Good Morning!
A great time to meet for family pictures while on vacation is in the morning. The kids are fresh and ready for the day, and hopefully more cooperative. Mornings don’t interfere with nap times for babies. Everyone is fed. No one is tired from a long day of fun. You have the rest of the day for other activities that you won’t have to interrupt.
Getting photos done in a resort town, when it’s the peak season means we will have lots of other people around, especially at the beaches. I’ve found that meeting in the morning is our best chance to beat the crowds at the lake, most of the times. I’ve only had a couple times when there just wasn’t any space on the beach to take photos.
If morning sun light is too harsh for you, you'll want to wait for evening shade and take pictures in the mountains. Sadly there are no public areas with shady spots near the lake.
So large groups have to lean towards what is most practical and easy to pull off rather than being adamant on meeting around sunset. It takes being flexible on what works best for the whole group. And most important its about being together. And as I've illustrated, photos in the morning sun look lovely.
This family chose Package 1 and wanted most of their photos on the sand. We did a few in the water at the end so they didn't have to worry about getting close wet.