Visiting Salmon over a holiday weekend is the perfect excuse to finally get those BIG family photos and the Deering family understood the assignment.

James and Holly took advantage of having their kids, their kids’ significant others and their grandchildren all together over the Fourth of July weekend to update those much-needed family photos. Because let’s be honest, the older everyone gets, the harder it becomes to get every single person in the same place at the same time.

Between work schedules, kids, travel, and just life in general, it is a big deal when the whole family is together.

And that makes these sessions feel extra special.

Big Family Sessions Without the Stress

As a Salmon Idaho Photographer, I have photographed quite a few extended family sessions over the years, and I have the system down pretty well at this point.

We do the big group photos first. Then we start breaking everyone into smaller groups: grandparents with grandkids, siblings together, couples, individual families, parents with their adult children, and all the combinations that matter most.

My goal is always to make sure you walk away with more than just one giant group photo. I want every family to have images they can frame in their own homes while also documenting the bigger story of the entire family together.

And photos with Grandma and Grandpa?

Always a must.

There is something so special about getting generations of one family together in one photo. Those are the pictures that only become more important as time goes on.

The Deering family made my job pretty easy. Everyone came coordinated and ready to go, and the session itself was pretty easy peasy.

I also have the privilege of photographing Holly and James’ daughter Olivia and her family fairly often, so at least part of the crew already knew the drill. We laughed, moved through all the family combinations, and somehow survived a very hot and humid evening.

Barely. Okay, maybe I’m being dramatic. But it was HOT. We lived to tell the tale.

The Sweetest Surprise Proposal

But this family session had one very big surprise in store for Dallas’ girlfriend, Natalie.

Or, I should say, his fiancée.

Yes! Dallas planned to surprise Natalie with a proposal during the family photos, and I absolutely love getting to be part of moments like this.

There is something so incredibly sweet about a surprise proposal.

The few seconds when one person knows exactly what is about to happen and the other person has absolutely no clue. The nervous excitement. The realization when they figure out what is happening. The hugs afterward. The family trying to keep it together while also not ruining the surprise.

It is all so good.

Natalie truly had no idea Dallas was going to propose, which made her reaction even sweeter. And because we were already taking family photos, the people Dallas loved most were right there to celebrate with them.

At one point Natalie said, “I am so happy all of you were here for it.” Excuse me while I cry.

That is what made this proposal feel so special. It was not only about the two of them getting engaged. It became this beautiful family memory that everyone there got to experience together.

As an Idaho Family Photographer, these are the kinds of moments I feel so lucky to document. Family photography is about more than everyone looking at the camera and smiling. It is about documenting where your family is right now, the people who are part of it, the relationships growing within it, and sometimes, a brand-new chapter beginning right in the middle of your session.

The Deering family came together over the Fourth of July weekend for updated family photos.

They left with a whole lot more to celebrate.

Congratulations, Dallas and Natalie. I am so happy I got to photograph the moment your next chapter officially began.