If your family is preparing to take the annual family picture or you’re a photographer who wants to take more portraits there are some easy tips to incorporate into your style that will take your pictures from good to great and enhance your web photo albums.
Get Rid of the Matching Outfits
Not too long ago it was common to see family photographs that had each member of the family in an identical, or almost identical outfit. Please do yourself a favor and avoid this! There’s nothing wrong with monochromatic outfits, keeping with the same color scheme or finding similar looking outfits but let each person’s personality shine through in the images. You’re not posing for a clothing catalog!
Arrange People Naturally or Staggered
Also long gone is the standard staged studio shot. Make your appearance natural. Let the photo subjects spread out and act in a natural way. Some of the best pictures aren’t shot face on with everyone smiling. It might be a parent gazing at a child or children playing together and not even looking into the camera. If the family does want a more traditional portrait, don’t line them up. Instead put them at different angles and stagger their heads to create a natural looking picture. You could even have them all laying down and focus on just the faces. The options are endless.
Capture Expression and Interaction
Smiles are great but what if the children of the family are having a great time laughing and playing with each other. Avoid the staged smile and capture things as they naturally unfold. Your photo galleries will display a diverse range of emotions and images if you capture things as they happen. You may not even want to stage anything but simply follow around your subjects for a period of time, taking pictures as things happen.
Use Favorite Objects or Activities
Does the family love horseback riding? Are they board game enthusiasts? Let the personality of each person and the family itself come through in the pictures. Encourage them to do the things that they normally do and bring with them to the site those items they love. Capture dad and son tossing a baseball. Lay out a blanket for a picnic and take pictures of the event. Whatever it is that really speaks to them that’s what will make for a great photograph.
Have Fun!
This is the most important thing, especially when children are involved. No one wants to sit for an hour or more doing something they hate. You’ll never get the image you want if kids are tired or bored. Make the event fun and interesting. Move to different locations. You might even want to let kids be involved in choosing the places they want to be photographed. The easier you can make it the better the pictures will be!
Taking family portraits can be a fun and rewarding experience. You’ll be left with pictures that are beautiful and truly meaningful.
Get Rid of the Matching Outfits
Not too long ago it was common to see family photographs that had each member of the family in an identical, or almost identical outfit. Please do yourself a favor and avoid this! There’s nothing wrong with monochromatic outfits, keeping with the same color scheme or finding similar looking outfits but let each person’s personality shine through in the images. You’re not posing for a clothing catalog!
Arrange People Naturally or Staggered
Also long gone is the standard staged studio shot. Make your appearance natural. Let the photo subjects spread out and act in a natural way. Some of the best pictures aren’t shot face on with everyone smiling. It might be a parent gazing at a child or children playing together and not even looking into the camera. If the family does want a more traditional portrait, don’t line them up. Instead put them at different angles and stagger their heads to create a natural looking picture. You could even have them all laying down and focus on just the faces. The options are endless.
Capture Expression and Interaction
Smiles are great but what if the children of the family are having a great time laughing and playing with each other. Avoid the staged smile and capture things as they naturally unfold. Your photo galleries will display a diverse range of emotions and images if you capture things as they happen. You may not even want to stage anything but simply follow around your subjects for a period of time, taking pictures as things happen.
Use Favorite Objects or Activities
Does the family love horseback riding? Are they board game enthusiasts? Let the personality of each person and the family itself come through in the pictures. Encourage them to do the things that they normally do and bring with them to the site those items they love. Capture dad and son tossing a baseball. Lay out a blanket for a picnic and take pictures of the event. Whatever it is that really speaks to them that’s what will make for a great photograph.
Have Fun!
This is the most important thing, especially when children are involved. No one wants to sit for an hour or more doing something they hate. You’ll never get the image you want if kids are tired or bored. Make the event fun and interesting. Move to different locations. You might even want to let kids be involved in choosing the places they want to be photographed. The easier you can make it the better the pictures will be!
Taking family portraits can be a fun and rewarding experience. You’ll be left with pictures that are beautiful and truly meaningful.
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