Family reunion and gathering
photography on the Peninsula
A reunion, a 90th, an anniversary, a graduation party. Whenever the whole family is finally in one place, you get one organized group photo with every person in it, a set for each household, and candids through the rest of the day.
Outdoors or in your venue. Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Woodside and nearby.
Recent family work · see the full gallery
What this covers
It is the same shoot every time: the whole family in one place for an afternoon or an evening, outdoors or at your venue. The reason for the gathering changes, the coverage does not.
Family reunions
The branch of the family that flew in, the cousins who only meet at these, and the one group photo everybody will ask you for afterwards.
Milestone birthdays
A first, a 50th, a 90th. The generations in the room are the picture, and they are rarely all together again.
Anniversary parties
Portraits of the couple being celebrated, then every household that came out for them, then the party itself.
Graduation parties
The grad with each side of the family, the friends who showed up, and the backyard before anyone knocks the decorations over.
Holiday gatherings
The one weekend a year everyone is in town. Book the afternoon of the gathering and the group photo is done before dinner.
Retirement and send-offs
The family and the people who showed up for them, photographed properly instead of on somebody's phone.
What reunion coverage actually gets you
Four things, every time, whichever block you book.
The group photo, done properly
One organized shot with every single person in it, lit and posed so nobody is hidden behind a cousin. This is the picture that ends up framed, and it is the part most reunions never get right on a phone.
A set for each household
Every branch of the family gets its own portraits during the same booking. Most of them have not had a decent photo taken together since the last reunion.
Candids through the rest
The catching up, the kids running around, the food, the grandparents watching all of it. Shot as it happens, with nobody asked to stop and pose.
One gallery the whole family can use
Every household downloads their own full-resolution files from the same link. No per-photo charges, no print package you have to buy to get your own pictures.
What it costs
Coverage is sold in blocks, not by the hour. Organizing an extended family into one good frame is most of the work and barely any of the clock, so an hourly meter prices the wrong thing. You know the number before you book.
2-Hour Coverage
Right for 15 to 25 people
$1,195
- 2 hours of coverage, outdoors or at your venue
- About 125 edited images
- One organized group photo of everyone, posed and lit properly
- A portrait set for each household in the family
- Candids through the rest: the catching up, the kids, the food
- One shared gallery, so every household downloads their own
- 5 business day delivery
- Use them anywhere: print, frame, post, share
3-Hour Coverage
The one most reunions book
$1,595
- 3 hours of coverage, outdoors or at your venue
- About 200 edited images
- One organized group photo of everyone, posed and lit properly
- A portrait set for each household in the family
- Candids through the rest: the catching up, the kids, the food
- One shared gallery, so every household downloads their own
- 5 business day delivery
- Use them anywhere: print, frame, post, share
4-Hour Coverage
For 50 or more, or a reunion that runs all day
$1,995
- 4 hours of coverage, outdoors or at your venue
- About 275 edited images
- One organized group photo of everyone, posed and lit properly
- A portrait set for each household in the family
- Candids through the rest: the catching up, the kids, the food
- One shared gallery, so every household downloads their own
- 5 business day delivery
- Use them anywhere: print, frame, post, share
Not sure which block?
Go by headcount. The group photo takes about the same half hour either way; the difference is how long there is for household sets and candids afterwards.
- 15 to 25 peopleTwo hours · $1,195
- 25 to 50 peopleThree hours · $1,595
- 50 or moreFour hours · $1,995
Only want the group photo and nothing else? A standard family session at $895 covers that in 60 minutes.
Rush delivery (48 hours)
The whole gallery within 48 hours, useful when relatives fly home at the end of the weekend.
+$199
How the day runs
Pick your coverage and pay
Choose the block that fits your headcount and book it online. Full price, no deposit, no quote to wait on.
We set the time for the group photo
Bruce emails within 24 hours. The one thing worth planning is when everyone will be in the same place, and he will help you pick a time that works with the light.
He shows up and works the room
Group photo first while everyone is still fresh and nobody has wandered off. Then household sets, then candids for the rest of the block.
Gallery in 5 business days
One link you forward to the whole family. Everyone downloads what they want, at full resolution, to keep.
One thing worth planning: the group photo
If your gathering is outdoors, the daylight sets the schedule. Between November and February the sun is down by about five, so the group photo wants to happen in the afternoon. Pick your time with that in mind and the rest takes care of itself. Indoors, at a hall or a restaurant or someone's house, none of that applies: I bring lighting and we can shoot the group whenever suits the evening. Either way, tell me where it is and I'll plan the group photo around it.
Questions
- How much does a family reunion photographer cost?
- Coverage is sold in blocks, not by the hour: $1,195 for two hours, $1,595 for three, and $1,995 for four. Every block includes the organized group photo of everyone, a portrait set for each household, candid coverage through the rest of the time, and one shared gallery the whole family downloads from. For 15 to 25 people two hours is usually right; 25 to 50 wants three; 50 or more wants four. Need longer than four hours? Ask, and you get a quote for the whole evening rather than an hourly meter.
- Do you only do reunions, or other family gatherings too?
- Any gathering where the family is in one place outdoors: milestone birthdays, anniversary parties, graduation parties, holiday get-togethers, retirement parties. It is the same coverage and the same blocks. If you are not sure yours fits, ask before you book.
- Why not just charge by the hour?
- Because the hardest part of a reunion takes almost no time. Getting forty relatives organized into one well-lit frame is most of the work and about half an hour of the clock. Fixed blocks mean you know the number before you book and nobody is watching a meter. Past four hours each extra hour is $400, agreed before the day rather than added after it.
- What if we only want the group photo?
- Then a standard family session is the better buy: $895 for 60 minutes, which covers the organized group shot plus a set for each household. Reunion coverage is for when you also want the rest of the day documented.
- Do you shoot indoors, at a hall or a restaurant?
- Yes. Outdoors in daylight is the look most families want and what these blocks are built around, but plenty of gatherings happen in a hall, a restaurant, a clubhouse or someone's living room, and those are fine. I bring lighting and work with the room. Tell me where it is when you book and I'll plan for it.
- How far ahead should we book?
- As soon as the date is set. Reunions cluster on holiday weekends and so does everyone else's, and the usable daylight is short in late autumn and winter. If your date is inside the next few weeks, book now and Bruce will tell you straight away if it does not work.
- Can we get the photos faster than five days?
- Yes. Rush delivery puts the whole gallery in your inbox within 48 hours for an extra $199. Worth it when relatives fly home at the end of the weekend and you want them to leave with the photos.
- What about family that can't make it into the group shot?
- Tell Bruce on the day. He will work around people who arrive late, leave early, or cannot stand for long, and he will make sure the oldest generation gets photographed first while everyone has the energy for it.
- Where on the Peninsula do you travel?
- Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Woodside, Redwood City, San Mateo, Half Moon Bay and the surrounding towns, with no travel fee. Further out is usually still possible, so ask.
Everyone is only in one place once
Book the block that fits your family, and the only thing left to organize is when to call everyone over for the group shot.