Family Portrait Photography

I met a really awesome family over the Thanksgiving holiday. Indeed, this family was truly brave! They actually volunteered themselves to be guinea pigs for my first ever family portrait session! I had such a wonderful time hanging out with their lovely family (including the awesome GranJan that made her gorgeous grandson smile!). Big thanks to the S family!

















Final Comments:
~ Get inspired by other photographers!
~ Make a list of ideas
~ Scout out a location beforehand and find the best light
~ Choose a few poses beforehand that you want to try out and choose the spots beforehand
~ Don't get hung up on posing the family - just let them interact and be themselves
~ Ask beforehand if the family has specific photos that they want taken
~ Use a wide-angle/zoom lens - I would have missed a ton of shots with just my 50mm lens
~ Understand how to properly expose in all light settings - sunny, shade, backlit, etc.
~ Use a low ISO to avoid noise on skin - ignore this if you have an awesome camera
~ Make sure your aperture is set so that all of the faces are in focus - unless that's not your intention
~ Shoot portrait and landscape and a variety of angles
~ Have the family interact and then snap away - not every photo has to be a traditional "cheese" shot
~ If there is a baby/child in the family ask the parents to bring a parent/friend who can make the child laugh
~ Ask that person to stand close to you or just behind you to make sure that the baby/child is looking towards the camera
~ Bring toys/snacks to distract the baby if needed
~ Catch the moments in action - your composition doesn't need to be perfectly set and posed to make a good shot
~ Take breaks if needed...great photo opportunities can happen during those moments!
~ Just have fun with the family!

Other Tips:
family-portraits-dos-and-donts - http://digital-photography-school.com/family-portraits-dos-and-donts