Not quite a family photographer

tenoverthenose

I've never thought of myself much of a family photographer, but last week I did a shoot for a family. It was a totally different dynamic than my typical weddings, but tons of fun. I realized how different it is to work with three or four people instead of just one or two.

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More on my blog

Macushla

The are all fantastic. I love the family pose they look so happy. #1 is my hands down favorite, the kids looks like a nut and it looks like he is jumping off a mountain and his tie is hilarious. Great capture!!!

whiterice

Refreshingly different! Just plain fantastic.

So much energy in #1 - (I'm saving this idea for my 4 year old). #3 is so sweet.

Not the biggest fan though of #4. I keep wishing for a tighter crop, that the mom's face was better lit, and that the youngest was looking toward the camera.

Surfdog

Really nice work. Not your typical poses or backgrounds.

Agnieszka

Wellllllll, you know already that I love your style, but man ... those are outstanding!!

kidzmom

ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS!! These are beyond outstanding! Any insight into your pp? These photos just jump off the screen..your composition is brilliant, you have captured so much emotion and energy. This is what photography is all about! I shoot natural light..just wondering if these were natural or strobist? Thanks!

WillCAD

Fantastic series. I think they prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you ARE a family photographer; difficult or not, you worked with the group and produced a series of photos good enough to win awards.

lizzard_nyc

Wow!
#1

Wish I could follow you around for a day to see you interact with the family--your shots are so different (from lurking in weddings)--makes me wonder how you get people so comfortable and able to follow through with your vision for the shot--how the heck do you even come up with your stuff!

Kinkajou

lizzard_nyc wrote:

Wow! #1

Wish I could follow you around for a day to see you interact with the family--your shots are so different (from lurking in weddings)--makes me wonder how you get people so comfortable and able to follow through with your vision for the shot--how the heck do you even come up with your stuff!

The lighting on #2 and #4 seem a little bit warm to me and maybe a little flat? As a whole a lovely group of images

VayCayMom

# 4 wowowow very very nice job on all!!

tenoverthenose

Thanks evereyone! I think my biggest challenge of the day was figuring out how to apply my normal (and quick moving) lighting schemes to a family of four. Plus, the mother approached me saying she wanted to blow the photos up to 30x40" prints so I decided to use my 5dII instead of my 1dII - print size vs. af speed. I guess they are all different just because I didn't approach it as a family shoot.

@kidzmom - All of these were shot with lights. As for post processing, they were all done with presests I have made in Lightroom. Generally speaking, I like to add some more contrast (yes, even more contrast) crush the blacks a bit, and tweak the colors.

@lizzard - Come out to Yosemite and let's hang! The truth is, most people are far from comfortable in front of the camera. But once I start showing them what I'm doing (they have no idea what crazy things are running though my head) they start to see the possibilities. From there, it's about building them up and keeping things in a good grove. On this shoot, the son tripped at one point and got a bad set of splinters in his hand. It was a bit touchy for me to balance the flow of the shoot, the health/mood of the son, and parents expectations. Let's just say you should always keep a lollipop nearby.

@Kinkajou -The lighting is definitely warm, I think I used a 1/2 CTO on all of these.

kris10jo

stunning photos. love the personality and style in them all.

cbbr

Great set!

Briggie

These are fantastic!!!!!!!! WOWEE WOW WOW!!

Curious if you shoot in medium format or what! Tell me what your gear is like!! i want me a lens like that!! lol!! Stupendous!!

Cheers!

tenoverthenose

@Briggie At the moment my camera of choice is a 5DII. This may sound like a load of crap given that I primarily shoot with all L lenses, but I make a lens decision based on focal length 90% of the time. I am not a sharpness freak. On the contrary, I feel like many of my images are soft, but that's how I roll. The main reasons I use L lenses are build quality and open apertures. For the record...

1. Taken with 16-35II
2. Original 85L
3. 16-35II
4. 70-200

I use the 16-35 and 70-200 about 75% of the time, again, because I like the field of view. There are definitely sharper and better lenses, but this fits my style and vision.

rgphoto

Wow

#1 - That kid must have loved to see that picture -- he looks like hes flying.
#4 - Great family portrait - they look so happy!

Darren Troy C

Such a great eye you have....another quality set!

zoomer

I love that third one you captured a genuine moment there.
The first one is really cool, the composition and combination of elements in the photo with the kid having a blast really works.

adbsgicom

Beautiful stuff and use of the flash+sun.

Shima

Great stuff here, I'm sure they love the photos!

Betz

These are incredible!!