L Extended Family

{ Indian Shores Photographer }

I am one happy Indian Shores Photographer!  You know why?  I have had the pleasure of capturing so many extended family sessions this summer!  What is an extended family session you ask?  It’s when families of a few generations get together for one big family vacation together and decide to freeze these precious moments in time with a photo session to document it all.  More and more, I’m seeing families with grandparents, their kids and their respective families vacation together in a beach house and spend the week soaking up family time in the warm sun and salty air.

So how does an extended family session work?  Well, for starters, there is always a boss.  Who’s the boss?  No silly, not Tony Danza.  It’s whomever contacts me and sets up the session.   They become my assistant during our session together who tells me which groupings they would like in each image.  Whether its grandparents with kids, grandkids all together, the immediate family only- everyone gets their own set of images.  After all of the “posed” images are done, it’s time for my favorite part – candids!  This is when I prompt families just to have fun with one another.  Whether it’s playing, splashing, dancing, twirling, nothing is off limits.  Well, except for splashing me and my camera.  That IS off limits (yes, this has happened before). And these ALWAYS end up being my favorites (and the families, too) as the kids are in their element and authentically are having fun and smiling.  Most of all, they are NOT saying CHEEEESE and flashing me the fakest smile they can conjure.

Then when our session is over, we all cry.  OK, just kidding.  But once the session is edited, I’ll send the boss all the photos and in turn, they will forward the gallery to everyone else.  Everyone has the ability to download the files to their own devices.  Then happy family, happy photographer!  So what are you waiting for?  Book that family vacay and find a photographer to capture all the fun!