How To Take Good Family Portraits

No matter how seasoned you are as a photographer, you will someday get asked to shoot a family portrait. Here are some good tips to help you get the most out of your family portrait session. If you’re just starting out, most likely your first few gigs will be family portrait photography. It’s very important to really nail the first few clients that come through in order to successfully get future paying gigs outside of family portrait work.

• Collect inspirational photos from the internet

It’s always a good idea to get inspiration, but also a good idea to share your ideas with your client. Get the client to also help you add to the collection of inspiration. This way you can set expectations beforehand and even select a location for the family portrait. There are loads of inspirational photos on Pinterest and Instagram, you can receive creative ideas for your family portrait session.

• Prepare for good lighting – Flash or Reflector

All portraits can be improved with good lighting. You can have the best location in the world, but if you didn’t light your portraits right, then you will end up with a crap overall photo. Make sure you bring a flash if your shooting indoors, or a reflector if you’re shooting outdoors. When shooting outdoors, it’s recommended to bring an assistant to help you use the reflector. It’s near impossible to use a reflector for a family portrait on your own. I recommend just keeping a set of reflectors in your car so that you can bring it out whenever you need. I haven’t invested in a flash yet, and just rent it on the job, but when I do buy a flash, I’ll most likely take it around with me wherever I go just in case I need it.

• Prepare wardrobe and a clothing theme with your client well before the shoot date

I recommend asking the family in advance to think about the clothing they’re going to wear for the shoot. I always get the family to bring more than 1 pair of clothing to mix things up. When you search for inspiration, it’s recommended to also look for clothing and themes. In saying that, I don’t suggest everyone wearing identical clothing, but at least a colour match, or pattern match. Usually there’s one person in the family who knows how to dress, leave it up to them. Send them some examples of other themed families for inspiration.

• Have fun

If your team or client isn’t having fun, then it will show through on the final photos. You need to make sure everyone on set is having a great time. It’s ok if you’re not getting the perfect shots you imagined earlier, as long as your client is enjoying the day, you’ll get natural laughter which always looks good.

Have these 4 tips in mind when preparing for your next family portrait shoot and enjoy the shoot. If it’s your first time shooting, it’s always a good idea to bring someone who has done many shoots before so that you can learn much faster on the job and reduce the risk of making a mistake.