Extended family photos are about so much more than getting everyone in one frame. They preserve the relationships between generations and create photographs your family will treasure long after the session is over.

Mom is often the one preserving everyone else’s memories—but she deserves to be part of them, too. Here’s why you don’t need to wait until you feel ready to step into the family photographs.

The photographs I love most often happen a few seconds after the “perfect” one—when everyone stops posing, the kids start laughing, and your family simply becomes themselves.