08/25/2026
I’ve been lucky to capture several extended family sessions this summer and have loved every.single.one.
Since I have a couple booked for this fall as well (yes, my books quietly opened last week), I thought I’d share my thoughts on how to make the best of these beautiful sessions that will mean more and more to you, as the years go by.
Extended family photos are rarely calm. And honestly? They’re not supposed to be.
There are usually a lot of people, a lot of opinions, a few kids who would rather be anywhere else, and at least one person wondering why they agreed to this in the first place.
There’s only somewhat of a shot list.
I want the big group photo. The grandparents with the grandkids. The siblings. The cousins. The combinations that matter most to your family.
But I also want to know your priorities before we start, because we don’t have to photograph every possible combination to make the time worthwhile.
Breaks are important. Letting the kids run around is important. Giving the person who has had enough a minute to breathe is important.
And in between all of that, I’m looking for the moments that happen on their own — the little conversations, the hugs, the kids being ridiculous together, grandparents laughing, someone pulling someone else into a photo. Because years from now, these won’t just be photos of everyone standing in a row looking at the camera.
They’ll be a record of who was there. How little the kids were. What everyone looked like together. The people who made up your family at this particular point in time.
So yes, extended family sessions can be chaotic.
The goal isn’t perfect behaviour, it’s making it fun for each other and simply being together.
And we also don’t want to rush these, making time to let everyone warm up so we can have the photographs you’ll be really glad we took.
