Extended Family Session at

LAKE NORMAN

A Lake Norman Vacation, Five Families, Six Lifelong Friends

& One Guy Named Ratchet Rob

Every now and then I photograph a session that feels less like work and more like crashing someone's family vacation.

This Fourth of July, five families traveled from Pennsylvania to spend the week together at Lake Norman. The adults? Six childhood friends who've somehow managed to stay close through marriages, kids, careers, and life happening.

If you've ever tried coordinating five families for anything, you know getting everyone in the same place is no small feat. They'd already done the hard part by planning the vacation. Taking photos while everyone was together just made sense.

And then there was Rob.

Or, as everyone else called him...

Ratchet Rob.

I have absolutely no idea how he earned that nickname, but I also didn't ask too many questions. I simply accepted that Rob was going to be the target of everyone's jokes—and naturally, I contributed.

Sorry, Rob.

(Kind of.)

These Are My Favorite Sessions

Don't get me wrong—I love photographing a single family.

But there's something really special about photographing people who have decades of history together.

Inside jokes that nobody else understands.

Kids who've become best friends because their parents were first.

The way everyone immediately knows who's going to blink in every picture.

The one uncle who swears he hates having his photo taken... until he's suddenly the loudest person in the group.

That's the good stuff.

You can't fake that.

Vacation Is the Best Time to Take Family Photos

I hear it all the time.

"We've been meaning to do this for years."

Of course you have.

Normally half the family lives in one state, the other half lives somewhere else, someone's kid has baseball, someone else has dance, and before you know it another year has gone by.

But vacation changes that.

Whether you're visiting Lake Norman for the Fourth of July, renting a lake house for a family reunion, celebrating a birthday, or just escaping for a long weekend, everyone is finally together.

Why not spend an hour documenting it?

The rest of the week you'll be in swimsuits, on the boat, eating too much, chasing kids, and making memories.

Give me one hour.

I'll take care of the rest.

Large Group Sessions Don't Have to Feel Complicated

People always apologize before we start.

"We're a lot."

Good.

The louder the better.

I don't expect every kid to stand perfectly still.

I don't expect every adult to know what to do.

And I definitely don't expect everyone to be serious.

We'll get the big group photo your grandma wants.

We'll get each individual family.

The cousins.

The grandparents.

The siblings.

The lifelong friends.

And somewhere in between all of that, we'll probably make fun of Ratchet Rob a few more times.

Planning a Lake Norman Vacation?

If you're traveling to Lake Norman, Cornelius, Davidson, Mooresville, Huntersville, or the Charlotte area with a large group, I'd love to meet you.

Whether it's five families, three generations, a family reunion, or a group of lifelong friends who somehow still vacation together every summer, these are the sessions that become more valuable every year.

You already planned the trip.

Let's make sure someone is actually in the photos.

Lake Norman | Charlotte North Carolina | Family Portraits | Family Photo Sessions | Family Photos | Portrait Photography | Lake Norman Photographer