50th Birthday Party | Extended Family Photo Session

The last time I photographed this family, we were at the Murals on Justin Lane. This year, they had extended family members visiting Austin for a special milestone birthday party in December.

So, they decided to organize their holiday family photos as a pre-party event.

We made sure to get lots of photos before the rest of the party guests arrived at the Great Hills Country Club.

Tips for an Extended Family Photo Session at Great Hills Country Club:

• PERMISSION: This club is open to Members Only, so make sure your family has permission for a photo session to occur.
• LOCATIONS: Since it was late in the day, we were able to take some photos on the golf course without getting in the way of active golfers. We also used the open courtyard off their party room as a secondary location.
• AMENITIES: Since the club was open when we were taking photos, if anyone needed a restroom or a place to sit when they weren’t being photographed, there were lots of options. We also make use of the tennis court for a few photos of their nephew who’s on his high school tennis team.
• OUTFITS: With multiple families involved, coordinated outfits bring a cohesive look to the photos. Aim for complementary colors and avoid overly busy patterns. This family chose a holiday seasonal palette which worked beautifully against the natural and architectural features of Great Hills Country Club.
• SHOT LIST: Make a list of all the preferred family combinations in order of importance before the session date. A detailed plan ensures everyone stays on the same page and maximizes time spent during the session.

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Please check out some of my favorite images below and contact me if you’d like to book your own Family or Extended Family photo session in Austin, Texas. Explore more photo sessions on my blog.

Holidays in the Studio | Extended Family Photo Session

This Extended Family wanted their holiday photos taken together. So, we met up at the ALightCollab Studio in Pflugerville, Texas, which was decked out for Christmas.

Tips for an Extended Family Photo Session at the ALightCollab Photo Studio:

• COMFORT: This indoor studio has plenty of seating, so if you’re rotating family members in and out of shots, the people “off-set” have comfortable places to sit and chat together, either downstairs or upstairs.
• AMENITIES: This studio also has a kitchen stocked with snacks and drinks for any hungry teenagers you may have on hand. There’s also a restroom for changing outfits. 
• LIGHTING: You can rent continuous lighting with your studio fee. Or you have plenty of space to bring in your own studio lights. With the tall ceilings, I could use two seven-foot umbrellas with no problems. 
• DISTANCE: If your clients are based in North Austin, this studio is convenient to travel to with plenty of easy parking out front.
• POSING: My top tip for posing large groups is to try and create triangles with positions so your eye moves around the frame. Also – to make sure there are points of connection between each family member.
• HOLIDAY SETS: Keep an eye out for their holiday sets (which change every year). Those give you multiple backdrops to use when posing. But they also always have the rolling neutral wall you can use as well. 

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Please check out some of my favorite images below and contact me if you’d like to book your own Family photo session in Austin, Texas. Explore more photo sessions on my blog.

Leander Park | Extended Family Photo Session

This extended family chose Tumlinson Park in Leander, Texas for a photo session celebrating their matriarch’s 97th birthday.

We made sure to get lots of pairings and combinations of all the local and visiting family members.

Tips for an Extended Family Photo Session at Tumlinson Park:

• PARKING: There is a parking lot near the Block House with a paved path to the Pavillion (if you also have family members with mobility concerns).
• LOCATIONS: A small wooded area makes a lovely backdrop. There’s also a narrow bridge nearby (if you don’t have to navigate wheelchairs).
• WARDROBE: Pick a coordinating color palette and have everyone wear some of the same colors. 

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Please check out some of my favorite images below and contact me if you’d like to book your own Extended Family photo session in Austin, Texas. Explore more photo sessions on my blog.

Celebrating Extended Family, an 80th birthday and a 50th wedding anniversary

If you’re planning an Extended Family session during a Texas Winter, it’s good to consider indoor locations. Then you don’t have to worry about cold, wind, or bad midday lighting.

After learning that most of this family lived in North Austin (and some family members were traveling in from other cities up North), I suggested the A Light Collab studio in Pflugerville as our location.

With various couches and neutral backgrounds to choose from, we were able to get lots of different combinations of family members.

Tips for Extended Family Photo Sessions at A Light Collab studio:

• COMFORT: This indoor studio has plenty of seating, so if you’re rotating family members in and out of shots, the people “off-set” have comfortable places to sit and chat together, either downstairs or upstairs.
• LIGHTING: You can rent continuous lighting with your studio fee. This gave me soft, even lighting that covered all nine family members.
• DISTANCE: If your clients are based in North Austin, this studio is convenient to travel to with plenty of easy parking out front.
• POSING: My top tip for posing large groups is to try and create triangles with positions so your eye moves around the frame. Also – to make sure there are points of connection between each family member.

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Please check out some of my favorite images below and contact me if you’d like to book your own family photo session in or around Austin, Texas.