Getting everyone together gets harder as families grow. Kids get older. They get married. Grandchildren arrive. Schedules fill up, and suddenly having everyone in the same place at the same time feels like an accomplishment.

That is exactly why I think it is worth making the time.

Plan the family dinner. Pick a fall evening. Bring the generations together. And while everyone is there, take the pictures.

An extended family session is about more than getting one photograph of everyone looking at the camera. It is a chance to honor the matriarch and patriarch of a family and document everything that has grown from the life they built together.

It Doesn't Have to Be Complicated

You don't need the perfect location or an elaborate plan.

In fact, your own backyard may be the perfect place.

Have everyone over for dinner and schedule your session for that same evening. When it's time, simply step away from the table and into the yard.

There is something really nice about photographing a family in a place that already belongs to them. The kids know where they are. They can run around and play instead of being expected to behave perfectly in an unfamiliar place. Grandparents don't have another destination to navigate. Everyone can relax a little.

And when we're finished? You're already home.

Especially with a large extended family, convenience matters. There is no reason to overcomplicate something that is really about being together.

More Than One Big Family Photo

Of course we'll get the photograph with everyone together. But that's only the beginning.

Once we have the whole family gathered, we can photograph each individual family, grandparents with their grandchildren, parents with their grown children, siblings, couples, cousins, the kids individually, and all the little relationships that make your family yours.

And if there's a brand new baby in the family, we document that too!

Those smaller photographs often become just as meaningful as the big group portrait.

Make an Evening of It

I love the idea of treating an extended family session as part of the gathering rather than another appointment on everyone's calendar.

Have an early dinner together. Let the kids play. As the sun starts getting lower, we'll spend some time taking photographs. Then everyone can go right back to visiting.

And fall is hard to beat for this.

The evenings are beautiful, the light is warm, and there's something about gathering outside on a fall night that already feels nostalgic while you're living it.

Years from now, you may remember the meal. You may remember the kids running through the yard, who made everyone laugh, and how difficult it was to find one evening when everyone's schedules lined up.

But you'll also have the photographs.

Make the time. Set the table. Gather your people. Step into the backyard and take the pictures.

You'll be glad you did.