Extended Family Photographer in Bear Lake | The Process

Taking extended family pictures in Bear Lake is such a pleasure! Families gather from all over the country (and world) to meet up in Bear Lake for family reunions.

We have several lovely locations to take pictures around Bear Lake!

When families first inquire about taking family photos in bear lake, we send them a list of locations! These locations include mountain locations, locations with trees and flowers, beach locations and Logan Canyon locations.

The location I am taking you on today is Garden City Park!

The light can be tricky at this location if you do not plan it at the right time. I love to start at around 7 or 7:15 PM on summer nights. I start taking pictures of the smaller groups on the boardwalk while we wait for the sun to go behind the mountain down at the beach.

I usually always follow this exact system!

I choose the group with the youngest kids and we take 1-2 family photos of them followed by a sibling photo. From there, we take individual pictures of each of the kids. After that, it is mom and dads turn. I do 2-3 poses of mom and dad as well as headshots of mom and dad on the boardwalk with the pretty trees and filtered sun!

I repeat this with each family in the group and the grandparents! Once we finish all of this, we head down to the lake for the big group shots!

The kids are getting antsy by this point, so I work quickly and keep the energy up. I often praise the children and parents to keep them going for a little bit longer! I use games and fun phrases and jokes to keep the children’s attention.

I take 2-3 pictures of the whole group and then we break down into smaller groups. First, we do the picture of the grandparents and grandkids and then just the grandkids by themselves. This is often the most chaotic photo if toddlers do not want to leave their parents.

I love taking pictures of the parents and the original siblings together followed by ALL of the grownups including the in- laws and just the siblings together! It is fun to take pictures of just the girls and just the boys as well!

Once we get through all of the must have shots, we usually have time to take some more fun family pictures playing in the water and having fun!

These shoots usually last 1 hour to 1 and a half hours depending on the size of the group.

We love providing these beautiful photos that will be cherished for generations to come!