Hi guys! We are coming at you today with another Three Minute Tips episode. This week, Ashley shares her tips for extended family sessions! Ashley totally rocks these sessions and does quite a few of them during the summer. Being in San Diego, we get a lot of family reunions, family vacations, etc, so we all get bombarded with a lot of requests for shoots with a lot of people! If this is something that sounds a bit overwhelming to you, you're not alone! It can totally be overwhelming and a lot to handle! However, Ashley's tips will help make these extended family sessions seem a little easier to deal with. Check them out! Key Takeaways:

1. Charge More: Don't be afraid to charge more! You're going to put a lot more work into this shoot than you would a smaller family. There's a lot more time spent organizing everyone's desires pre-shoot (location, date, time of day, etc), as well as during the shoot. More faces mean more chances to get shots where people are blinking, looking away, etc. So that's extra retouching work too potentially if you do face swaps! Also, oftentimes siblings are going in on the shoot together, so it's a little easier to charge more when you know multiple families will be splitting the bill!
2. Organize & Prepare: 
   1. Schedule a phone consultation: This is super important for this shoot! It's important to find out who all is coming (and their relationships to each other) as well as figuring out their priority shots.
   2. Bring an assistant: Ashley will typically bring an assistant along for any groups larger than 10, especially when there are a lot of kids involved! The assistant can help pose the group, keep the kids smiling/laughing, and can also serve as a second set of eyes to help spot hair out of place, wardrobe malfunctions, etc.
   3. Plan out the timing of the shoot: Ashley suggests starting with the full group shot for a few reasons. This is usually the priority shot for the group as it's often tough to get the whole family together at the same time. Also, kids tend to start melting down as the shoot goes on, so doing this photo at the very start of the shoot gives the best chance for a great shot! After the group shot, Ashley does all the kid photos (for the same reason above), and then finishes up with adult shots.
3. Post Session delivery: Ashley advises the family to narrow down decision makers to just one or two people so she's not dealing with a dozen different family members placing orders, asking questions etc. This definitely helps take some of the pressure off her!

Thanks for listening to another quick three minute tips episode! We hope you enjoyed Ashley's tips for extended family sessions and can apply some of these in your own businesses! Related Links:

• Ashley DuChene Photography