Amateur family portraits...any advice?

[kat_75]

I'm planning on taking some outdoor family photos (there will be 7 people in the picture, as well as individual/couple shots.) We have a lake nearby and we'll be doing it in several weeks, so we'll have some nice green trees and blooming flowers. :D

I am pretty good for an amateur photographer (I'm so modest, arent I? :D) and I can take pretty good outdoor shots. I was wondering if anyone could give me any extra tips? I've seen some professional photographers have the group wear similar clothing (i.e., black and tan, or all white or all black, etc.) which REALLY looks great. I'm planning on doing a group shot and three different couples shots, as well as probably several individual shots (there are some cute benches around, and maybe some with a person leaning on a tree).

How bout it? Fess up, I know there's some people out there who know what they're doing, lol. :D Seriously, I would love any tips I can get! *on my knees begging*

Oh, FYI, I have a tripod and a 6.1MP digital camera with a timer. Not sure if anyone needed to know that, lol. :p

[Jennifer]

Have fun! If you're stressed they'll feel guilty and nobody will have a good time.

Clothing choices... GOOD idea, it takes a snapshot and turns it into a portrait.

6.1mp camera.... Shoot at the HIGHEST quality so you can crop and print big!!!

Outdoors.... watch out for lens flare.... it's stray light that enters your lens and causes haze and those big circular balls of light.... use a lens hood :) learned this one the hard way!

Use Aperture priority, and a large aperture (small F/stop) to limit your depth of field and have that gorgeous out of focus/ blurry background.

Posing.. MY hardest issue. Google "family portraits" and take note of configurations that work. Print them out and bring them along for inspiration if needed :)

Ooh...and don't forget... A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY!


Well, that's all I can think of right now... good luck, have a ball, and SHARE some with us!!!

[MaureenH]

I have the tallest people sit so everyones' heads are closer together. Your bench would work nicely for that. In the shade near the edge of the shade. Nice solid green background if possible but not too close to it. If there's anyone with an artistic flair in the group ask them to help you with the posing, you can always have the final say. Don't be afraid to be assertive, they'll be waiting for you to tell them what to do.

Watch for sunglasses & baseball caps to get them to remove those and people with their legs spread too far apart.

[kat_75]

Outdoors.... watch out for lens flare.... it's stray light that enters your lens and causes haze and those big circular balls of light.... use a lens hood :) learned this one the hard way! Hmm. Is there an improvised way of doing this? I guess I'll Google "lens hood" so I can see what they look like. :p
Use Aperture priority, and a large aperture (small F/stop) to limit your depth of field and have that gorgeous out of focus/ blurry background. My camera has special pre-set f-stops and stuff ("and stuff" ...I sound real professional, lol:D ) You know, settings like Fireworks, Party, Landscape, Snow, Text, etc. Would setting this on one of the outdoors settings work, or should I make my own pre-set? Do you have a recommendation on a range of the f-stop for outdoor portraits?
Posing.. MY hardest issue. Google "family portraits" and take note of configurations that work. Print them out and bring them along for inspiration if needed :)I did! OMG--I found some GREAT ideas! You think like me :D I Google everything. :p But the idea you had about printing out the poses...that's a GREAT idea. I get the feeling we're going to be taking quite a few.
Ooh...and don't forget... A FULLY CHARGED BATTERY! Yep, I only have one battery so far! Luckily my father-in-law is head of maintenance at the lake so if we decide to do it there, I can recharge in his office :D
Well, that's all I can think of right now... good luck, have a ball, and SHARE some with us!!! I will! Definitely! (At least, the good ones. :D)
I have the tallest people sit so everyones' heads are closer together. Your bench would work nicely for that. I wondered how I would work that out, since there are quite a few people total in the group. I thought about bringing a milk crate or one of those small plastic stools, and a green or black cloth to hide it, to use in case the height symmetry was off. Does that sound like a good idea?
Don't be afraid to be assertive, they'll be waiting for you to tell them what to do. That's something I have to work on! I dont have a problem telling people what to do at work but when it comes to family it's difficult, lol. :o
Watch for sunglasses & baseball caps to get them to remove those and people with their legs spread too far apart.
This tickled me. "Grandma, we dont want to see your petticoat!" Teehee!
I have to remember to tell them to stand up straight and keep their heads upright, too. :p

[MaureenH]

I sometimes use use chairs, stools or benches that are available but I also have four of those little folding camp stools that I take as well.

[Jennifer]

Hmm. Is there an improvised way of doing this? I guess I'll Google "lens hood" so I can see what they look like. Well, yes. One time I forgot mine and the flare was OBVIOUS and HORRIBLE so I just put my hand over the lens like you do when the sun is in your eyes... like the bill of a hat.

My camera has special pre-set f-stops and stuff ("and stuff" ...I sound real professional, lol ) You know, settings like Fireworks, Party, Landscape, Snow, Text, etc. If you have a portrait mode, use that. It basically set s a large aperture to keep people in focus and background out of focus. You can make your own preset but it'd be the same idea.

"Grandma, we dont want to see your petticoat!" Ha!!!!!!! Love that! :)

[Tina]

I'm taking Senior photos on Monday :)

[kat_75]

Jennifer and bentrdr--THANK YOU for your help!!!
Tina--be sure to share!!!

[Jennifer]

I'm taking Senior photos on Monday :)
Have fun and YES! SHARE! With consent of course ;)

[Stacey]

I'm taking Senior photos on Monday :)

I can't wait to see them, Tina! If you're allowed to share them, of course :)

[beryl]

Have the people wear black shoes and black socks, white will draw the eye to the feet. If you have problems with people blinking at the wrong time, get them all to close their eyes, count to three - open their eyes and you snap the picture. Hope this helps.

beryl

[Karen]

With your group photos, if you have your family in layers.....like some standing, some sitting and some on the ground you won't want to use the portrait setting as it won't give you enough dof, you would need to use something like f8 or f11 so you keep all of them in focus.
Getting them to dress in similar colours is also a great idea, or even similar tones if you are going to be doing any black and white, or all light coloured tops and dark bottoms would work too.
In your couple shots get your couple to interact with one another, like holding hands or some kind a physical touching so they are not just standing there :)
Good luck......we'll look forward to seeing what you come up with :)

[SonyaL]

I have seen some cute shots posed by a pond. Everyone was wearing blue jeans an white shirts they were barefoot.
Mom and dad were sitting on the sides with legs pulled to the side and were leaning in towards each other.The kids were in the middle of the parents.
Another one I saw the small kids were on dads back dad was laying down.
I have wanted to try both of these but have not had the chance just yet.

Sonya

[kat_75]

I can't wait to see them, Tina! If you're allowed to share them, of course :)
Oh! I thought she was the one taking the pictures, not in them! :o
Have the people wear black shoes and black socks, white will draw the eye to the feet. If you have problems with people blinking at the wrong time, get them all to close their eyes, count to three - open their eyes and you snap the picture. Hope this helps.
beryl
What a wonderful idea about the blinking! Thanks for the shoe tip, too.
With your group photos, if you have your family in layers.....like some standing, some sitting and some on the ground you won't want to use the portrait setting as it won't give you enough dof, you would need to use something like f8 or f11 so you keep all of them in focus.Thanks! I wouldnt have known that :) Gotta write all this down!
In your couple shots get your couple to interact with one another, like holding hands or some kind a physical touching so they are not just standing there :)
Yep, it wont be hard to get one of the couples to "interact" with one another--they just got engaged on Valentine's Day! hehe!
I have seen some cute shots posed by a pond. Everyone was wearing blue jeans an white shirts they were barefoot.
Mom and dad were sitting on the sides with legs pulled to the side and were leaning in towards each other.The kids were in the middle of the parents.
Another one I saw the small kids were on dads back dad was laying down.
I have wanted to try both of these but have not had the chance just yet.
Sonya
I like the sound of that first one. The second one, I dont think my in-laws would want their 200lb sons on their back, lol!!! :):):)

This is wonderful! Keep them tips a-comin! :)

[Jennifer]

Oh! I thought she was the one taking the pictures, not in them! :o
Tina is taking them, yes. But you shouldn't sare photos online without the model's permission. A signed release allows this.

[Tina]

If you have problems with people blinking at the wrong time, get them all to close their eyes, count to three - open their eyes and you snap the picture.



Yes! I did this last year when taking Sr. Pics and it worked really well. Also works if the sun is in their eyes (tho, of course, best to avoid that altogether, but if you can't...........)

I like to do the group shots in the all one color clothes. My personal favorite is white tshirts and blue jeans. Very striking- esp if you convert any to B&W.

[Tina]

oh I forgot what i came here to post. lol...


No busy patterns on the clothing or screen printing. The solid/matching colors work well, but if you cant get them to do that........

[kat_75]

Tina is taking them, yes. But you shouldn't sare photos online without the model's permission. A signed release allows this.
Oh! :( I knew that. *blush*
I like to do the group shots in the all one color clothes. My personal favorite is white tshirts and blue jeans. Very striking- esp if you convert any to B&W.
I like this idea!

[CeeMJay]

Posing: Try and avoid lining people up in straight rows so their heads are all on the same level. Think in triangles rather than straight lines, some people sitting (the tallest ones, as already mentioned) on the ground or a bench, some kneeling, leaning. If you're going to print 8x10 instead of (digital) 8x12, don't fill the frame from left to right--leave some room for cropping. It's better to "stack" the group, than to spread out too far on the sides.

If anyone will be holding a small child or baby, try and keep an eye on their clothes. They tend to get all rumpled around. Also, that the adult who holds the baby, doesn't scrunch his/her shoulders unnaturally to get the baby in position.

Glasses: If you see a lot of glass glare (when you check the preview) there are a couple tricks that can help. Have the person tilt their glasses slightly by lifting the ear pieces a bit, but keeping the bridge of the glasses on their nose. This changes the angle of the lenses so they don't reflect the light. Another option is to have them look next to your camera instead of straight at it, again to change the lens angle. If you have them face the lake, check glasses for too much reflection from the lake or of you.

Clothing: Ask people to wear clothing with sleeves--it's hard to pose people attractively if there's too much bare upper arm showing. And if girls are going to wear skirts, longer is better than shorter :-) Modesty is easier to maintain in a large group and reduces the need for retouching later.

Helper: If you can, have a friend or family member who won't be in the pictures, come with you to keep checking all the little things--can you see everyone; is the clothing straight; is "anything" showing; did the wind blow Grandpa's toupee the wrong way; what's your depth of field... My kids started helping me when they were 3, 7 and 11--and still have a good eye for detail and are comfortable around large groups. Sometimes they also provided silly faces and noises to amuse babies and grumpy adults.

Blinking: Beryl's method is practically foolproof. Ask if there's anyone who's always blinking in their pictures--there's almost always one! Tell them to smile, close their eyes, YOU will count to 3, then they should open their eyes while still smiling. It's amazing! I've done class reunion, family and wedding pictures where the people remember my telling them this trick--and tell me years later how it's helped them get better pictures of themselves!

Do relax and have a great time. It can be hard to work with family, and change into "professional" mode, but remind them and yourself, that everyone will be much happier with the results if you all pretend that they don't know you and just do what you tell them to! One thing that is easier about working with family, is that you already know their names.

Compliment them now and then: "Oh, that looks perfect!" "Do that again--you looked so cute!" People respond well to positive reinforcement. When doing large groups, I'd sometimes get everyone posed and ready, then tell them, "Okay...stomachs in, shoulders back...and smile!" Everyone would laugh, and looked relaxed, but they'd stand or sit up straight--and it made a great improvement in the pictures.

I'm sure you'll do just fine. Take it slow. Work from a list (of hints for you, poses for them, etc) so you have less to think about on the fly. It's digital. Remember it's digital. Take time to check the previews and change whatever you need to. And have fun. Photography is fun. We all like photgraphy.

Chris

[kat_75]

Oh boy! More tips! Thanks, Chris! Gonna have to print off another copy of this page! :) Thanks for the glasses tip, too. I'll definitely do the blinking thing too.
...did the wind blow Grandpa's toupee the wrong way...
Tee hee! :D

[Emma]

I have an idea folder for photos I like, just use Google Image search and save those little jpgs. When setting up, I cruise through those idea pics and get several ideas of what to do before trying a shoot. I've collected several categories of stuff now. I just hate boring-everyone-grin-at-the-camera artless family photos, so have a plan and be spontaneous

[kat_75]

Emma, that's a great idea. I have an idea folder for scrapbooking, but I need to start one for this too (since we're doing it Easter weekend! I gotta get busy! :)) I am with you--those canned shots look too stiff. :)

You guys are wonderful...I hope someone else learns as much from reading this thread as I have! :D