Extended Family Photo Sessions are popular throughout the year. As a San Francisco Bay Area Family Photographer, I enjoy capturing these sessions for my clients! Many times, they consist of grandparents, their children + spouses, and grandchildren. Other times, they may consist of a family plus both sets of grandparents. This is a wonderful way to capture photographs of your entire family, which will be cherished for generations to come.
I ask the family ahead of time what combinations of people they would like to have photographed. The typical combinations are usually:
Entire group
Grandparents with grandchildren
Each separate family
Each separate family + grandparents
All cousins together
Grandparents alone
I always start with the entire group to ensure we get that important shot while the children are fresh, and before anyone melts down or needs a break.
After going through the main groups, if there is still time and people are still feeling engaged, we'll do more breakdowns such as:
Each mom with her children
Each dad with his children
Individuals of each child
Couples
Grandparents with their children
The combinations depend on the family's preferences and how quickly we move through each one. As with all of my sessions, I like to get some "posed" photos, and then really focus on connection and movement-based photos. These involve prompts such as cuddling, walking, running, dancing, laughing, etc.
This extended family was a joy to work with, and we were able to capture several beautiful photos of their entire family plus many of the breakdowns mentioned above. The kids were all so sweet, really seemed to enjoy each other, and were easy to work with. We were lucky to have a beautiful sky at the waterfront in Martinez, CA, as well! I love their gallery and the variety of photos we ended up with.
