Picture this: grandma and grandpa flew in from out of town, the cousins haven't seen each other in months, there's a brand-new baby who is exactly four weeks old, and somehow a dog got added to the guest list mid-session. Sound familiar?
Multi-generational family photo sessions are a beautiful, wonderful, gloriously organized kind of chaos and honestly… They are some of my absolute favorite sessions to shoot! There is something about seeing four decades of a family standing together in one frame, spotting grandpa's nose on the toddler's face, that just gets me every time. If you have been thinking about pulling the whole crew together for photos but feel overwhelmed by the logistics, I promise this is more doable than you think. Let me walk you through it.
Here is the thing nobody says out loud but probably should: time is a thief. We spend so much energy focused on our little ones (their milestones, their firsts, their ridiculously fast growth spurts) that we sometimes forget to capture the oldest generation too. The grandparents. The great-aunts. The people who started it all!
Last fall, I photographed an extended family that had people coming in from out of town, a couple who had just welcomed their first baby (one month old to be exact), and yes, a dog waiting patiently in the car who absolutely had to be included because, as I always say, pets are family. We dealt with a few sprinkles, squeezed in every grouping we needed, and laughed our way through the whole thing. That new little family, exhausted, glowing, and still figuring out parenthood, got to be in photos with three generations surrounding them. That is the kind of session I will always remember. When you have a limited window to get everyone together, those photos become even more precious!
Most families assume they need to show up with a detailed shot list, every grouping mapped out, and a color-coded schedule. I hear it all the time, and I get it… when you are coordinating 15 people across three generations, it feels like someone needs to be in charge. But here is what I want you to know before you even book: you do not have to micromanage your own family photo session.
I have a workflow I follow in every extended family session that makes sure we get all the groupings without anyone having to play drill sergeant… except maybe yours truly ;) The full family together, individual family units, the "core" of the family before significant others joined the picture, generational photos, siblings, grandparents with grandkids. All of it gets covered! And if something gets close to slipping through the cracks, we work through it together during the session. I am happy to be the bad guy with your family so you do not have to feel like it is all on you. That is my job, and I genuinely love doing it.
How to Set Your Session Up for Success
YOU DO NOT NEED A MILITARY-LEVEL PLAN...
You just need a few things in place before you arrive.
Think About Logistics Early
Choose a date with the out-of-towners in mind. Multi-generational sessions often happen because of a visit or a reunion. Lock in the session before the trip, not the week of.
Pick a location that works for everyone. If grandma has mobility concerns or you have a newborn in tow, an easy, accessible outdoor spot beats a hike through the woods.
Plan for a slightly longer session. More people means more groupings. Give yourself a comfortable buffer.
Coordinate Outfits Without Losing Your Mind
Pick two or three colors that work well together and let everyone work within that range.
Do not aim for everyone to be perfectly matching, aim for cohesive. It looks more natural and is about 100 times easier to pull off.
Have a backup outfit for the baby. Always.
The one thing that makes an extended session run smoothly? Everyone staying close by to know when it’s their turn to jump in the next photo. During an extended session, we move through a lot of groupings. When someone wanders off or gets distracted between shots, it adds time and burns through everyone's patience. I always tell families: treat it like you are waiting in the on-deck circle. When it is your group's turn, be ready to step right in. When attention stays focused, sessions move fast and the final gallery is full of great moments. You do not have to run a pre-session meeting (unless that is your thing). Just give everyone a heads-up that the session will move quickly and staying close makes a big difference.
I will never get tired of seeing the resemblance that gets passed down from one generation to the next. Grandpa's ears on the five-year-old. Grandma's smile on her daughter. A baby who looks exactly like the photo hanging in the hallway of the family home. These are the photos that get framed and kept and looked at for decades. They are the ones that matter when time has done its thing and the family is a little smaller at the next reunion.
Getting everyone together is an effort, no question. But when you are holding your gallery and scrolling through three generations laughing together in one frame, every bit of that logistical juggling will feel completely worth it.
If you have got a reunion coming up, a visit from out-of-town family on the calendar, or you have simply been putting this off for too long, let's make it happen! I work with families all around the Greendale area, including Franklin, Hales Corners, Greenfield, Oak Creek, and beyond, and I would love to help you pull this together. You bring the family, dogs welcome, and I will handle the rest!
Head over to the main website to learn more or reach out to start planning your session. The people who matter most aren’t getting any younger and neither are those little ones running around their feet!
