An Extended Family Session at the JW Marriott

When multiple generations of a family are together for a vacation, it can be one of the few times everyone is in the same place at the same time. That makes a family vacation a pretty special opportunity to document everyone together, especially when grandparents, adult children, and grandchildren are all traveling together.

This extended family session took place at the JW Marriott Marco Island Beach Resort. With the beach, resort grounds, and plenty of space to move around, it was a great setting for photographing a large family without making the session feel overly structured. We were able to photograph everyone together, break into smaller family groups, and let the kids move around while still keeping the session relaxed.

One of the things I enjoy most about extended family photography is finding that balance. You want photographs of everyone together, but you also want images that feel like your family actually spent time together rather than simply lining up for a group portrait. A resort like the JW Marriott gives us the space and variety to do both.

Celebrating 50 Years Together

This trip to Marco Island was especially meaningful for this family. The grandparents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, and they were joined by their two sons and their families for the trip.

One son came with his wife and their two daughters, who were 10 and 3, while his brother joined them as well. In total, there were seven of them.

The family traveled from the Pittsburgh area, and while one of the brothers had previously visited Marco Island for business conferences, this was the first time all of them had been able to travel here together as a family.

That made the session about more than simply taking family portraits. It was a chance to document a milestone anniversary and a rare opportunity for three generations to spend time together on vacation.

Why a Resort Works So Well for Extended Family Photos

One of the things I love about photographing families at a resort is that we don’t have to rely on just one setting.

With seven people ranging from a three-year-old to grandparents celebrating 50 years of marriage, having different environments to work in gave us plenty of variety without having to leave the property.

We started in the back area of the JW Marriott, where the landscaping, gardens, and shaded areas gave us a quieter setting for some of the family photographs. From there, we could move around the property and eventually make our way down to the beach.

This also makes a resort session particularly convenient for families who are traveling together. Everyone is already staying in the same place, there is no need to coordinate multiple cars, and we can make the session feel like part of the vacation rather than another event everyone has to travel to.

Why We Chose Sunset for This Session

For this family, I recommended a sunset session rather than photographing in the morning.

The beaches on Marco Island are expansive, and while that gives us beautiful open views, the beach at the JW Marriott doesn’t offer a lot of natural shade in the morning. That means the window for photographing comfortably before the sun gets too high can be fairly tight.

Sunset gives us a little more flexibility.

The back area of the resort has beautiful landscaping and shaded spaces that work particularly well as the sun begins to drop. We can start there while the light is still too strong for the beach, giving us time to photograph the different family combinations without rushing.

Then, as we get closer to sunset, we make our way down to the beach for the final portion of the session.

Starting at the Resort and Ending at the Beach

I really like this approach for extended family sessions at beachfront resorts.

Rather than spending the entire session on the beach, we use the property itself as part of the story. The gardens and shaded areas give us a different look and allow everyone to settle into the session before we head toward the water.

Then we save the beach for the end.

The final 20 minutes before sunset are when the light along the Gulf becomes soft, warm, and especially beautiful. By that point, everyone is comfortable with the camera, the kids have had time to move around, and we’re able to finish the session with those wide-open beach photographs that make a Marco Island vacation feel like a Marco Island vacation.

For an extended family, this also gives us a nice variety in the final gallery. You get photographs of everyone together, smaller family groupings, photographs of the grandparents with their grandchildren, and more relaxed moments along the beach.

Keeping an Extended Family Session Relaxed

With seven people, I don’t want everyone standing together for an hour.

The goal is to move through combinations efficiently while keeping the session enjoyable for everyone. We’ll photograph the full family, then break into smaller groups and bring people in and out as needed.

With young kids especially, movement helps. A three-year-old isn’t expected to stand still and smile through an entire family session. We can let her explore, interact with her family, and move between different photographs.

I also want the grandparents to enjoy the experience. They’re not standing around waiting while I photograph every possible combination. We move through the important groupings efficiently and then give everyone opportunities to relax and simply be together.

That approach is especially important with extended families. The photographs matter, but I don’t want the process of taking them to become the thing everyone remembers about the vacation.

Why I Photograph Extended Families on Film

Every image from this session was photographed on film.

I love film for extended family sessions because it gives the photographs a timeless quality that feels appropriate for documenting something as meaningful as a 50th anniversary and a rare family vacation.

Film also works beautifully with the natural light we get at the end of the day. The softer tones, natural skin color, and gentle rendering of highlights fit the relaxed feeling I want these sessions to have.

But more than anything, I want these photographs to feel like memories.

Years from now, I hope this family looks at these images and remembers the trip, the beach, the grandparents’ 50th anniversary, and the fact that everyone was together on Marco Island for the first time.

If you’d like to learn more about why I choose to photograph families on film, you can read more about my approach here.

Final Thoughts

I think that’s what makes extended family photography so rewarding.

You aren’t just documenting seven people who happened to be standing together on a beach. You’re documenting a particular moment in the life of a family.

For this family, it was 50 years of marriage, two sons, grandchildren, and a first family trip to Marco Island where everyone could finally be together.

The JW Marriott gave us the perfect setting to document all of it. We could start quietly among the gardens, move through the different family groupings, let the kids be themselves, and finish with everyone together on the beach as the sun went down.

Those are the photographs I hope families keep for years. Not just because they look beautiful, but because they bring you back to a time when everyone was together.