Planning Family Portraits With Extended Family

Planning Family Portraits With Extended Family – Five Tips For A Stress-free Session

Any time that your family is all together, in the same location, is a GREAT time to take family portraits. One thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught me is to not take these moments for granted. There are many times throughout the year where your family may gather to celebrate a birthday, the holidays, graduations, etc. These moments are the perfect time to also schedule family portraits. Here are five tips on planning family portraits with extended family.

Schedule The Session Well In Advance

One of the ways to make planning family portraits with extended family stress-free is by planning the session well in advance. I recommend giving everyone at least 2-4 weeks notice. This allows everyone to put the session on their calendars. If your family consists of a lot of kids, this is especially important! Most families with kids are juggling hectic schedules – so giving ample notice is important 😉 If scheduling is an issue, I recommend trying to schedule the session on a Sunday. Sunday’s are typically less busy with events and it will be more than likely everyone can make the session.

Make Coordinating Outfits Easy on Everyone

Another thing to consider when planning family portraits with extended family is to make coordinating outfits as easy as possible. I recommend giving everyone two color choices. For example, everyone can wear blue jeans with a blue or white shirt or a dress in the same colors. Chances are people will already have an outfit that meets this type of description. Planning outfits around clothing that people most likely already have will eliminate the stress of buying a new outfit just for the session.

Plan on Arriving At Least 15 Minutes Before The Start of The Session

Perhaps the one factor that adds stress to family portraits with extended family is making sure everyone arrives on time. One way to minimize this from happening is by telling people to arrive at least 15 minutes early. If you know that certain family members are prone to being late, tell them the session actually starts 15 minutes before the actual start time. That way if they arrive “late” it will not cut into the session 😉

When photographing large groups, I tend to take a shot of the entire group first. And then break into smaller groups from there. However, if people happen to be running late, we can take pictures of the smaller groups first 😉

If There Are A Lot of People, Make Sure To Write A List of Each Combination You Want Photographed

Another tip I recommend is to make a list of all of the family groupings you would like photographed. Since you will know more about your family than the Photographer, this is a good idea for large groups. This is especially the case with families consisting of step parents, mixed families, etc. Creating a list will ensure that all of the desired groups are captured at least once and it will also minimize stress.

Plan Something After The Session

Last but not least, I recommend planning something fun for after the session. Believe it or not, there may be a family member or two who may not be excited for the session. Planning something fun after the session will incentivize cooperation and create excitement around the session. Some examples of fun things to do after the session are miniature golf, going to ice cream, or making reservations for lunch or dinner 😉

If you are planning family portraits with extended family, I hope these tips have been useful! Thanks!