Extended Family Photoshoots | The Photos that Tell Your Story for Generations | Brainerd Lakes Area
Extended Family Sessions in the Brainerd Lakes Area.
Because Family Stories Deserve to be Treasured
There’s something about an extended family photoshoot that hits a bit different. Maybe it’s the mayhem, maybe it’s the laughter. or maybe it’s the way grandparents soften when the littles run towards them. But mostly, it is the feeling that these are the photos that outlive us and the images that future generations will hold in their hands when they want to know where they came from.
As a Brainerd Lakes Area Photographer, I love capturing this kind of storytelling. The tender, but not so ordinary moments of everyone gathered at the family cabin under the pines,
Extended Family Photos Matter
Life moves so fast. Kids grow, seasons change and suddenly the people who once. lived under the same roof only gather during the holidays and big moments. Even that can and often does change. An extended family session brings everyone back into one frame - grandparents, cousins, siblings and the people that feel like home. These photos become your history, and the only thing we have left to help us hang on to the memories that were made. A timeline of sorts. The proof of how deeply you belong to one another. These are the images your children will treasure someday, long after their and your world has shifted a hundred times.
Photos that Become Legacy
I’ve always loved old photos — the way they instantly transport you back, the way you can almost hear the laughter or imagine the warm summer air. That’s what I hope to create for you. Images that feel honest, nostalgic and full of life.
Not perfectly posed (Although I always hope for an amazing group shot of everyone looking into camera).
Not Forced Smiles.
Just the real, real - the in-between moment and the storytelling that shows connection.
The Brainerd Lakes Area is Perfect for Extended Family Sessions
This is where many of us all gather, each and every summer at resorts and campgrounds that have seen more summers than our great grandparents. The beauty and simplicity of cabin life, a pine-lined backroad or your childhood home, the Brainerd Lakes Area offers a backdrop, that feels both grounded and magical. Minnesota sunsets, tall grasses, quiet water - this place was made for making memories.
These are the photos, that will remind you and the younger generations how it all felt. Being together.
And local matters too. I grew up here, at family owned campground, it took me 15 years to come back to Minnesota, but those old polaroids of catching fish may have had something to do with me coming home.
Unique Family Photos at the Lake | Family Campfire | Minnesota Photographer
Relaxed Family Photoshoot at the Lake in the Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota
I absolutely love it when families come to me with unique ideas for their family photo session. This wonderful family wanted photos on the lake at their family cabin here in Central Minnesota, but to make it even more special we incorporated one of their favorite family activities into the photoshoot. A family campfire photoshoot.
You can’t tell by the photos but we were surrounded by storms - despite gloomy skies we had an awesome session and somehow their little pocket of lakeshore remained dry. We took lots of family photos by the lake and after they made a campfire.
As the sun started to set, Grandpa started a campfire while the kids snuggled on moms lap and roasted marshmallows. I Everyone was content and simply in the moment.
It was such a fun and unique idea to get candid family photos. I feel we really captured those cabin vibes and that lake life so many of us love here in Minnesota.
It’s another session where I wasn’t exactly sure where to put them in my portfolio, but I wanted to share, so here they are in the blog. I hope it gives you inspiration for your next family photoshoot - I am always down for an adventure or to do something a bit out of the ordinary. Family activity photoshoots are some of my favorite.
Please reach out if you have any ideas and are looking for a photographer in The Brainerd Lakes Area.
Xo,
Amanda
Just a few of my favorite photos of this Minnesota Family Session. 
