Upcoming Family Shoot - Newb Advice Please

Nyarthlopic

Hi All,

I could use some advice from all you seasoned people. I'm going to be shooting some family portraits for some friends of mine; and it's something that I've never done before. There's no money involved, but I want to give them some good, family shots and I want to learn how to do this kind of shooting better. Pretty much all of my shooting of people is of the candid, unposed variety. Here's what I have to work with:

This is a family of three: mom, dad and their 2 year old tyke. They want to do something outdoors, but haven't picked a location yet. It will most likely be a wooded location. I've talked them into either shooting on an overcast day or picking a well shaded area so I'm not dealing with the sun, squinting, etc. I think the latter is the more likely scenario

This is the gear I'm working with:
- Canon EOS 7D (so I have wireless flash capability)
- Canon 15-85mm f3.5-5.6
- Canon 60mm f/2.8 Macro
- Canon 50mm f1.8
- Canon Speedlite 430EX
- CowboyStudio Umbrella and Stand (it's okay, you can laugh at this)
- Reflector (White, Black, Gold, Silver)

I have other lenses, but these are the only ones worth a darn. Any advice at all is welcome, from "shoot with this lens, leave the others at home" to posing to...whatever; I'll take anything you can offer me.

Sean Ealy

Have fun! That's my first bit of advice. Shooting a family with a two year old can be challenging, but if you keep it low key and relaxed all should work out. You've got a great arsenal to choose from! I find that I usually come overprepared, and I get most of my shots from my 28-135L, although I've been playing with my 50mm 1.8 lately. The 50 gives a great natural look, without distortion of the face. Experiment with different poses and backgrounds until you find what you like.

I love candid shots, shots with the family playing in the grass or walking down a road, etc!

Scootersbabygirl

I agree with Sean - always have fun and try to be upbeat. Get them involved in something, like blowing bubbles or playing with flowers or something. Oooh, my tip? ALWAYS BRIBE KIDS! I always bring a bit of candy in my bag that's age appropriate. A family shoot can be hard on little ones, even if you go fast, because it's so against their nature. For a 2 year old I highly suggest gummy bears or twizzlers . Dole them out one by one if you're going for a posed shot and then give the parents the bag at the end of the shoot!! I did a shoot with 10 kids and the candy saved my sanity!

lilmomma

well i'm not a "pro" but I shoot a lot of kids that I know, including my own, A LOT

if its a really sunny day try to stay out of a shaded area in the grass. you will get awful green casts. awful. Now a shaded area in concrete on a sunny day will give you some yummy light.

don't make your compositions about the tree stumps if you do go into a wooded area. meaning don't have the entire family hugging different sections of the tree. its cheesy. if its a pretty cool looking tree and you can shoot it really wide to add to the photo composition thats different.

use the sun to your advantage. try some backlighting! but not too much if you don't know how to handle it.

expect the two year old to not cooperate. they just don't. so don't let it discourage you. I can already see a post saying "ugh I couldn't get this kid to cooperate!"

instead get candids of the family interacting with each other and the child then try a posed shot every now in then in between. Don't just sit the child there and expect him/her to smile. you aren't Sears. find some flowers, cute toys, things that interest the child and use it in your shots and to your advantage. candy is a great idea as long as the parents are ok with it!

I don't typically do flash work with stuff like this so I have no advice there. except trying to put the flash off camera outdoors while chasing a toddler around is going to be really really difficult, probably impossible.

don't get too frustrated if things aren't going the way you hoped. it will only discourage you and block your creativity. take what's thrown at you and run with it!

shoot raw, and shoot a lot! don't be afraid to try anything. the only one that has to see the uncut stuff is you. so if it doesn't work then theres a little delete button on your computer and noone ever has to know

have fun!

Post your results!

lizzard_nyc

Hey there:)
I'll be waiting for your "after" post:)

I can't give you advise because I pretty much only do candids also.
I did some of a two year old last year and it worked and some of the candid shots wound up looking like posed shots so all were happy.

Good luck to you.
BTW--I did wind up having a lot of fun, but I was so sore the next day from chasing him all over the playground, lol.