If you’ve been in business for any length of time, you’ve probably received inquiries about photographing large groups of family members, most often gathering for the summer or holidays.
Inevitably, they’ll want photos of the family as a whole. When talking about 10+ people, including kids, this can sometimes lead us to panic and immediately think of all the reasons why we can’t do that particular shoot.
I know the feeling when those emails come in: the excitement over an inquiry only to keep reading and see it’s a big family. It’s like a warning starts going off in your brain and that little voice starts to tell you all of the reasons why you should decline that session. You see head swaps, sweat, tears and you may tell yourself it’s just not worth it.
At some point, we’ve all been there.
I want to share with you what I’ve found makes it easy to say yes to these sessions. With some pre-planning and client consultation ahead of time, you can breeze right through an extended family session and come out looking like the pro that you are.
1. Plan your photos ahead of time.
The best approach for photographing large groups is to have a good idea of what you are going to do before you arrive so you can manage your time and your clients to get the must-have shots. With those out of the way, you can then capture great candid moments as they unfold and have fun.
It’s really helpful to find out who is coming and even make a list that you and your client can discuss ahead of time. For me, this is a way to plan out my session and think about the poses and any props I may need in advance. Many moments will be caught on camera as they naturally occur, but I always ensure I have any traditional poses or group shots that my client and I discussed in advance before we end. If you want to, you can even take the list to your session so you can reference it as you are shooting or ask your client as you finish up if there is anything else they would like that you may have missed.
2. Know the final goal.
When photographing large groups, it’s helpful to know the intention for booking the session before you begin. Is the goal to capture an image for a holiday card or for a canvas? Is the family portrait going to be hung on display at Grandma’s house or is everyone planning on printing their own images?
If you know the reason behind the session, it will help you plan your poses and sell to the group after the session is over. I make it a point to schedule my clients early on during their stay so that I have enough time to edit the gallery and get back to them for an in person viewing appointment while they are all still together. This eliminates any risk of delay in getting paid for me, and logistically it makes it much easier to get a group decision if everyone is in the same place at the time of order.
3. Focus on the big group but don’t forget the candids.
When it comes time to photograph the session, I always start with a large group image and end with a large group image. If you are doing more traditional poses, don’t rush. Take your time to really look at the family members just before you shoot and see if anything is off. You can quickly look at hand placement, clothing, hair, all the little things you would not want to fix in post processing or that could be distracting.
After the initial family shots, I turn my attention to grandparents, adult siblings, grandchildren, and individual families. It is so easy to take a pose of the grandparents alone and then ask their children to step in. I can take this shot one step farther and ask the spouses to step in, and in just a few frames I have knocked some of the key groups off my list. I will get all of these images and then I will start to fill in and look for the moments that are happening in front of me – laughter, hand holding, and family members enjoying being together.
Often times, I take those group images and I recreate them in front of different backdrops, each time putting a different spin on the posing for added variety. I also am always thinking about wall groupings in my mind to present at the ordering appointment. If I shoot several groups in front of the same background for example, I can build a beautiful sample wall display showing them how those images would look hanging side by side.
4. Relax.
Some of the best advice I can give my clients before we start is to relax and have fun. The same goes for you! Just remember, you are in charge of the session and how it is run. Don’t be afraid to be vocal and direct your clients to move things along quickly and efficiently. A large group session needs a little bit of guidance without being overbearing to ensure everything is covered and the family has a great time. The more prepared and in charge of things you are, the better it will go.
More articles on photographing large groups:
5 Essential tips for posing families in genuine ways
5 No-fail games for a fun & natural family photo session
