Summer break and the winter holidays are the busiest for extended family photo sessions. I love photographing big families, especially ones that haven’t seen each other in a while! Anne contacted me interested in celebrating her 60th birthday, by scheduling an extended family session. She wanted to capture her three children, and their families, as it is rare to have everyone in the same place, at the same time.
Running a photo session with large groups can be tricky! But if there’s some planning ahead of time, it can be a fun experience for everyone involved.
Typically when I’m contacted about an extended family session, it’s by one person. They become the point of contact and my biggest help with coordinating everyone the day of the session. Once all the details of location, date, and time are worked out, they’re usually the ones to reach out to the rest of the family, and make sure everyone knows when everything is taking place.
Outfits! It can be hard coordinating outfits with this many people. But it can happen! It used to be trendy to have all family members wearing the same thing…not so much any more. Choose a color scheme that has 3-4 colors for everyone to pull from. If you need help, Pinterest can be your best friend! Check out my blog post on What to Wear to your Family Session or my Pinterest Board on What to Wear. You’ll find lots of examples and it will be easy to share with your family!
What to expect during your session:
Coordinating a big family can get out of control very quickly! But don’t worry, I break it down into steps that will make sure we get all of the combinations. It’s ideal for everyone to arrive by our agreed time, but things happen and I completely understand! I like to spend the first few minutes introducing myself , and making sure to chat with all the kiddos involved. I typically start with a large group photo just to warm everyone up. If not everyone has arrived, I’ll either take some candids of the kids playing, or start with family photos of those that are there.
Once everyone has arrived, I’ll be posing you all as a group, individual families, couples, individuals of the kids, cousins, kids with grandparents, and all the variations we’ve discussed!
So breath and don’t sweat the small things! Let’s make this a fun experience, that is just another activity your family will get to do together!
To book your extended family session, contact me here.