a grandchild curls up next to a grandparent.
And don’t worry if your family has a lot of different personalities. Every family does! Some people love being photographed, while others would happily volunteer to hold everyone’s coats instead. Part of my job is keeping things comfortable and giving enough direction that no one has to wonder what to do with their hands or where they’re supposed to stand. You just need to show up ready to spend a little time together.
What I love most about these sessions is how much we can create from one gathering. You walk away with that beautiful photograph of the entire family, but you also have pictures of the smaller families and relationships that make up the bigger one. When you look through the finished gallery, you get to see your family from so many different angles, and I think that’s what makes an extended family session so much fun to photograph.
Families keep growing and changing, and every new season brings a slightly different group to the picture. If you have everyone together and have been thinking that it might be a good time for updated family photos, it probably is. I’d love to help you create a collection that celebrates the whole crew and all the wonderful little connections within it.
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