Multi-generational family photography: Tips for including grandparents

Multi-generational family photography captures something that can never be recreated: three generations in the same frame, the same bloodline at three different stages of life. These sessions — grandparents, their children, their grandchildren all together — often produce the most emotionally powerful portraits in a family's collection.

Why multi-generational photographs matter

Most families have no professional photographs that include the grandparent generation. There are wedding photographs, newborn photographs, family portrait sessions — but almost never a session that intentionally brings three generations together for the specific purpose of documenting that connection.

The reasons are usually logistical: everyone lives in different places, schedules are hard to align, grandparents don't like having their photograph taken. All of these are solvable problems. And the reasons to solve them compound every year.

When to plan a multi-generational session

The most natural occasions to bring three generations together for photographs are moments when they're already gathered — but these gatherings are also often chaotic, busy, and not well-suited to the kind of relaxed, focused session that produces the best portraits.

• ◆Special family occasions: A significant birthday (grandparent's 70th, 80th, or 90th), a significant anniversary, a large family reunion — these already bring people together and provide a natural reason for a professional session.
• ◆A standalone family portrait day: Many families make the most of it by planning the session as its own event — choosing a meaningful location, booking in advance, and building a day around it. The photograph is the occasion.
• ◆Around a new addition: A new baby is frequently the trigger: everyone wants to meet the newest family member, and a three-generation session when the grandparents meet the grandchild for the first time is one of the most emotionally charged in photography.
• ◆No particular reason: Some of the best family session decisions are the ones made without a specific occasion to wait for. Waiting for the 'right moment' often means it never happens.

Practical considerations for multi-generational sessions

The images that matter most

In any multi-generational session, there are two categories of images: the formal group photographs everyone expects, and the candid relational moments that are usually far more moving.

A grandfather reading to a grandchild. A grandmother at 80 holding a baby at 4 weeks. Three generations of hands. A toddler examining a wrinkled face with complete unselfconscious curiosity. These images, taken well, are some of the most significant photographs a family will ever have. The formal group shots are important; the candid in-between moments are irreplaceable.

Brief your photographer in advance about relationships, about which pairings matter most, and about any particular moments you're hoping they'll catch. A photographer who knows who everyone is and which connections are most precious can prioritise accordingly.

What to do with multi-generational photographs

The single most underused outcome of multi-generational photography is printing for the grandparent generation. Many older people have photographs of grandchildren on their walls — school photos, holiday snaps — but almost no professional images that include themselves. A framed print of a grandparent with their grandchildren is one of the most meaningful gifts it's possible to give.