Family Photos....HELP!

[amcmillian]

Hi Guys

My DB will be leaving for Kuwait soon for a year and my DSIL would like me to take some family photos at the historic home/park where they were married. They will be here in two weeks. They are a family of 5 Mom and Dad and 3 boys ages: 5, 7, and 10. I’d like the shoot to be as natural as possible but I do have 2 to 3 poses in mind I’d like to try, but I’m ok if they don’t work out. I’m used to having 1 or 2 subjects in my photos so I’m open to all kinds of ideas and suggestions:
Clothes
Camera Settings
Lenses
Poses

[DonnaNJ]

May I suggest that you google 'posing large groups' it comes up with a bunch of sites with all different ideas..

[Jen D]

I would do a search of family portrait sessions on Flickr. They always have tons of ideas on posing and such. If you are shooting outdoors you should be fine with your 55-200mm. I use my 24-70mm 2.8 for most of my portrait sessions. Camera settings are going to depend on the conditions. You do however want to keep your aperture above 7 or so. Otherwise not everyone will be in focus.

[amcmillian]

Great idea Donna will do!

Thanks Jen aperture above 7 great tip exactly the kind of advice I'm looking for. I also have a 50 1.4 which I love and I've rented the 24-70mm 2.8 and really like the lens. I've actually been saving to purchase it and now that I finally have the funds, I'm thinking maybe I will rent some other lens before I make my final decision, so I'm open to renting.

Any suggestions on clothing or colors I should stay away from? Is white hard to expose correctly?

What metering mode would be more suitable for a group of 5?

[Britgirl]

take more than one lens. take further away and right in your face shots Make them jump, lie down, sit together etc... do not expect most of the first shots to be any good... make a little tiny note book of poses you like online or have thought of, but dont be too rigid in getting them all done...make them all wear similar things but not match {the white tshirt and jeans thing is done and mostly dusted..} tell everyone no print or big slogan on clothing....have a funny face competition - those are cute shots but the rested face and giggle afterwards are usually lovely too
Thats all I can think of right now.... phew!

[anke]

wow, that is some awesome advice, makes me feel like taking the family for some shots! You will be wonderful Angela, I know it!

[amcmillian]

Thanks Mel! You are so right about the white t-shirt and jeans and I like the idea of coordinating but not too matchy matchy but I don't know how I'm going to get away from that...talked to my SIL this evening and my brother wants him and the boys to be matchy matchy....lol. Love your idea about the notebook, I keep saying I need to write my ideas down but haven't. Funny face competition, love it!

Thanks Anke, I'm gonna try my best!

[katrinak]

If this was my shoot I would:
1. Ask them to dress in something comfortable that makes them feel beautiful/handsome, doesn't need to be new and doesn't need to match.
2. Look for great light, go the day before or so at exactly the same time to see what light is like without them, easier to see it without the pressure they will add.
3. Talk, chat, just enjoy each other before you get down to business.
4. Ask them questions about each other:
-who is the funniest
-who snores the loudest
5. Play games
-Simon Says
-Mother May I
6. Take the kids for some pictures first, then group, and then mom and dad (kids will be done then)
7. Have fun and trust your knowledge!
8. You can shoot at a wider aperture, just make sure you leave plenty of space between your subjects and the lens.
9. Go directly to TaraWhitney's blog and soak in all of the goodness.
10. Repeat #7

[katrinak]

Have to add...when posing groups, if you need to, think triangles

[deanie]

Wow, Katrina, 30 minutes later I am here to say that is one cool blog, and all the ads on her blog could lead to spending the day in photography heaven!

[amcmillian]

Katrina, great list! Thank you so much! And thanks for the blog information. I checked out Tara's blog and it's wonderful. I was thinking of something with hoola hoops because my nephew loves it and has won a hoola hoop contest, so it was fun to see that on Tara's blog. Don't know if I will be able to pull it off with 5 people though.

[anke]

I really can't wait to see what you'll come up with! I hope we'll get a sample

[cheska99]

I can't believe how lucky I am that you presented this question, because this Sunday morning I'm going to shoot a family of five. My BFF and her four grown children are together (not so frequent an occurrence these days) and I want this shoot to be as good as I can possibly make it! I'm going tomorrow morning to scout for a location after reading a really helpful book, Available Light by Don Marr. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[carollee]

What fabulous advice. I've enjoyed reading all of this. Can't wait to see the photos you've taken.

[esther_a]

So interesting to read about this project! Such great advice. I'm looking forward to seeing some shots, too!

[fairoaks]

What a great thread! One more suggestion - take a shot and them make them get closer together, and then even closer together!

[lisa.hinrichs]

One of the poses from our engagement photo's the photographer had us lay on our backs end to end so our heads were together, then took the photo from above our heads.

I love this it's so intimate and cuddly. Not sure how it would work with more than two but it might be a fun and warm pig pile photo.

[amcmillian]

Thanks everyone for all the yummy advice. My brother happened to be in town yesterday so we went out to the location, neither of us had been there since they got married 14 years ago. It is not as pretty as I remembered and it is definitely going to be a challenge for me, I could see that I am going to have to deal with a lot of shadows. I plan to make another visit out there (at the right time of day) before the shoot.

@cheska99 I'm pretty sure I remember your name but just in case I'm wrong I will stick with your screen name, my apologies. I'm anxious to see some of your shots and maybe read about the good and any challenges you may have faced.