Everyone’s Finally Together. Now Get the Pictures. | Lake Norman Extended Family Photographer
Getting an entire extended family in the same place is basically an Olympic event.
This family came together from Ohio and Kentucky to spend Labor Day weekend at Lake Norman. There were grandparents, grown kids, spouses, a whole bunch of grandkids, and the newest member of the crew at just three months old.
Everybody was here.
Nobody had to catch a flight that afternoon.
We had a lake.
Obviously, we were taking pictures.
Extended Family Photos Are About More Than the Giant Group Shot
When people hear “extended family photos,” I think they immediately picture one thing:
Everybody standing in a row looking at the camera.
And yes. We absolutely need that picture.
Your mom wants it.
Your grandmother wants it.
Somebody is probably already planning where they're going to hang it.
We'll get it.
But that’s only about five minutes of what we can do when you have the whole family together.
With this crew, we photographed the entire group, but then we started breaking everybody down into smaller combinations.
Grandparents with their grandkids.
The grandparents with their grown children.
Individual families.
Couples.
Parents with their kids.
And plenty of combinations that happened simply because we were already there and everyone was together.
That’s where an extended family session really starts to get good.
Yes, We Have Time for All Those Combinations
This is usually the part that sounds overwhelming.
Especially when there are babies and little kids involved.
You might be imagining 14 people standing around for an hour while I meticulously rearrange everyone like human furniture.
Absolutely not.
We keep it moving.
I'll help organize the combinations so we're not spending half the session asking, “Okay, who are we missing?”
We get the big group photographs while everyone is relatively cooperative, then start breaking things down.
And while somebody else is being photographed?
Go relax. Hold a baby. Let the toddler wander around. You do not need to stand behind me yelling their name.
I promise I've got them.
Don't Skip the Grandparent Photos
If you're getting the entire family together, please get the grandparents with the grandkids.
All of them.
Even the three-month-old who has absolutely no idea what's happening.
Especially the three-month-old.
These are some of my favorite photographs from extended family sessions because they're pictures families don't always think to take on a regular day.
Grandparents with all the grandchildren.
Grandma with the girls.
Grandpa holding the newest baby.
And yes, we'll attempt to get all the tiny people looking in roughly the same direction.
No guarantees about what they're doing with their hands.
Your Kids Are Allowed to Be Weird
Exhibit A: the tongue photo.
Perfect.
Keep it.
I want the nice photograph where everybody looks adorable.
I ALSO want the one that makes you immediately know exactly what your kid was like at that age.
Kids don't need to suddenly become tiny corporate employees because we're taking family pictures.
They can laugh.
They can wiggle.
Babies can stare suspiciously at me.
Toddlers can toddle.
Someone can stick out their tongue.
We'll get what Grandma wants, and then we'll make room for the shenanigans.
A Lake Norman Family Vacation Is a Really Good Excuse for Photos
If your family lives in different states, you already know how rare it is to have everyone together at the same time.
That makes a Lake Norman family vacation one of the easiest opportunities to finally get those extended family photos you've been talking about for three years.
You're already here.
Your people are already here.
And Lake Norman gives us a pretty fantastic backdrop without needing to turn one day of your vacation into an elaborate production.
This family came from Ohio and Kentucky for Labor Day weekend and left with photos of the entire crew, every individual household, grandparents and grandkids, grown siblings, couples, parents and children, and plenty of the personalities in between.
That's a LOT more useful than one giant group photo.
Planning Extended Family Photos at Lake Norman?
If you're bringing the family together for a vacation, reunion, holiday weekend or just because somebody finally managed to coordinate everyone's schedules, let's take advantage of it.
I'm a Lake Norman family photographer serving families around Cornelius, Davidson, Huntersville, Mooresville and the greater Charlotte area, including plenty of families who are visiting North Carolina from out of town.
You bring me the people.
I'll handle the combinations.
And yes, we'll get the photograph where everybody is looking.
Eventually. 😉
Check out another fun extended family session like this one here: