Extended Family Sessions

Whether Cardinal Lane Photography is taking your pics or it's your uncle who has a nice camera, extended and multi-generational family sessions can be loads of fun OR loads of stress! Getting to capture the special relationships that have grown over so many years is really special. My knowledge and experience with this kind of session allows me to help you avoid some of the pitfalls that can make things stressful. And we want don't want stress on your picture day! We want to have a fun, worry free shoot filled with giggles and smiles. Here are a few tips to help your extended family photo session run smooth like butta.

1. What's the Goal?

Make sure everyone is on the same page as to what your goal is for the session. Some families want only a big family photo. Others want to break it down a bit more, including individual family groups or possibly some of the other relationships such as a few with the only the grandkids, etc. Before you book, it's best to have everyone in agreement as to what kind of groupings you would like to have taken.

2. What's the Style?

It's best if everyone is in agreement on the style of photos you are requesting. You might love outdoor, relaxed and natural looking photos, where as Grandma Ethel wants traditional perfectly-posed-back-straight-hands-crossed kinda pictures. Someone is going to be disappointed if this isn't talked out beforehand! We don't want any Grumpy Gus's on picture day, so work out the kinks now and let your photographer know.

3. What to Wear?

Clothing is important for large groups, and the decision should be made early for the convenience of family that maybe traveling from afar. The best advice is to choose neutrals(meaning jeans, khakis, grays and blacks) and then pick 2-3 complimentary colors to mix in, with careful consideration to any patterns. Believe it or not, matchy-matchy is not the way to go! You end up all blending into one another and you turn into a rare, giant, single bodied, 12 headed enigma. Don't be afraid to lay a couple of ground rules for your family. If you still aren't sure what to wear, please reach out to me and I can pass on some ideas!

4. Who's the Contact Person?

It will help everyone involved if there is ONE contact person who corresponds between the photographer and the rest of the family. This will be the person to make the payment, sign the portrait agreement and distribute the photos after they receive them. When there are too many people involved, it can be easy to make omissions or mistakes, causing more stress than necessary. I want to make sure this photo session is as stress-free and as fun as possible.

5. Where's this happening?

Location is an equal part of the equation for great pictures. However, there are a lot of moving parts to this matter, with the most priority being given to light and space, so this will need to be discussed well in advance. It may be hard to accommodate every request in regards to places you might have in mind, but I am always scouting new locations for the best results possible for large groups.