40 Year Later....


Earlier this week, a voicemail arrived on my phone that stopped me in my tracks. A client reached out with a remarkable request: her extended family is gathering for the holidays, and they want to recreate a formal multi-generational family portrait that was originally taken 40 years ago.


Think about the weight of that for a moment. Four decades of life, career changes, marriages, the arrival of children and grandchildren, and the quiet passage of time—all anchored by a single photograph taken in the mid-1980s.


In an era where thousands of disposable digital photos sit forgotten in our smartphones, moments like this remind us of what photography was always meant to be: **the living visual history of a family.**


Whether you are hoping to recreate a cherished vintage photo or simply getting the whole family tree together while everyone is in town for Thanksgiving or Christmas, here is our guide to planning an extended family session that is relaxed, organized, and truly timeless.


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  1. Designate a "Family Captain"
  2. The biggest hurdle in coordinating an extended family shoot isn't the photography—it’s communication!
  3. When you have grandparents, three sets of adult siblings, and a dozen cousins, trying to coordinate schedules with ten different people leads to chaos.
  4. Appoint one organized person to be the direct point of contact with your photographer. They can handle booking the date, relaying wardrobe color palettes, and keeping everyone informed on arrival times.
  5. Master the "Coordinated, Not Matching" Wardrobe
  6. Gone are the days when everyone wore identical white polo shirts and khaki pants. For large groups, identical outfits create a flat, monolithic wall of color.
  7. Pick 3 to 4 Complementary Colors: Choose a cohesive palette such as navy, deep forest green, cream, and camel, or burgundy, slate gray, and denim.
  8. Distribute Colors Evenly:
  9. If mom is in burgundy, put her daughter in cream with a burgundy scarf, and dad in navy with brown boots. This creates visual harmony without looking like a team uniform.
  10. Incorporate Textures: Cable knits, tweed, denim, and suede add tactile depth that keeps large group portraits looking rich and layered.
  11. The "Shot List" Strategy: Maximize Your Time
  12. A great extended family session shouldn't keep grandparents on their feet for two hours or push toddlers past their nap times. I work from an efficient, prioritized shot list:
  13. **The Full Family Legacy Shot:** We start with the entire group while everyone’s hair is fresh and energy is high.
  14. **Grandparents with Grandchildren:** An absolute must-have that grandparents will treasure forever.
  15. **The Original Siblings:** Recreating that childhood bond before in-laws and kids arrived.
  16. **Individual Nuclear Family Units:** Each individual family gets quick 10-minute breakout portraits, perfect for their own holiday cards and home walls.
  17. **Couples & Generational Duos:** Finishing with portraits of grandparents together, parents together, and candid cousin moments.
  18. Embrace the Joy of the In-Betweens
  19. Yes, we will get the classic, everyone-smiling-at-the-camera heirloom portrait. But some of your favorite frames will be the ones that happen between poses: cousins whispering secrets, grandpa tossing a toddler in the air, and siblings laughing at a four-decade-old inside joke.


A family portrait isn't about perfection; it’s about connection.