Large Group Family Photo Tips

This past Christmas my family was able to spend the holidays together! For many people this is not out of the ordinary - for my family, it is a HUGE deal! We hadn't all been together for the holidays in 5 years, and we hadn't all been together at home for 7 years. 7 years!!!

So, we had to make sure that we marked the occasion, and had some nice family pictures taken. If you know me, you know that I love family pictures - the coordinating, the planning, the location... all of which become a little more complicated when it's winter, you have 9 people in your group - two of whom are kids, and you all live thousands of miles apart from one another. 

So, here are some of my tips for getting great large group shots!

1. Choose a neutral color palette

The reason for neutral is because brighter, more specific colors can be really hard to match - and we weren't going for matchy-matchy, anyway. 

In our family group text, I sent out some options/ideas for color palettes. We all voted on which one we liked the best, and settled on this one. We all love blue, and everyone has black and white in their wardrobe, so this was a great choice!

2. Indoor space with outdoor light

Since we were taking pictures in the winter but didn't want to all be bundled up in coats, we needed to find someplace that was indoor with outdoor lightning. With indoor spaces you may need to get permission first, or even pay a fee depending on the place. Some options to keep in mind are galleries, malls, botanical gardens, etc. 

The pictures work best with the light behind the photographer. This family photo is great, and I still love it, but the colors are so much better in the second one.

3. Layout/Position

Looking at those same two earlier photos, you can see two examples of where to place your tallest people (our family has this unique problem, ha!). When you have your tallest people on the ends, you run the risk of getting a "fishbowl" effect. You may want to play around with seating people down on a bench, to create more dimensions. The main idea is, that you don't want everyone who is the same height all next to each other.

4. Make sure you get all the "units"

Be sure to get spouses, and family units individually, too. Also, if there are any single people in your family, don't leave them out. Who doesn't like a nice photo of themselves?!

5. As well as some candid moments

My youngest started walking around with my dad, and it was such a precious sight - his big but gentle hands, her little teeny tininess... 

6. Bonus: Get some pictures in the "homestead"

Although the color in these photos isn't as great as at the other location, but it was pretty special to get some pictures taken at my parents' house, too. They've lived there for 28 years, so it's my brothers' and my childhood home. Someday I guess they'll move, but I think most of us have a hard time imagining them living anywhere else. It was nice to have a few pictures of us taken there as well. <3 I do actually love how "warm" these photos feel.

Of course, you don't need fancy family pictures taken whenever you get together, but... a person honestly never knows what tomorrow brings, and I am so thankful that we have these to look at and cherish. We were all together, and we have these lovely images to prove it!

The photos were taken by our neighbor, Monika Melczer. Unfortunately, she does not have a photography page that I can recommend, but I must give credit where credit is due. She did a marvelous job, and got them back to us within days!