Tuesday Photo Tip #5: Capture your Family’s Story
Thoughtful tips for a photo that becomes part of your family history.
Someday, long from now, someone will hold this photo and see where they came from. An extended family portrait is more than a picture. It’s a celebration of family, tribe, and the children who carry it forward. With a little planning, everyone can show up ready and relaxed, and you can focus on what matters most: being together. Here are a few tips to help you tell your family’s story.
TIPS FOR GATHERING THE WHOLE FAMILY
Choose your center. If the focus is a beloved grandparent or two, place them in the middle and build the group around them.
Gather families into pods. When everyone has children, group each household together so every family has its own place in the picture.
Blend singles and families. Let the little ones sit at PaPa and Grammy’s feet while the adults fill in the back row.
Appoint a wardrobe captain. For large families, choose one or two team leaders to help coordinate outfits.
Coordinate, don’t clash. You don’t need matching chambray shirts, but plaids, stripes, tie-dye, and polos in one frame can look more like modern art than a family portrait.
Plan your subgroups. Cousins, siblings, individual families: everyone is already together and dressed in something other than a bridesmaid dress or cummerbund, so make the most of it.
Pro Tip from our Photographer, Aaron Jones: “I think the best tip I can offer is, be each other’s mirror.”
Who better than a family member to tell you the truth about a button, a zipper, or spinach in your teeth?
Photographed by Mehak Khullar
That’s Tuesday Photo Tip #5! Some day in the distant future, this image will provide a glimpse of ancestry and a family root system that continues to grow.
