Family is the most precious thing in life. Even if you climb career ladder, have an exciting hobby or travel all around the world – all of this can’t replace the joy of being together with beloved people that accept you for who you are no matter what. There are moments which you sometimes wish to last forever and you take a photography to make them eternal.
If we take a look at family photos that have been made a century or a half ago, we will see monochromatic snapshots which remind us of our ancestors but look very similar. The digital era provides incredible possibilities of capturing creative, colorful and unusual snapshots, and a family photography niche becomes more diverse and impressive.
Today almost everyone has got a camera phone or a professional camera in their pocket but it is not always enough to become a real expert in the photography field. That is why we consider that our next tips are going to help you improve your photography skills and become a bit more creative. These tips will also be useful for professionals wanting to boost their expertise and get more thankful clients.
1. Encourage to Engaging with Each Other
When making a usual family photo, people often freeze in front of the camera like for a standard snapshot. Sometimes they look bored or awkward because a photographer doesn’t know what to do except for holding a camera and clicking a capture button. Be active and encourage your clients to engaging with each other as they actually do.
The moments when a parent embraces a child, when they laugh or read a book, when parents teach a child to make a first step – should be reflected on a creative family photo which will become memorable. The engagement mustn’t be rigid, you just can joke or ask about their favorite leisure and any time when someone smiles, talks to each other or suddenly gazes at a camera, just capture it.
2. Take Photos in Movement
Children like to move all the time, they almost never sit still and never keep calm. If you make family photos outside, you can keep your camera ready to capture moments when children run or play on a swing, when they spend time with parents on a playground, or when a family is busy with building a sandcastle on the seacoast. When you capture movement, you highlight people’s natural behavior and their real lives. It is also a good chance to keep them connected with each other and “gather” those special moments which will be amazing to remember.
3. Show Authentic Interactions
It is a good idea to take a break during a session and give your “models” a possibility to have a rest. At this time you can step aside and try to capture some snapshots while nobody sees that. You should try to stay unnoticed and this will give you the chance to capture really precious moments which are often a little messy but really authentic and natural.
4. Keep your Cam Ready to Get Smth. Real
A posed shot is not as natural as “real” one. If your are going to make the session at several separate locations, keep your cam moving while transitioning from places or while waiting for a family member to come soon. You can catch the moment when a wind picks up someone’s hair in a gentle manner, you can capture a mother’s glance when she looks at her children with love, or you can take a photo of a child laughing… All of that is not only the way to make a creative snapshot, but also it is the possibility to surprise your clients when they first see the ready photos. Pictures with authentic emotions and looks will certainly become memorable ones.
5. Complement Emotions with Light
A light behind the family members on a photo provides a dreamy feel and creates a kind of softness reflected in the picture. If you make pictures during the sunny day, position the family members in front of the sun to allow the sun rays “embrace” everyone and spread around. Such photo has the symbolic meaning because it depicts warmth of feelings, tenderness and genuine emotions. The daylight is obviously going to contribute “an emotional degree” to a snapshot.
6. Consider Age and Personalities
Try to reflect a character of a person and take their behavior into account. Consider the approximate actions specific for every age and capture them. Infants usually cry, play and smile, older children are often restless and like to play tricks and camp around for the camera, adults sometimes feel embarrassed to smile for the photo, and so on. Consider all of these peculiarities to make perfect family photos in a professional way.
7. Consider Diversity of Tastes and Styles
Every time you make the artistic photo, try to consider people’s tastes which usually differ. If you make your photos in plenty of different ways, there are more chances that you meet the tastes of your clients. Moreover, the variety of styles will be more usable and impressive. You should always consider that every member of a family is a personality, so if one of them wants to see a classic portrait, then another one would may be like a more artistic snapshot for a canvas.
8. Encourage Games
One of the best ways to make a creative photo is to encourage games. Games allow children and adults feel free and relaxed. If you let go of your need to control and take part in a game you can make real photography masterpieces. You can hand the camera to a child and allow him photograph a mom, or you can hand it to the father and ask him to make a few photos and then pass the camera to another player. Photography as a game is a great variant to be creative and get perfect professional results.
9. Keep it Simple
You can make a few photos just when everyone are lined up, smiling and looking at the camera. Pick a spot with good lighting and background, place the participants to keep them close and make sure they will look great on the photograph. Capture a few classic family photos which are always useful and even compulsory for every happy family album.
10. Capture the Reality
Encourage your clients to relax and look as they are. The reality of every family is that they know and love each other as they are, and they know each other’s’ weaknesses. All of them aren’t perfect and not always they act in a lovely way, so don’t try to hide real feelings and reals looks. You just should avoid making every family photos in the same way, because different families are different in their essence and there are different relationships between their members. So just try to be sensitive as for every person’s behavior, every child’s peculiar qualities and don’t forget about personal approach.
All of these tips are only useful advice which you can take into consideration to improve photography skills and creativity. These tips aren’t the direct instructions on how you should act in a certain situation, ’cause you are always welcome to search for your own ways to make a creative, warm and memorable family photo.
You can also include your creative family photos into your portfolio. Take a look at these great photography themes that will be really useful for your eye-catching portfolio.
Photography WordPress Theme – Oyster
SolarWind Photography WordPress Theme
