7 Tips for Taking Better Family Pictures by Jennifer Shannon
As I prepare to write my very first article, I can’t help but feeling like the magician who does the tricks and then tells you how he does it… gives you a look behind all the smoke and mirrors. The reason is I am a photographer and I want to share with other families on how to take better pictures themselves of their own families. I know it’s blasphemy… but for me it’s important to have memories and an important way of preserving them is through photography.
Before I became a photographer I was a mother who could not always afford the film in my own camera much less to have pictures taken professionally of my children… so there were long periods of years undocumented in their lives. Now so much has changed, and I want to share with other families simple tips they can use to help preserve their own memories.
1. Get together with another family. Have the other family take pictures of you and then you take pictures of them… have you ever noticed that a lot of the pictures you have, there’s always one person who’s the photographer and never in the shot… doing this with another family gives you a different perspective (pardon the pun) and the freedom to actually be in the shot.
2. Go outside! To a park, or take advantage of any other beautiful setting and especially the natural light. The average person cannot afford studio lighting and that flash that comes with the camera, ick! So go out and use the best lighting that is a true gift from God. But don’t take the pictures in direct light… go under the shade of a tree or structure if it’s full sun.
3. Best times for lighting is early morning (before 10) or evening… when the sun is not directly overhead. Look at the sky during different times of the day and you’ll see how either the light is soft and flattering or bright and harsh. Use this to your advantage.
4. Sometimes the best shots of children are when you are on their eye level. If they’re crawling, that means you’re laying on the ground looking up at them.
5. Stay away from white shirts… they can wash the subjects out, especially in the sunlight. Use softer colors that compliment the skin tones.
6. For a different twist, take bubbles with you to the park or everyone have a red balloon. Who cares if it’s gimmicky… it’s fun. And when you’re having fun, it shows in the picture.
7. Study portraits taken by photographers who specialize in children & family photography. Now I’m not suggesting that your pictures will look exactly the same. You have to take into consideration the years of training, experience, thousands upon thousands dollars of equipment and software (if using digital) and the millions of shots taken… until just that perfect one… but it will help you to understand the style you like and try to create in your own shots.
Irregardless of what methods you use, just take those pictures… they’re only little for only so long.
Good luck and remember to just have fun and enjoy your family!
Jennifer Shannon, A Different Perspective Photography
Richardson, TX and greater Dallas/Ft. Worth area
www.adpphotostudio.com
214-994-8745
About the Author
Photographer, Mother, Wife, Grandmother and just a little off center… A Different Perspective Photography – http://www.adpphotostudio.com
Fort Worth Flood, 1949
