There is something so special about having multiple generations of a family together in one place.

A month ago, I had the opportunity to photograph a beautiful Generation Session with 13 adults and 5 kids — 18 family members altogether! It was a session filled with laughter, little personalities, family connections, and all of the beautiful chaos that comes with getting a big family together.

And honestly? That’s exactly what I love about these sessions.

What Is a Generation Session?

A Generation Session is designed for families who want to bring everyone together — grandparents, adult children, spouses, grandchildren, siblings, cousins, and everyone in between.

While getting that big group portrait is definitely important, these sessions are about so much more than one photograph.

Throughout the session, I photograph different combinations of your family so you have a gallery that tells the whole story.

That can include:

• The entire extended family
• Grandparents with their children
• Grandparents with their grandchildren
• Individual family units
• Siblings
• Cousins
• Couples
• Parents with their children
• All of the kids together
• Candid moments and connections in between

With 18 people at this Generation Session, we had so many relationships and little moments to document.

Photographing 18 People Doesn’t Have to Feel Stressful

One of the biggest reasons families put off extended family photos is because organizing everyone can feel overwhelming.

What should everyone wear?

Will the kids cooperate?

How are we going to get 18 people to look at the camera at the same time?

Don’t worry — you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. I’ll guide you through the session and help organize the different family groupings so we can keep things moving while still allowing everyone to relax and have fun. And when it comes to the kids, perfection isn’t the goal. If they’re laughing with their cousins, snuggling Grandma, running around, being silly, or showing off their personalities, I’m going to photograph that too. Those are often the photographs that end up meaning the most.

These Photographs Become Part of Your Family History

This is one of the biggest reasons I love Generation Sessions. Right now, you might simply be thinking, We really need an updated family picture. But these photographs become so much more than that. The five kids I photographed during this session won’t stay this little forever. Grandparents will get older. Kids will grow up. Families will change. New people will join the family. Life will continue moving forward. Years from now, these photographs will show exactly what this family looked like during this chapter of their lives.

They’ll be able to look back and remember Grandma and Grandpa surrounded by their family. The cousins will see how little they once were. The grown kids will have photographs with their parents. And everyone will have something tangible that shows the people who made up their family during this season.

That’s why these sessions matter.

You Don’t Need a Perfect Family for Beautiful Family Photos

Your family doesn’t need to be perfectly coordinated.

Your kids don’t need to stand still for an hour.

Everyone doesn’t have to know what to do in front of the camera.

Bring me your family exactly as they are.

I want the big smiles and the belly laughs. The kids being kids. The grandparents loving on their grandbabies. The cousins being goofy together. The quiet little moments between parents and their children.

We’ll get those beautiful everyone-looking-at-the-camera photographs for Grandma’s wall, but we’ll also create images that actually feel like your family.

That’s what I want you to remember when you look through your gallery.

Generation Family Photography in Indianapolis

If you’ve been saying, “We need to get everyone together for family pictures,” this is your sign to finally make it happen.

My Generation Sessions begin with my $600 Family Storyteller Collection, with a $350 Generation/Extended Family add-on. Sessions typically last 1–1.5 hours, giving us time to photograph the entire group along with the individual families and relationships that make your family unique.

I photograph families throughout Indianapolis, Zionsville, Carmel, Westfield, Fishers, Noblesville, and surrounding Central Indiana communities.

Don’t wait until everyone has the perfect schedule, the kids are the perfect ages, or life feels a little less busy.

Get everyone together.

Bring the grandparents.

Bring the cousins.

Bring the kids.

Bring the chaos.

And let’s create something your family will be able to look back on for generations.

Ready to plan your Generation Session? I’d love to tell your family’s story.