The Year Everyone Finally Came
The message that reaches us most often from The Royal Sands is some version of the same sentence: "We are fourteen this year, my mother turns seventy on the Thursday, and we have never once had a decent photo of all of us." Full kitchens and living rooms mean people book a week here, not two nights, and they bring everybody. And a week that took three families, two time zones and eleven months of planning deserves better pictures than the ones somebody takes at arm's length on the last night.
We have shot thousands of sessions across Cancún, and reunions like yours are the ones we plan hardest. Grandparents who hate posing, teenagers who would rather be anywhere else, a toddler running for the water — and one hour of good light to get all of them in a single frame still looking like themselves. There is no session fee: you pay $15 USD per photo with a 10-photo minimum, or a group package from $200 USD, which is what almost every reunion ends up choosing.
The Sessions Royal Sands Guests Book Most
Guests here travel in numbers and stay long enough to relax into the trip. These are the three sessions we photograph most often for families staying at The Royal Sands.
Multi-Gen Family Trips
Three generations, one frame, ten minutes — we shoot the whole group first, while patience is still available, then break it down into grandparents, each couple, the cousins, the siblings. Everyone leaves with their own picture. Our family session guide covers how we plan around naps and mealtimes.
Groups of Friends
Twelve, eighteen, twenty-four people is routine for us, and the group package exists precisely for it: everybody gets the full set at the end, not a shared folder with four usable frames. See the group session guide for how we organise larger parties on the sand.
Anniversaries
Almost every reunion hides a couple celebrating thirty years, a delayed honeymoon, or parents who have never had one good photo of just the two of them. We add twenty minutes at the end, once the group has gone in for dinner. Our anniversary session guide shows what that looks like.
Where We Meet You: Km 13.5 and the Marlin Sand
The Royal Sands sits at Blvd. Kukulcán km 13.5, in the second stretch of the hotel zone, about 20–25 minutes by car from Cancun International Airport. We meet you at the public beach access by Playa Marlin, a few minutes’ walk away — and that short walk is the whole point when the group includes a stroller and somebody who would rather not go far. By resort policy and for everyone’s comfort the session happens on the public beach, and that is exactly what keeps the price where it is.
Playa Delfines and its lookout are 10–12 minutes by car if you want the postcard backdrop, and Playa Fórum about 8–10. For a group over ten we almost always recommend staying at Marlin: the shorter the walk, the more of your hour goes into photographs instead of logistics.
The Best Hour for a Group of Fifteen
Golden hour is warmer and easier to schedule, and it is what couples pick. For fifteen people, sunrise earns the alarm clock: the sand is genuinely empty, the light is soft from every direction, and no stranger walks through the background of the one frame where all fifteen are finally looking at the camera. Send us your dates and the headcount and we will tell you which slot to take.
Many families here come back the same week every year — and so do we. Tell us it is a returning session and we will match the framing to what you already have on the wall at home, so the years line up. You can see how we work on our Cancun photographer page, and our vacation photography guide covers the rest of the trip.
Let’s Get Your Whole Family in One Frame
Send us the dates and how many you are. Sunrise slots near Playa Marlin are limited, and reunion weeks fill early.
Built for Groups That Do Not Travel Light
Everything about this session is designed around the one thing that breaks family photos: too many people, too little patience.
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The whole group, then everyone alone
We shoot the full frame first and then break it down, so each little family goes home with its own set — not one shared photo of everybody squinting.
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A walk, not an excursion
Playa Marlin is minutes away. No taxis, no coordinating three cars, no grandparents in a van at six in the morning.
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You pay for what you keep
No session fee. $15 USD per photo with a 10-photo minimum, or a group package from $200 USD — the usual choice when everyone wants their own images.
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Same photographer next year
Royal Sands families tend to return the same week. Tell us and we will match the style to what is already on your wall, so the years line up.
Family Sessions at The Royal Sands — FAQ
How much does a family photo session near The Royal Sands cost?
There is no session fee. You pay $15 USD per photo with a 10-photo minimum ($150 USD), or choose a group package from $200 USD — which is what most reunions pick, because every family wants its own set of images at the end. You only pay for the photographs you actually want to keep.
How many people can be in one session?
There is no hard limit — we regularly photograph groups of twenty or more. Above about ten people we recommend a group package and a sunrise slot, so the beach is empty and everyone fits comfortably in the frame.
Where exactly does the session take place?
On the public beach by the Playa Marlin access at km 13, a few minutes' walk from The Royal Sands. By resort policy the session is held on the public beach, and that is part of why the price stays where it is — no venue fee gets passed on to you.
Is sunrise really better than sunset for a big group?
For more than about ten people, yes. At sunrise the beach is practically empty, so no strangers walk through the background, and the light is soft from every direction. Golden hour is warmer and easier to schedule, and works beautifully for smaller families and couples.
Nobody in our family is photogenic. Does that matter?
Not at all — almost none of our clients are models. We direct in simple physical instructions: walk toward me, pick her up, say something to your sister. The pictures families end up printing are almost always the ones taken between the poses.
We come back every year — can we book the same photographer again?
Yes, and many Royal Sands families do. Mention that it is a returning session when you write and we will match the style and framing to your previous set, so the years line up on the wall.