Juggling multiple schedules within one family is a challenge. Juggling multiple schedules with multiple families can feel impossible. But the outcome is so worth it! Extended Family Sessions are a special kind of a chaos that is particularly fun to capture!

The Miller Family came together on a rainy Saturday morning at the beautiful Potawatomi Conservatories in South Bend, Indiana. Even though the clouds had taken over outside, indoors it was cozy with gorgeous light every direction you turned. And the Miller family brought all the personality and sass for their session, making it one fun shoot!

Tiffany, a former co-worker of mine, is the oldest of six in her family. Tiffany has always been one of the most positive and helpful people I have ever been fortunate enough to work with. She is seriously a ray of sunshine! Now that I had the pleasure of meeting all the Miller’s it is no surprise she’s so sweet. This family has personality, charm, and good looks to boot.

The process for an Extended Family Session is similar to a Family Portrait Session. I try to prioritize the shot list by what’s most important to capture, which to me, is this rare occasion of everyone together for a photo. That means everybody is in on the first click! From there I try to knock out as many of the images involving the youngest children, knowing that they will fade quickly! Lots of hugs and laughs with grandparents before jumping into smaller family photos and individual shots.

Once it’s time to give the kids a break, that’s when we can move on to siblings and individual photos. I think my favorite shots from this particular session were mama and her girls. My goodness - their laughter is genuine and you can only imagine the conversation happening in some of these photos! I think the brothers were grateful they also got a break from the ladies and had their own group photo…

Some of the last shots we got during this session were individuals of all the ladies. Initially there was some hesitation when I asked if they were interested. Not unusual! I think many of us sort of shrink back at the thought of being solo infront of a camera (myself included), even if our selfie game is strong (myself excluded). However, I am learning a little more everyday the importance for us to exist in pictures! Many of us have an entire phone filled with great moments of our kids and friends and family, but if asked to send an individual image of ourself we may have to do some scrolling. I’m glad the ladies of the family decided they wanted their moment to shine. Such strong, gorgeous women - a joy to capture.

Fingers crossed that 2021 will bring a lot more togetherness for us all. Looking forward to your whole tribe coming together and wanting to capture the moment? Let’s make it happen!