Photographing Extended Families on Vacation

Some of my favorite sessions begin with a text that starts, "We're all going to be in Palm Desert the same week for the first time in years." A daughter flying in from Seattle, grandparents who winter in Indian Wells, the cousins driving over from Phoenix, a brand-new baby everyone is meeting for the first time. For a few precious days the whole family is finally under one roof, and someone realizes — we should get a real picture while we can.

That instinct is exactly right. When a family is scattered across the country, a vacation in the desert is often the only window in the entire year when three generations stand in the same place at the same time. I've photographed enough of these gatherings to know how much is riding on getting it right, and also how easy it is to make it feel effortless. This is everything I've learned about portraits when an extended family is together on vacation here in the Coachella Valley.

Why a vacation is the best time for an extended-family portrait

When everyone lives in the same town, a group photo always feels like it can wait until next time. There's no urgency, so it never happens. A vacation removes that excuse. The people are here, the calendars have already been cleared, and there's a natural reason to mark the occasion.

A few things make these sessions special, and a little different from a standard family shoot:

• The grouping may never repeat. A great-grandmother, the new grandchild, the siblings who rarely overlap — this exact set of people, this exact ages, may not gather again. That's not meant to be heavy; it's just why I treat these as genuinely important rather than routine.
• Everyone is already relaxed. People on vacation are off the clock. Shoulders are down, phones are mostly away, and there's a looseness that's hard to manufacture on a busy weekday back home.
• The setting is part of the story. You traveled to the desert for a reason. Letting the palms, the mountains, and the warm light into the frame makes the picture about this trip, not just a generic studio backdrop.

If you're weighing whether it's worth the time during a packed vacation week, I'll say plainly: it is. An hour out of several days, and you walk away with the only thing from the trip that genuinely lasts.

When to book — and why "last minute" is completely fine

Many of the families I photograph on vacation reach out only a few days before, sometimes the morning of. A reunion gets finalized late, or it simply doesn't occur to anyone until everyone's already arrived. I want to take the worry out of that entirely.

Last-minute booking is normal for vacation sessions, and I keep room for it. If you're staying at a resort and realize on Tuesday that the whole family is together through Saturday, please just reach out. I would much rather make it work than have you assume it's too late. The earlier I know, the more choice we have over the exact golden-hour slot and the prime locations, but I've pulled together beautiful sessions on a single day's notice more times than I can count.

A few timing notes specific to the desert:

• Snowbird season (November through April) is the busiest stretch, because that's when the winter residents and visiting families overlap. If your trip falls in those months — especially around the holidays, spring break, or the tennis and music festival weekends — a little lead time helps, because those golden-hour slots fill.
• Summer (June through September) is quieter for visitors, and while the midday heat is real, early mornings are gorgeous and wide open. A 7 a.m. start beats the heat and gives you soft, even light with the place almost to yourselves.
• Shoulder seasons (May and October) are honestly some of my favorite weeks — warm, golden, and far less crowded than peak winter.

If your dates are still loose, tell me the window and I'll tell you the best evening or two for light. And if you're reading this with a trip already underway, don't talk yourself out of it — a same-week or next-day session is something I plan for.

The best light, and why we'll probably meet near sunset

The single biggest factor in how your photos feel is the light, and in the desert that's not a small thing. Our midday sun is bright and direct — lovely for a pool afternoon, less so for a portrait, where it tends to flatten faces and carve hard shadows.

So unless mornings suit your schedule better, I'll almost always suggest the hour before sunset. The light goes soft and golden, the mountains pick up color, and everyone looks their best without trying. This is what people picture when they imagine "desert golden hour," and it genuinely lives up to it.

For an extended family, evening also tends to fit the rhythm of a trip. The day's activities are done, the little ones have napped, and we can be relaxed and finished in time for a late dinner. If your group includes very young children who fall apart by late afternoon, we flip it and shoot early morning instead — the light is just as kind, and toddlers are at their sunniest right after breakfast.

Where to photograph in the Coachella Valley

Location depends on where you're staying, how mobile the group is, and what feels like your trip. The two settings I lean on most for visiting families are the place you're already staying and a nearby garden or park — comfortable, easy to reach, and gentle on the oldest and youngest in the group. Here are the kinds of places I return to.

Right at your resort or rental

This is where I photograph most vacation families, and for good reason. If you're staying somewhere with beautiful grounds — and so many places here are — there's a strong case for never leaving. Resort lawns, palm-lined walkways, courtyards, shaded patios, and pool decks make wonderful backdrops, and the convenience is enormous when you're wrangling grandparents and grandkids. A private vacation home with a good lawn or a tucked-away courtyard gives us the same ease, plus the privacy of a space that's yours for the week.

I regularly photograph guests at properties across the valley — the grounds at the JW Marriott Desert Springs in Palm Desert, the Ritz-Carlton up on the hillside in Rancho Mirage, La Quinta Resort with its bougainvillea and old-California courtyards, the Westin Mission Hills, the Omni Rancho Las Palmas.

One practical note: most resorts are private property and ask that photographers check in or have permission for a session on the grounds. I handle that conversation for you — I'll confirm what your specific property allows so there are no awkward surprises with staff mid-session. If you're booking a resort or hotel family session, just tell me where you're staying and I'll take care of the logistics.

Gardens and parks nearby

When families want a change of scene from the resort, the valley's gardens and parks are where I take them most — green, walkable, and easy on a mixed-age group:

• The Living Desert in Palm Desert — lush garden paths and desert plantings, very accessible for older family members and strollers.
• Civic Center Park or the Palm Desert community gardens — green, easy, central, good for big groups and limited mobility.
• Palm Springs with its mid-century architecture and palm groves, if the family loves that classic look.

If your group specifically wants the wide, open-desert backdrop, that's possible too — somewhere like Whitewater Preserve gives you the dramatic, mountain-backed scenery — but it asks for a short walk on uneven ground, so I'd steer away from it for anyone using a cane or pushing a stroller and lean on the easier spots above.

Tips for choosing with a big, mixed-ability group

When a session spans ages 2 to 82, accessibility matters more than the prettiest possible backdrop. I always ask: Is there shade to wait in? How far is the walk from the car? Is the ground stable for someone using a cane or pushing a stroller? A spot that's a little less dramatic but easy on everyone almost always produces warmer pictures, because nobody's stressed or worn out.

How a session actually runs

People are often surprised by how unstructured these feel. I don't march families through a stiff list of poses. My real aim is to catch the genuine moments — a grandfather quietly delighted by a toddler, two sisters mid-laugh, the small gestures that are unmistakably your family. We'll do the formal groupings too, because you want those, but the pictures you'll come back to are usually the in-between ones.

A typical flow looks like this:

1. The full group first, while everyone is fresh and the light is good. Getting the all-generations shot done early takes the pressure off.
2. Natural breakdowns — the grandparents with all the grandchildren, each individual family unit, the siblings together, the cousins as a pack.
3. Loose, candid time — walking, talking, letting kids be kids. This is where the best frames almost always hide.

A full extended-family session usually runs about an hour to ninety minutes. That's enough to get everything without exhausting the youngest and oldest members, who set the real time limit.

Helping the little ones and the grandparents

The two ends of the age range need the most care. For young children, I never push — bribes, breaks, and a sense of play work far better than "look at the camera and smile." For older relatives, I keep things efficient and comfortable, with somewhere to sit and plenty of shade, and we do their parts of the session while energy is high rather than at the very end.

What to wear

You don't need matching outfits — in fact, please don't all wear identical white shirts and khakis. The goal is a palette that holds together, not a uniform.

• Choose two or three colors for the whole group and let everyone interpret them. Soft, warm, desert-friendly tones photograph beautifully here: sage, cream, terracotta, dusty blue, warm neutrals.
• Avoid bright neon and busy logos or graphics, which pull the eye and date a photo fast.
• Dress for the temperature. Even in winter the desert evenings can be cool once the sun drops, and summer mornings warm quickly — light layers keep everyone comfortable.
• Mix textures and shades within one palette. A linen here, a chambray there, a few different tones of the same color — that variety reads richer and more natural in a big group than everyone in the exact same thing.

If you'd like, send me a quick photo of what people are planning and I'll help you balance it. I've written more on this in my guide to what to wear for desert family photos.

Fast turnaround for travelers

When you're on vacation, you don't want to wait six weeks for images that you'll only see once you're home and the trip feels far away. For visiting families I prioritize a quick turnaround — I know you may want to share a favorite with the relatives who couldn't make it, or simply relive the trip while it's fresh.

I'll typically get a small set of edited preview images to you within a few days, and the full gallery soon after, well-suited to ordering prints or albums once you're back home. If there's a specific deadline — a frame you want to gift, a grandparent's birthday, an album for someone who's ailing — tell me and I'll work to it.

Common questions

We didn't plan ahead — is it too late to book during our trip?Almost never. Reach out as soon as you think of it. Same-week and next-day sessions are a normal part of what I do for visiting families.

What if the weather doesn't cooperate?Our weather is famously reliable, but on the rare unsettled day we simply adjust the time or move to a sheltered spot. I'll keep an eye on it and stay flexible with you.

Can we do this at our resort instead of driving somewhere?Yes, and many families prefer it. I'll confirm your property's policy and handle any permission needed.

How many people is too many?There's really no cap. I've photographed everything from a couple and grandparents up to twenty-plus across four generations. Larger groups just want a little more time and a location with room to spread out.

What about a brand-new baby or a relative who tires easily?We build the session around them — shoot their parts first, keep shade and seating close, and never rush. The whole point is that it feels gentle.

A picture worth more than the trip

Years from now, the details of any given vacation blur together. What stays is who was there — the people, the ages they were, the way the light fell that one evening when everyone was finally in the same place. That's what I'm really photographing when an extended family gathers in the desert: not a pose, but a moment in your family's life that won't come around in quite this form again.

If your family is heading to the Coachella Valley and you'd like to bring home something more lasting than a phone snapshot, I'd be glad to help — even if your trip starts in a few days. Tell me your dates and where you're staying, and we'll find the right evening together. You can reach me here, and we'll take it from there.