The Coopers Come to Bend: An Extended Family Session in Central Oregon
One of the things I love most about this work is watching families grow across the years. I photographed Sami and Joseph's wedding. I photographed Joseph's sister Rachel's wedding. And when Sami reached out about getting her whole family together for photos in Bend, Oregon, I said yes immediately — because at this point, showing up for this family feels less like a job and more like a privilege.
This time it was all about the Coopers — Sami's side of the family. Her parents stood at the center of it all, surrounded by their adult children, partners, and grandkids ranging from babies in arms to toddlers doing exactly what toddlers do during photo sessions. The setting was quintessential Central Oregon: wide open high desert sky, ponderosa pines, sagebrush, and those warm ochre hillsides in the distance that remind you exactly where you are. It is one of those locations that does a lot of the work for you.
What strikes me most about the Coopers is how genuinely happy they are to be together. There's no stiffness, no forced smiling for the camera — just a family that clearly likes each other, crowding in, laughing, leaning on each other in that comfortable way that only comes from years of shared history. The parents sandwiched between their kids with everyone piling in is one of my favorite frames from the whole session, and it tells you everything you need to know about this family in a single image.
If you're looking for a Bend, Oregon location for extended family portraits, the high desert landscape delivers something you simply cannot get anywhere else — that wide open sky, the texture of the sagebrush, the pines rising up behind everyone like a natural backdrop that never needs any adjusting.
To the Cooper family — thank you for continuing to trust me with your memories. I hope we're doing this for decades to come.
Extended family session photographed in Bend, Oregon.
Bend Oregon family photographer, extended family photos Bend Oregon, Central Oregon family photographer, multi-generational family session Bend, outdoor family portraits Bend Oregon, ponderosa pine family photos, Central Oregon extended family photography, Bend Oregon portrait photographer, family reunion photos Bend Oregon, Oregon family photographer
