Who doesn’t love family photographs? Large group photos can be very special to capture – something to pass down for generations to come.
Most of the time, large group photos are “line everyone up and smile at the camera” – there’s generally not much creativity. While it can be difficult to get super creative with large groups, there are certainly ways to make them feel more warm and natural.
In my humble opinion, a GREAT extensive family session consists of two parts. Large group portraits as well as other, small, more intimate groupings. For example, a large group photo of everyone is great when included with a cherished photo of grandparents playing with their grandkids. Smaller groups give you more opportunities to capture the genuine connection between family members.
Potential shots include:
-Large family group
-Individual subfamilies within the large group
-Grandparents and grandchildren
-Grandparents alone
-Grandparents and their children
-Grandchildren/cousins
-Sisters
-Brothers
-All the girls
-All the guys
A few things to remember during large group sessions;
- Anything involving toddlers should be shot first! Usually, toddlers lose patience fairly quickly. ANY groups with toddlers should go first to help ensure a successful shoot.
- It can sometimes be difficult to coordinate large groups. Make sure everyone’s on board with the day/time. It’s always a smart idea to have a rain date and time that everyone holds open. This way there’s a backup in case of illness or inclement weather.
- Double-check that everyone has all the details correct; date, time, and location
- Talk to your group and find out everyone’s expectations for the shoot. Do you simply want some portraits of everyone looking at the camera? Do you want lifestyle images that capture relationships between families? There is NO wrong answer – it depends on what’s important to you! If you’re wanting a little more variety in your session, you can discuss splitting the cost between family members to upgrade the number of images in the session.
Here, I’ve included some images from a beautiful shoot we did celebrating this family’s matriarch.
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