When to Schedule Extended Family Photos

---

I recently got a call from an adult daughter planning something for her mom’s big birthday. We spent real time talking through the details to help if everyone show up and look their best: who would be there, what location would be the best, what time of day would give us the best light. With careful planning, they worked out a cream and green color palette together and landed on a Garden District location that suited the whole group, her two siblings, their partners, and all four grandkids. That kind of planning is exactly why the session came together as beautifully as it did.

Extended family photos are the most requested and the most postponed session type I photograph. Everyone wants them. However, almost nobody starts planning them early enough or utilizes the expertise of an extended family photographer to help answer the hardest questions: Where, when and what to wear. Here’s everything you need to know about when to schedule extended family photos.

---

Why Do Extended Family Sessions Require a Different Kind of Planning?

Coordinating one family of four is straightforward. Add grandparents, adult siblings, and their own kids, and the scheduling variables multiply in ways most families don’t see coming until they’re already in the middle of it.

I’ve watched this play out the same way more times than I can count: the group text that takes three weeks to get a response from everyone, the sibling who can’t do weekends in October, the grandparent whose travel window is exactly two specific weeks in September. None of that is anyone’s fault. It’s just what happens when you’re trying to line up multiple households, each with their own jobs, school calendars, and travel budgets.

Outfit coordination gets more complicated too, since you’re now working across households instead of one closet. And when a grandparent has mobility limitations, that shapes the location and timing in ways a standard family session never has to consider.

Here’s what I’ve noticed after photographing dozens of these: every extended family session that comes together smoothly has one person who quietly took ownership of the planning early. It’s usually a daughter, a daughter-in-law, or a sibling who just decided someone had to make the calls. If that’s you, know that starting the group conversation even a few weeks earlier than feels necessary makes an enormous difference in how relaxed everyone is by the time the session actually happens.

---

Which Life Events Are Worth Anchoring Extended Family Photos Around?

Milestone events are the natural anchor for these sessions, and for good reason. Landmark birthdays like a 75th, 80th, or 90th, big anniversaries, graduations, and family reunions that only happen every few years already bring everyone together. The coordination is already underway. Adding a photographer for family reunion photos is a daunting task to any gathering.

There’s an emotional weight to these sessions, especially when an older grandparent is involved. Families are often quietly aware that a moment like this may not come around again, and that awareness shows up in the photos, whether anyone says it out loud or not.

You don’t need a milestone to justify one of these sessions, though. Plenty of families simply want everyone together while they still can, no anniversary or birthday required. That reason is just as valid as any other.

I still think about that Garden District session for Grandma’s birthday. Her family had planned it as her birthday gift, and she was thrilled to have everyone together. Three generations walking around with joy, cousins wanting to be photographed together and the dad-jokes that made everyone laugh.

---

Can a Family Vacation Double as Your Extended Family Session? 

Family vacations, especially annual beach weeks, lake house trips, or ski lodge gatherings, are one of the most underused opportunities for extended family pictures, because the hardest part is already done. Everyone’s already agreed to be in the same place.

Vacation settings have their own advantages too. Everyone’s more relaxed than they’d be at home, the location usually offers a beautiful natural backdrop, and the whole trip is already built around togetherness. Logistics look a little different for a vacation session: location scouting matters more since I’m often working somewhere unfamiliar, permits may be needed depending on the spot, and timing has to work around whatever else the family has planned for the trip.

If your session is tied to a vacation, especially a popular summer destination, start thinking about it further ahead than you’d expect. Popular beach towns and lake destinations book up their best photography windows early, and coordinating a local photographer takes its own lead time separate from the family’s own trip planning.

---

What Time of Year Works Best for Extended Family Photos? 

Fall tends to be the most requested season here in New Orleans, largely because the heat finally breaks and the light turns golden earlier in the day. It’s also the most competitive season for booking, so if your gathering lands in October or November, don’t wait until Labor Day to start looking.

Summer offers more flexibility on the calendar, but it comes with its own tradeoffs: heat, humidity, and the fact that everyone’s juggling their own vacation schedules on top of yours. Spring brings gorgeous greenery but less predictable weather.

Winter sessions can be beautiful too, especially around holiday gatherings, ski trip weekends, or cozy indoor and firelit settings that most families never think to consider.

Here’s the honest truth, though: the best season is almost always whichever one already lines up with when your family is gathering. Chasing the “prettiest” season instead of the one that actually works for everyone’s schedules is usually where families run into trouble.

---

How Often Should Extended Family Photos Actually Happen?

Most families don’t need a rule for this. However often everyone realistically manages to be in the same place is usually the honest answer.

A few things tend to prompt these sessions: young grandchildren growing fast, a grandparent’s health shifting, or family members moving further apart geographically. Some families do this annually. Others anchor it to milestones and let years pass in between. Both approaches work, but I’ve noticed something: the extended family galleries that actually get printed and hung on a wall are almost always the ones tied to a specific occasion or memory, not just a generic “let’s get everyone together” session. There’s something about anchoring the photos to a moment that makes families actually do something with them afterward.

I have a handful of families who come back to me every few years for one of these sessions, and watching them change through the lens over time is something I don’t take for granted. If this is your first time doing an extended family session and you’re not sure if it’ll become a tradition, know this: it usually does, once everyone sees the photos.

---

What Does Booking an Extended Family Session with Me Look Like?

Reaching out starts with a simple inquiry. It helps to share your approximate group size, the occasion (if there is one), and how much flexibility you have on dates. From there, I’ll help you think through timing, location, and any coordination questions that come up, including outfit guidance across multiple households if that’s something you want help with.

On session day, I organize the flow so we get the full group together first, then break into smaller combinations: grandparents with grandchildren, adult siblings together, individual family units within the larger group. It sounds like a lot to coordinate, and it is, but it’s also the part I’m best at.

Once your session is complete, your gallery is typically ready within two weeks, and you’ll have time to go through everything and choose your favorites.

If you already have a gathering on the calendar, the best time to reach out is as soon as you know the dates, even if that feels early. It gives everyone room to plan without pressure.

---

Start the Conversation Early and Let the Coordination Take Care of Itself 

Extended family pictures aren’t complicated to pull off, but they do require someone to start the conversation before the window closes. The gathering is the hard part. If that’s already on the calendar, the session itself is the easy piece.

What I’ve noticed, over years of photographing these sessions, is how differently families treat these images compared to a standard family portrait. There’s something about seeing three or four generations in one frame that people hold onto in a different way. If you’re the one who keeps bringing up extended family photos at every gathering but hasn’t pulled the trigger yet, consider this your sign. These photos don’t happen by accident. The families who plan ahead are the ones who actually get the session they pictured.

---

Check out my tips and recourses below:

Your Guide to Booking a New Orleans Photographer

New Orleans Botanical Garden Photo Spots

And check out this guest blog post by Daniele Rose- When to Book Fall Family Photos