Why Summer Is the Perfect Time for Extended Family Photos in Auckland


There’s something about summer in Auckland that brings everyone back together.

Parents fly over from overseas. Siblings come home for the holidays. Grandparents finally get a few weeks with the grandchildren. Cousins who usually only see each other through a screen are suddenly running around together.


And for a little while, everyone is here.


If your family is anything like ours, getting the whole extended family in the same place doesn’t happen very often. Different cities, different countries, work, school and everyday life make it surprisingly difficult.


That’s why summer can be such a special opportunity for an extended family photography session.


They came all this way. Capture it.


Maybe Mum and Dad are visiting Auckland from overseas.

Maybe you’re the one flying back to New Zealand to spend summer with family.

Or maybe everyone has simply managed to coordinate the same holiday for once.


Whatever brings you together, there’s something worth documenting about this particular season of your family.


The grandparents holding hands with the little ones. The cousins running around together. Your siblings laughing at something completely unrelated to the camera. The chaos of trying to get everyone into one photograph.


Those are often the photographs that become more valuable with time.

And when everyone eventually flies home again, you have something tangible from the few weeks when everyone was together.

Three men smiling together on a sunlit beach at golden hour with lush trees in the background.
Family of six smiling together on a sandy beach with rocky cliffs in the background at golden hour.
Two men laughing and standing barefoot on a wet beach at golden hour with trees in the background.
Family of four smiling together on a sandy beach at sunset, with rocky cliffs in the background.

Extended family photos don't have to feel formal


We know the thought of organising eight, ten or more people for family photos can sound... like a lot. 😂

But we don't believe an extended family session needs to mean lining everyone up and asking them to smile at the camera for half an hour.


Our HomeSesh sessions are relaxed and movement-led.

We'll absolutely capture the photograph of everyone together — because that's an important one.


But we'll also break things down naturally throughout the session.

Grandparents with their grandchildren. Each individual family. The cousins together. The grandparents on their own. Siblings. Couples. And all the little candid moments that happen in between.


You don't need children who sit perfectly still or a family that knows how to pose.

Just bring everyone. We'll take it from there.


Your Auckland summer, captured at Long Bay


Our extended family sessions take place at Long Bay Beach on Auckland's North Shore, one of our favourite places to photograph families.

You get the ocean, rocks, open beach and beautiful coastal landscape without your photographs feeling overly staged.


And if you have family visiting New Zealand, we think there’s something particularly special about capturing them here.


Instead of photographs that could have been taken anywhere, you have your family surrounded by a little piece of Auckland's coastal beauty.

Years from now, the photographs don't just remind you of who was there.


They remind you where you all were together.


If everyone's coming this summer, don't leave it too late


Summer is one of our busiest seasons, and extended families usually have an even smaller window to work with because visits and holidays are already booked around specific dates.


So if you already know your parents are coming over, your siblings are flying home, or you're travelling to Auckland to see family, you don't have to wait until everyone arrives to organise the photos.


You can book the session ahead of time and have one less thing to coordinate once the summer chaos begins.

Because flights will leave.

Holidays will end.

Everyone will go back to their own routines.


But for a little while this summer, everyone's here.

And we think that's worth keeping.


Extended Family Photography — Long Bay, North Shore, Auckland

Relaxed. Guided. A little chaotic. Very you.

Everyone's here. Capture it!

Couple embracing on a beach at golden hour with trees in the background.
A family of six walks along a reflective beach shoreline under a cloudy sky, dressed in white and blue.
Two barefoot people walking on wet sand beach, reflections visible, wearing white flowing garments, coastal lifestyle photography.
Two women in white dresses walking hand in hand on a reflective beach with cloudy skies.
Two brides walk hand-in-hand barefoot on a reflective beach, one in white dress, cliffs in background.
Family holding hands walking on a sandy beach at sunset with lush green hills in the background.
Four friends embracing on a sandy beach with rocky cliffs and lush trees in the background.
Group of friends running joyfully on a sandy beach at sunset with cliffs and trees in the background.
Family of six walking and running together on a sandy beach with rocky cliffs in the background.
Couple laughing together on a beach at golden sunset, woman in striped dress and man in white shirt.
Two men smiling and embracing on a sunlit beach at golden hour with lush trees in the background.
Two men smiling and walking barefoot on a golden sandy beach at sunset with lush trees in the background.
Three men smiling together on a reflective beach at golden sunset with lush green trees in the background.
Three men smiling together on a sunlit beach with golden hour light and lush green trees in the background.
Family of six walking hand-in-hand along a sandy beach with coastal cliffs and calm ocean in the background.
Four people in white and casual attire gather on a sunlit beach at golden hour with lush trees in the background.
Couple embracing barefoot on a reflective beach at golden sunset with lush trees in the background.
Family of four smiling together on a sandy beach with coastal cliffs in the background during golden hour.
Family of four smiling together on a sandy beach with rocky cliffs in the background during golden hour.
Couple standing together on a sandy beach at golden hour with dramatic cliffs in the background.
Family of six posing together on a sandy beach with coastal cliffs in the background on a cloudy day.
Three women smiling and embracing on a sandy beach, wearing white and striped outfits, with trees in the background.
Six people walking barefoot on a sandy beach in neutral tones, surrounded by lush green trees in soft golden light.
Family of six posing together outdoors on green grass surrounded by lush native New Zealand bush and trees.
Couple embracing on a sunlit beach at golden hour, smiling at each other in a romantic outdoor portrait.