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Family Portrait photography

Family images are inherently special – with each passing year they become more important, more poignant, and more valuable.  To create outstanding family portraits, there are a number of steps that should be considered.  I sum it up in taking photos with CLASS – Composition, Lighting, Attire, Symbolism, Spacing.

Composition.  In every family combination, the most important feature is that the people are the most prominent aspect of the image.  There are so many possibilities of placing people in the image, give thought to the background as much as the foreground (see symbolism to learn more on the importance of the background), but overall it’s the family members whose image should dominate.

Lighting.  When photographing people, always use a fill flash.  If you have a point-and-shoot camera with a built-in flash, there should be a setting with a lightning bolt on it – read your instruction manual to find out how to use it.  Even in otherwise bright sun, use your flash. The people should be slightly brighter than the background.  Your point-and-shoot will balance the exposure for you, so the images will look great, and faces will be bright. 

Attire.  This is assuming you have control over attire, as-in, you are coordinating everyone specifically for a family portrait.  Solid colors are best, keep away from boldness in stripes or patterns.  Everyone should dress in similar styles –it’s best if the father isn’t in a vested suit and the son is in ripped jeans (although I can think of some great contrasts like this that DO make great images).  Dark clothes tend to slim the body while white or brighter clothing tends to enlarge things.  Also, have the family members consider their necklines.  In general, rounder faces look best with more neck showing, while pointier faces look better in turtlenecks or less necklines. 

Symbolism. Capture images that are in places that are important and meaningful.  .  There are so many ways to put a family together, a traditional pose of the immediate family in front of the house, on the staircase, next to the fireplace; or non-traditional poses that include capturing the family doing something that they love to do – riding on a sailboat, playing golf, playing cards.  If you are photographing indoors, be very conscious of what is on the walls, where in the room you place everyone, and what lines from the room are intersecting within your image. Odd angles can be very distracting.

Spacing.  The viewer’s eye interprets intimacy from how close subjects are together.  Make sure that everyone is either equally spaced apart or equally brought together.  The best images of intimacy are when there is no space between each member of the family – from the shoulders to the waist.

Make sure that with any pose you create, you take multiple images of each pose.  People blink, especially if they think a flash is going to be fired in their eyes (it’s a natural reaction).  If you have some good blinkers, have everyone close their eyes and tell them to open them on the count of three.  By having the eyes closed beforehand, it will virtually eliminate any blinks for a few seconds. 

What is really most important if you are photographing a large group, especially with small children, is that you go with the flow.  Tell the parents to look at the camera, not their children.  Let the children be children.  Try to get their attention by being funny or being silly, but not demanding or authoritative. And if they do something silly, sell, it will just give the parents one more thing to laugh about when their daughter/son is older

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Terry Michael started working with a photojournalist while in high school, and over the years has worked for a variety of national media clients, including AOL and NBC. He currently operates a studio in New York that specializes in wedding and fine art photography. His work
has been shown in galleries throughout the northeast, and he has also been featured on the television series "Whose Wedding is it Anyway?" which airs on the Style Network.

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