Great Smoky Mountains Family Photography

Being a Smoky Mountain elopement photographer, I love being out there and exploring. So, when this cute family reached out about working together, I was thrilled to enjoy the beauty of the Smokies. This Smoky Mountain extended family session was going to be a blast. Cades Cove is one of my favorite spots in the Smoky Mountain area to shoot larger families. The location and the open areas for family shots with a view of our favorite mountains.

Other locations in the Smoky Mountains like Foothills Parkway and other pull-offs, are too small to accommodate larger families. Still incredibly beautiful, but not the location for this fun outdoor family session. I always warn my clients, once you enter Cades Cove, you lose cell service, so we make sure we communicate extensively before the meet up. We don’t want anyone to get lost!

Cades Cove Loop

Planning for a Smoky Mountain extended family session in Cades Cove during “hell week” (the week between Christmas and New Years Day,) was rough. With the Smokies being incredible popular and packed, it took me almost three hours to get through the loop from start to finish! That’s not including the actual family session!This is another common issue with the area. Planning to be early will still put you behind, so you have to plan to be SUPER early in order to make it on time! Don’t let this deter you from the gorgeous scenery. Take the day and go for this drive to visit the incredible Smoky Mountains. You may even see one of our famous black bears!

I absolutely love photographing grandparents with their grandchildren. These are images that mom and dad will cherish forever. They are some of the most sentimental photographs, in my personal opinion!

After this session, I went the long way around the loop so that I could scope out some other locations. The sky turned pink behind the mountains and the deer were grazing the fields. It was such a beautiful sight! Ready to book your own Smoky Mountain family session? Let’s chat!