Family reunion and extended family photos on the Sarasota beaches
Family Reunion Photographer in Sarasota and Siesta Key
I photograph family reunions of ten to twenty people on Sarasota, Siesta Key, Lido Key and Longboat Key beaches: everyone together first, then every household, the grandparents with the grandchildren, the siblings and the cousins, in an hour or ninety minutes. You see the price for your head count on my large families calculator and book online, without writing to anyone.
By Yuriy. I photograph every reunion myself, from the first group photo to the last cousin.
Length
60 or 90 minutes
Your choice, whatever the size of the group.
Price
$350 for five
For an hour, $450 on a Friday to Sunday evening. Each person after five adds a set amount; see the calculator.
Gallery
2 to 5 days
Every photo edited by hand, no watermarks.
How a family reunion photo session runs
Everyone standing together takes about the first ten minutes. After that the time belongs to the smaller groups: every household, every generation, and the pairs your family will ask about later. The goal is not one picture of twenty people, it is a gallery where every part of the family is photographed.
Most big families I photograph are ten to fourteen: the grandparents, their grown children with partners, and the grandchildren. A reunion usually has a reason: one family made the whole trip for their mom's 80th birthday, and her daughter's review is further down this page. Below is the order I work in for every group like that. The times move a little with the children and the light.
An hour or ninety minutes, open to any group size, and the order stays the same; ninety minutes gives more combinations and more than one backdrop, and the number of finished photos grows with the group.
The order of a reunion session, step by step
- 01
Everyone at the water
You arrive five to ten minutes early and walk down together. I wait by the water, say hello to the organizer and count heads, so I know who is still parking.
- 02
Everyone together
The whole family first, in the soft early light, before anyone drifts away: a few frames standing, then everyone walking toward me, which is usually the one where the whole family laughs. With a big group I wait for every face to be open, not most of them.
- 03
The grandparents
First surrounded by every grandchild, next beside their grown sons and daughters, and last with one household at a time. It tends to be the frame that gets printed and hung, and it means the grandparents are done standing early.
- 04
Each household
One household at a time, starting with the one whose children are youngest. While one family is with me, the next one is already walking over.
- 05
Siblings, cousins, couples
Brothers and sisters who last stood in one frame as kids, the cousins as a pack, each couple without the kids.
- 06
The children and your own list
By now the children have forgotten the camera: running, in the water, on someone's shoulders. This is also the time for the combinations only your family knows to ask for.
- 07
The last light
If the light is still good, one more photo of everyone to close, and a walk back to the cars.
The grouping plan for an extended family: who is in which photo
A reunion is often the only day when the three sisters, or grandma and the newest baby, are on the same beach. That photo should not depend on someone remembering it on the sand, so I ask for a short list before the session, in three tiers that keep it realistic.
01
Must have
- Everyone together
- Grandparents with all the grandchildren
- Grandparents with their grown children
- Each household on its own
02
Would love
- Grandparents with each household
- The grown siblings together
- The cousins as a pack
- Each couple without the kids
03
If there is time
- Grandparents with each grandchild
- The sisters, the brothers, the in-laws
- Children running and in the water
- Your own tradition, like the same pose every year
Write names, not roles
"Mom, Dad and the four grandsons" is faster to call out on a windy beach than "grandparents with Mark's side". Reply to my booking confirmation with the list, and I bring it to the beach and call each group by name, so nobody in the family has to run the session.
How much of it fits
That depends on how many households you are and on the children, so I always work top down: the first tier first, then the second, then as much of the third as the light allows. Ninety minutes reaches further down the list than an hour.
The cousins and the siblings
Two groups that are easy to leave off a list: the cousins together without a single adult, and the grown brothers and sisters standing side by side the way they did as kids.
He accommodated for two crabby kids and separated photos with me and my sister as well as my fiance and our children. It was our first time having professional photos done as a family and he could tell so he helped pose us!
Family reunion photo ideas on the beach
Beyond the list, these scenes work best for a big family on these beaches. Most happen on their own once people stop posing; a few need one word from me.
- Everyone walking toward me along the water, which loosens up even the teenagers
- Three generations hand in hand through the shallows
- The whole family running along the wet sand, the children out in front
- Each grandparent with a grandchild on the hip, laughing at the edge of the water
- The grown siblings redoing an old childhood photo: bring it on your phone
- Everyone piled on the sofa at the rental, when the sky will not clear
Yuriy is wonderful to work with! He's professional and makes the shoot so much fun - our entire family felt relaxed and comfortable with his direction! Wonderful eye for details and we are extremely happy with our pictures!
Add the ones you want to the grouping list you send me, and I fit them in around the light.
Who is in charge, and how I keep twenty people moving
One person in the family plans it and I run it on the day. Here is how the work splits, so the organizer gets to be in the photos instead of herding everyone into them.
The organizer
Five things, all before the beach
Get a head count of everyone in the photos, including babies; that is the number the price and my plan are built on. Book the session and pay the deposit. Send the family one message with the place, the time and the colors. Send me the grouping list. And on the day, make sure one person, you or someone you trust, is in charge of getting everyone there.
Me
Everything on the sand
I choose the access with the easiest walk for your group, and once the deposit is paid, I send you the parking pin and where exactly on the sand we meet. On the beach I run the order, call the next group while the current one is finishing, keep an eye on the youngest and the oldest, and fit the photos from your list around the light. You do not need to know how to pose anyone, including yourselves.
A message you can forward to the family
"Family photos are on [day] at [time] on [beach]. Please be there ten minutes early: the photographer meets us at the water, and I will send you the parking pin. Wear something comfortable in [our colors], no big logos, and not everyone in white. Bare feet are fine. If you are running late, text me: they start with whoever is there."
Very good communication beforehand we knew exactly where to go. He was so sweet and made sure our large family got all the shots we wanted!
When to fit the photos into the reunion week
Which day
Early in the trip, not the last evening
Pick the first evening when everyone has arrived. Nobody is sunburned yet, nobody is tired of each other yet, and if a storm takes the evening there is still a spare one before people fly home.
An evening session ends by ten minutes after sunset, so it works well right before the big family dinner: everyone is already dressed and together.
We really enjoyed our photography session! We made the trip for my mom's 80th birthday. We got several wonderful family photos that we will cherish. Highly recommend.
Which window
Morning or the last light before sunset
From October to May both the morning and the evening are comfortable for a big group. From June to September, highs average 90 to 92 degrees and the months bring about 60 percent of the year's rain, according to the National Weather Service normals for Sarasota-Bradenton, so a morning is kinder to grandparents and small cousins alike. In late June and July the sun sets around 8:25 to 8:30 pm, so a summer evening session ends by about 8:40. Mornings start soon after sunrise, and the calendar shows the exact times for your day.
Holidays
Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break
Holiday weeks are often the one time the whole family is on the same beach. Sunset is around 5:37 pm in Thanksgiving week and just before 5:45 pm at Christmas, so an evening session is over before dinner; from December to February the evening window opens earlier, and the calendar shows each day's start times. March is spring break and the height of the season, according to Visit Sarasota; weekday evenings and mornings are calmer.
How far ahead
The calendar opens four months ahead
Most reunions are planned much further out than that. Put the date four months before your trip in your own calendar and book when your dates appear. Planning further out? Write to me with your dates. Sunset by month, and when each season is easiest, is in my guide to the best time for photos on Siesta Key.
Where: the beach nearest your rental, or the house itself
For a group with several cars, the best beach is usually the one closest to where you are all staying.
Siesta Key
My first suggestion for ten to fourteen, and the island where I photographed my biggest group so far, about twenty people. I meet families at the smaller accesses, where the walk from the car to the water takes three to eight minutes, and I never put a big group in the middle of the busiest stretch; I work to the side of it.
The family in this photo is on Siesta Key, with a catamaran out behind them.
Lido Key
Two different settings in one hour, the open beach and the green sea grape behind it, so a big group does not end up with sixty frames of the same background. The cousins in the sea grape further up this page are on Lido Key.
Longboat Key
If you are all staying on Longboat, I photograph you on the stretch of beach by your rental. The island's public accesses range from no parking at all to about forty spaces, so starting from the rental saves a lot of car shuffling.
Anna Maria Island, Venice and further
Siesta Key, Lido Key and Sarasota are included. Longboat Key and Venice add $50 and Anna Maria Island $70, ticked at booking.
The family in this photo is further south, on Caspersen Beach in Venice, with its dark rocks along the water.
Further out, such as mainland Bradenton, Cortez, Englewood, Manasota or Casey Key, I confirm the travel fee by email before you book. My beach guide compares them all.
At the rental house or by the pool
A reunion often rents one big house, and sometimes the better story is right there: grandparents on the sofa with every grandchild piled on, the kids jumping into the pool, everyone in the kitchen. Online you book the morning and evening windows; for a midday session by the pool or indoors at the rental, write to me with your dates first. The house is also the answer for a grandparent who cannot manage sand, and a backup when the sky will not clear.
If you are staying at a resort, some require permission for an outside photographer; the registered guest asks the front desk in advance.
What to wear when there are twenty of you
Our beaches here have very bright white sand, so almost any color photographs beautifully. Solid white is the one I usually steer people away from, since it tends to blend into the sand. It still looks great against the water and the sky, so if white is your thing, wear it, we will just work with the angles. Matching is not needed; large logos are the one thing to leave at home. Otherwise, wear what you would actually choose to wear. People at ease in their clothes look better in photos than people dressed up and uncomfortable.
What works for big groups
Pick two or three related colors, soft blue, sand and sage for example, and let every household choose its own clothes inside them. Put them in the one message to the family.
In the wind a longer, flowing dress moves beautifully and a very light, short one fights you. Take off smart watches and hotel wristbands before the first photo; bare feet are fine.
Multigenerational photos: grandparents, toddlers and anyone who cannot walk far
Tell me who walks slowly, who uses a cane or a walker, and whose child is still a toddler. Then I choose an access where the path is short and the ground is firm, and I set the order: grandparents near the start, and the two-year-old while patience still lasts. There is a field for this in the booking form.
Beach wheelchairs
If someone needs a beach wheelchair, Sarasota County lends them free at Siesta Beach, year round, signed out at the main pavilion concession stand; for other times, call 941-861-5000 ahead. Visit Sarasota lists the same free chairs at the lifeguard towers of the other lifeguarded beaches, Lido included, from 10 am to 4 pm, so for an evening session pick one up earlier. They are meant for the main beach parks rather than the smaller accesses I usually use, so if someone will use one, tell me when you book and we choose the meeting spot together.
Toddlers and the heat
For the little ones, a late nap helps more than anything I can do on the beach, and a snack in someone's pocket buys ten more good minutes. In summer, bring water for everyone, grandparents first.
More than twenty of you?
The online calculator counts up to twenty people. Above that number I would rather plan it with you before anything is booked: write to me and include your dates, your head count and how many households are coming, and I reply with a plan for your group and its price.
Groups of sixteen and up can have a second photographer as well, so the same moment is covered from two sides. Nobody has to take it; ask if you want it.
If your reunion is ten people or fewer and you only want a few strong photos, a thirty-minute Siesta Key mini session fits groups of up to ten.
Price and booking: $350 for five, your exact number on the calculator
A reunion books the same family session as any big family. For up to five people an hour is $350 and ninety minutes $500; on a Friday to Sunday evening they are $450 and $600. Every person you add raises it by a set amount. I keep one place for the numbers: the calculator on the large families page shows the exact price and the number of finished photos for your head count before you pay anything.
- 01
Count everyone and open the calculator
On the large families page, pick an hour or ninety minutes and a weekday or a Friday to Sunday evening, add your head count, and the price and the number of photos update as you go.
- 02
Pick a date and a start time
The calendar offers only the windows I actually shoot on that date: mornings, and evening starts worked out from that day's sunset. It closes 12 hours before a session.
- 03
Hold it with 30 percent
One person pays a 30 percent deposit online and the rest is paid after the session. The booking form asks where we meet and anything I should know about the place, like who walks slowly.
Cancellation, weather and the gallery
A cancellation more than 7 days before the session is refunded in full, and if weather takes the evening we move the date and you keep the deposit.
The gallery arrives in 2 to 5 days at the email of the person who booked: one gallery for the whole session, every household in it, every photo edited by hand, with no watermarks. If the gallery holds more photos than your session includes, you choose your included ones first; buying more is entirely optional.
This photo shoot was perfect! Yuriy offered helpful tips and was extremely accommodating. He was able to capture the pictures we wanted for our large family!
The one you meet on the beach is me: more about me.
Family reunion photos: what organizers ask me
How long does a family reunion photo session take for 20 people?
You choose an hour or ninety minutes; there is no minimum length for a big group. Ninety minutes gives more combinations without rushing and room for more than one backdrop; the order, described above, is the same in both.
Will each household of our extended family get its own photos, or only the big group?
Both. Everyone together takes roughly the first ten minutes; after that come every household, the grandparents with the grandchildren, the siblings, the cousins and the couples. Put every combination you want on the list you send me, and I work through it. The number of finished photos grows with the size of your group (price and booking).
What if one household is running late?
It happens. I start with the households that are on the beach and fold the late ones in the moment they walk up; they still get their own photos, and if the light allows, everyone stands together once more at the end. If the whole group is late, the session still ends at the booked time, because the light and the next booking set the clock.
What if a cousin cancels, or two more people come?
Tell me as soon as you know: reply to the booking confirmation with the new number, so I can plan the order for the people who come. If more people come, the price follows the new head count.
What if it rains during our reunion week?
Most Florida showers blow through. When an evening truly cannot be saved, I move the session to another morning or evening, and you do not lose the deposit because of weather.
Grandma cannot walk far on sand. Can she still come?
Yes. Tell me when you book and I choose an access with a short walk and firm ground, and photograph the grandparents early so they are not standing for long. Free beach wheelchairs are available too; the section on grandparents and toddlers says where.
There are more than twenty of us. Can you still photograph the reunion?
Yes. Booking online stops at twenty people; past that we plan it by email first, and the section for more than twenty says what to send me.
Can we bring the family dog?
Yes, on a session of an hour or ninety minutes, on a beach where dogs are allowed. Siesta Beach allows only service animals, so tell me before you choose the place. One option that works is Brohard Paw Park in Venice, a beach set aside for dogs; Venice adds a $50 travel fee. My page on family photos with dogs has the rest.
Who pays, and can we split the cost?
One person books and pays a 30 percent deposit online, and the rest is paid after the session. How you share the cost inside the family is up to you; nobody else needs to book or pay me separately.
Bring the whole family
Count everyone, pick your dates, and hold the morning or evening that suits the whole family.
Rated 4.97 from more than 90 five-star reviews.