Tips & tricks for making your extended family portraits go as smoothly as possible.  

Denver Metro Photographer

 

Grandmother with two teenage grandchildren and four young grandchildren in Denver metro area park.

Extended family photography sessions turn beautiful moments into timeless heirlooms.  

Extended family photography sessions are the perfect opportunity to capture moments between grandparents, their children, and their children’s children (and their children’s children’s children, should you be so lucky to be a 4 generation fam!!). I like to take both a traditional and documentary approach to these sessions to give you the perfect variety of “frame-worthy” group photos and emotive candids that highlight the quiet moments between family members.  

Grandfather sitting with adult daughter and granddaughter in backyard in Centennial, CO.
Granddaugther running toward grandfather in backyard cabin in Grand County, Colorado.

Let's talk about all the things you can do before your session.

Step one: find your photographer.  

Make sure their aesthetic fits yours.  I specialize in emotive, vibrant, true to skin tone and documentary style photography.  I come from a big family and thrive during the chaos of photographing families - from chaotic toddlers to sweet great-grandparents, I love it all.  

Mother and father sitting with their two adult sons and one adult daughter on a rock wall in their backyard.
Father, mother, toddler daughter and baby daughter sitting on grass together, lake and boathouse in the background.
Grandfather and grandmother holding hands of toddler granddaughter, swinging her into the air, toddler laughing joyfully.

Step two: pick a location.  


Do you want photos at your home?  Perfection.  Your backyard?  Lovely.  A Denver park near your house?  Can do.  A location in the mountains that is special to your family?  I'm all in.   Colorado and the Denver metro area offer some of the most beautiful backdrops!

Two parents, their adult children and their spouses, and two grand children standing in front of Shadow Mountain Lake near Grand Lake, CO.
Grandmother, grandfather, their two sons, daughter, son-in-law and toddler grandaughter standing together in Majestic View Park, Arvada, CO.

Step three: decide what to wear.


Totally up to you! I have had some families go with whatever each person is most comfortable in. I have also had some families go with slightly elevated casual. And I have had other families pick a color palette.  Variation in texture with complimentary colors typically photographs beautiful!


In my opinion, it’s best to know what not to wear. A general rule of thumb - it is best to not be too matchy-matchy (long gone are the days of white t-shirts & denim a la 1995).  Also best to avoid neons, clothing with logos and words.


Photographers are typically happy to answer any specific questions you might have about your specific clothing options! You are always welcome to email me to ask whatever questions you have about your outfits for an upcoming photoshoot!  I love helping coordinating color palettes that will work for your family, your location and the season.

Three adult sisters standing together in front of Shadow Mountain Lake, all looking at one another and smiling.
Group of six young cousins, ranging in age from 1-8 sitting together on a blanket in a backyard.
Grandmother and grandfather sitting on outdoor couch, holding twin toddler grandchildren, surrounded by thre eother grandchildren and dog.

Now let's go over all the things you can expect during your session.

Grandmother smiling, surrounded by five grandchildren in backyard in Denver Metro area.

Typically, we will start with the traditional group photo. This catches everyone at their freshest, especially babes and toddlers.  

Extended family portrait of thirteen individuals, including three generations, in backyard in Denver metro area home.
Family of grandparents, adult children and one grandchild standing in front of colorful mural near Five Points, Denver, CO.
Large family photo of three generations of one family, including grandmother, her children and their children in Denver Metro Park.
Family of nine standing together on a dock off of Shadow Mountain Lake, all wearing variations of the colors blue and white.

Then, we will breakout into smaller groups - couples, parents with their children, grandparents with grandchildren, etc.  

Grandmother, three female children and two female grandchildren all sit together on a dock off of Shadow Mountain Lake in Colorado mountains
Grandmother holding grandson who is pointing and smiling, grandfather standing near grandmother, smiling.
Grandparents and three adult children standing together, smiling, in a park in Arvada, Colorado, toddler granddaughter walking with stuffy

After that, we move on to my favorite part. I simply follow you around like a personal paparazzi and snap photos of authentic moments between your family. This can be in a meaningful location, at a first birthday party, in the comfort of your own home, at a local park - the details are flexible. What matters is that there are opportunities for you and your favorite humans to interact and love on each other as you would on any regular day.  

Grandmother walking with two young grandchildren in Denver metro area backyard.
Two year old girl eating icing off of strawberry cake, her dad and sister in the background.
Grandmother and grandson fishing off the dock of a lake, grandfather sitting nearby preparing fishing pole, tan dog walking on dock.
Birthday party for grandmother, family members singing to her in background
Grandfather holding baby granddaughter who is touching an inflatable unicorn backyard water toy.
Woman on her 95th birthday laughing with two birthday guests while sitting at a kitchen counter, other guests in the background.
Three young children playing on a trampoline as adults look toward them.
Overhead view of mixed generation family in Denver area backyard, young boy smiling, young girl running, a mother sitting with two kids.
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Aunt playing with toddler niece in backyard off cabin home.
Young girl and young boy running together at a park, both smiling.
Grandfather playing in Littleton backyard with two young grandchildren.

Extended family photographs become a family heirloom your kids and grandkids will actually want to keep.

view an extended family session in denver studio here.
Grandfather sitting on grass with baby granddaughter.

 

Let's take the stress out of preparing for multi-generation photography sessions.

 

Fill out the form and we can see if we're a good fit!

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