Hey @kina, sounds like a great opportunity! Are you planning on doing pictures of the full family only, or are you doing different combos as well (siblings, mom/daughters, dad/sons, dad/daughters, etc.)?
Here are some random thoughts… things I did that helped me move quickly through recent photo mini-sessions I did:
1. Plan ahead
– I read and re-read and read again 30 Tips for Perfect Family Photos – it was super helpful and I was able to arrange everyone quickly because of the principles in that e-book.
– Know how many pictures you’re trying to end up with. In my case I had promised 5 pics to each family. I took many more than that, but that was the goal in mind.
– Know exactly how much time you have. Pace yourself accordingly as you conduct the shoot.
– Have a plan for what types of pics you’re going for. For me, I was doing different combos, so that may have looked like: 1- Family 2- Siblings 3- Dad/sons 4- Mom/daughters 5- Dad & Mom
2. Communicate
– Know what they’re looking for. Obviously you want to take pictures they want, not just what you want. 😀 Example from my experience: One mom just wanted a group shot of her 4 kids, and then individual shots. There’s my five. Another family wanted everything! Full family, mom/daughter, mom/son, dad/daughter, dad/son, siblings, etc. That was more than five, but that was fine. That was up to them. Other people said whatever pictures I wanted to take was fine.
3. Keep it simple.
I had some metal tubs of various sizes and some wooden stools that I used for them to sit on. I had brought tons of props with me, but I ended up not using any of those things… it just wasn’t necessary for what we were doing and it saved me on time.
4. Help is great!
I had one of my sisters helping me, so she was able to help get kids to smile, bring a tub over for someone to sit on, hold a baby when the dad and mom were getting their picture taken, and more! It was great.
Lastly, what @loganlamar said is VERY excellent and important
5. Ideally, set up a “studio”: have everyone come to you, instead of you hunting them down and following them around trying to gather everyone.
Also, I’d add to what he said with
7. Take your nice shot with everyone smiling, and then take a goofy shot (“okay, everyone act crazy!”)
I like to take a nice one and then have everyone look at each other (“everyone look at each other like you like each other!”); if I needed another nice one (“now everyone look at me like you like me!”).
Enjoy your time!