Extended Family Photo Session | Riverview Florida Photographer
I love extended family photo sessions. Like, love, love them. I just think they are so important and if your family has an opportunity to do one when you are all together or celebrating a big milestone, don’t hesitate to invest in family photos. Time flies. Milestones like this family celebrating their parent’s 40th wedding anniversary are priceless. The one family may look familar if you have seen my work. They are a forever family of mine basically with me since I started my business almost 11 years ago. I have been photographing their family unit since there were only three of them, and they have added two kids since then. That is a really big deal if you are a photographer and not an honor I take lightly. I am so truly blessed to have met this family and so lucky the continue to trust me to document them and now their extended family twice, too! Make sure you read all the way to the end for some tips about how to make your own large, or extended, family photo session run smoothly.
We met at a “new to me park” - which is super hard to do as a Tampa photographer for as long as as I have been in business. Almost eleven years now! I loved the lush greenery and little bridge pathway but especially the creek that runs right through the park. I will be back when it isn’t so hot to do some creek sessions eventually! I just need to find the right client :) If you are brave and want a water filled, maybe wet and wild session for something different this fall or next early spring, make sure you mention this location! Either way, I think this park will be a fall mini-session location for sure. It is super convenient if you are coming from Fishhawk Ranch or eastern Hillsborough County!
Tips for big families is to not be too matchy matchy. You can all pull from three colors or so and coordinate from there. This family did coral pink with mom in fuschia, which I love to help her stand out, then blues and khakis, with a touch of white. I love the cousins in a simple white dress, too. The only reason that wouldn’t work if everyone else was in darker colors, but since the other fmaily had khaki and some white in another dress it balanced out well. A couple other prints help break up the solid, even suble rints or just different textures can really create visual interest. While of course, just letting your family stand out and look good together!
As a break from the constant smiles and making your cheeks hurt, we let the kids play for a bit. It gave everyone a break from being “on” for the camera and just let the kids engage with each other. Cousins often don’t see each other often if some live out of town, so this play time lets everyone relax and you get these priceless candid and authentic moments that will be cherished as much as the more traditional portraits, too.
We can’t forget the adult children, too.
Each kiddo got their own portrait with personality and then we did each individual family portrait with some fun, too. I think when kids are younger it is important to capture personality and life with littles. You will look back and miss these more chaotic days, trust me. I haven’t been able to pick up our boys for years now, and every year they are closer to men than kids and I always want parents to soak up these hectic and wild days because they will pass so fast!
If you look closely at the last photo in this grid, this is where we ended the extended family photos. Honestly, these little guys did FANTASTIC the entire shoot and it barely felt like work the whole time. So as soon as the littlest let us know he was done, he was on his way to relax in some air conditioning and get ready for bed. My last tip for famiies is that starting earlier than normal to accommodate their little one’s bed time is also totally okay. Happy kids is always way more important than the best light possible. We picked this location for the amount of early shade it provided. Trusting your photographer’s ability in any light and situation helps for sure. Working together to figure out the right location, the best time for kids, and light is a good reason we talk about these things before showing up at the session, too. Helping expedite the group photos to get them in before the littlest was done for the night and going with the flow anytime anyone needed a break are ways to cut down on photo stress. This all should be fun, not torture! We had started with the most important shots first, then moved on to the littlest’s family unit next and then to the next littlest’s family. Then we did one last group shot and that is where we called it for the whole group. We let the littles leave when they were done. Then we moved on to a few couple shots and left the biggest kids’ family for last. I hope these tips help you if you are planning a larger family photo session soon!
Now as a part of another blog circle, I am linking to Dallas Denoo of Dallas Renee Photography. I love that she is located near where I grew up in Wisconsin. Friends & family up there, please check out this Appleton area senior photographer. Her senior crew session with best friends sounds and looks like a blast, it is also great inspiration if you are planning your own senior photos for 2023!
