My wedding was the last time I had quality images taken of my extended family (family outside my husband and kids and my parents/siblings). Living several states away from your extended family will cause these gaps in togetherness, as it has for me. But be not mistaken, great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, they’re all a part of the tapestry of our family (as crazy as they all may be)— and therefore worthy of capturing. If you have the opportunity to take extended family pictures, don’t let it slip by.
As a photographer, I have chosen to name my extended family sessions “Legacy Family” sessions. This is intentional, not to sound fancy or sale-sy, but to honor the extended family and call it what it is: A living legacy.
Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to shoot several Legacy Family sessions— they are some of the most treasured images I’ve taken, because odds are once the image is captured, the family changes some time after that. Babies are born, weddings bring beautiful additions, and departures leave us wishing for more time.
Our family, as complex as it may be, is one of the greatest treasures we have—and because this is so, there will come a moment where we will want to look back on how we documented it.
Thanksgiving is such a great time to book a Legacy Family session since family often travels to be together. I often only have one slot available for this as I have my own family to see, but if you can get everyone in the same spot at the same time and do a little outfit coordinating, then the investment is greater than the hassle of getting everyone to show up on time! :) Trust me.
