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Family Photoshoot Tips!!!

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J. Annabella Images says:

I have my first family photoshoot tommorow. I'm not charging them or anything, I just need more practice. I know them fairly well so being nervous around them isn't a problem. They have a son who is 8 months old. I need tips on doing the portraits. How long does a session like this last? I was thinking it could be around an hour, or is that too long? Too short? I just need some tips. Mostly on telling them how to pose, and what to do. Thanks. :)
12:26PM, 26 November 2011 PDT (permalink)

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Ronnie.H says:

Hi there, I have similar gigs coming up so when you know let me know (;

Good luck!

I`ll use that amount of time that feels good. an hour or 2 hours with a coffee break. What ever works.
ages ago (permalink)

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Lord Bezoar says:

I agree with Ronnie, it all depends on the family. I have had some that really just want a single pose/one location and are done in half an hour (though, those are rare) others, like large families can easily hit two hours.

Just keep an eye on the fam and make sure they are comfortable. I just realized that this shoot is long over--I hope everything went well!
ages ago (permalink)

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in2food says:

I recently went through the same scenario. Here are a couple of thoughts.
1.) Before the shoot spend time talking about the event. Tell them what you envision and remind them you are beginning and may need to take a few minutes here and there to think through the process.
2.) Ask if they have any poses in mind. My family wanted to do a pyramid which I would never have suggested.
3.) You will get nervous and tend to focus on the mechanics. DON"T let that take your eye off the details like eyes closed, one person casting a shadow on another etc....
4.) Take your time. Don't rush.
5.) If you can, do a run through prior to the shoot. If it's outdoors check out the lighting at the time of day you will be shooting and plan how to deal with lighting issues. One less thing to stress over on the day of the shoot.

Here is one from my day...
brett and his girls

And here is the pyramid they wanted me to shoot
Smith family pyramid

One last thing... I shot all my shots using speedlights on stands but afterwards I realize I could have just used available light. Stay flexible...
Originally posted ages ago. (permalink)
in2food edited this topic ages ago.

boring lumber [deleted] says:

I agree with the above comments about it being family dependant, so I always ask them prior to the shoot what they envisage and what there interests are.
I always do the nice posed shots as above because they teand to get a lot of love and are perfect as gifts for other family members, but I also like to push it a little and get into their interests. If they like watching tv together I'll get them on the couch fighting over the remote and I'll shoot from the TVs perspective, or if they like board games then I'll get them to play a game and I'll get some candids around that.
Work with them and do what they want first and they tend to be a more responsive and go for the other stuff.

Hope it went well and would love to see the results posted up on here :)
ages ago (permalink)

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