WOW! I have not blogged in MONTHS! Ok soooooo, really EIGHT months.  I figured it was about time I get blogging again. SO many amazing things have happened in the last year and I can’t WAIT to share them all.  But first, lets tackle this topic.

How on earth do we photograph large families, show connection, get them connected, and feel like we have taken enough photos of EVERY child! Also, how in the world do we get a fabulous family shot? Lets tackle a few of these things. Hopefully you can take awake some ideas!  Here are 3 helpful tips to get you through that large family photoshoot!

1. What in the WORLD do you do with TEN KIDS!

Ha! You PLAY! Honestly. Think about what kids do. They like to play. When I first arrived at this session, I started having a few kids interact while I stood back and photographed them.  Then I would have 2 new kiddos maybe chase each other. Next I would do ring around the rosy.  Of course, with each shot I had it in the back of my mind my must have shot list. One of each child, all the kids together, all the girls and all the boys, etc. After that it was a free for all. I just wanted to capture them as they were at that point in their life. Long hair, shy smiles, crooked teeth, etc.

2.  The familiy shot

The MOST important thing to think about when photographing families, large or small, is to get them all into the same focal plane. Once one person steps out of that focal plane, make sure to close your lens, (raise your F/stop or Aperture) to allow for more wiggle room in your depth of field, allowing for focus.  If you need to, bump up your f-stop so you make sure to get everyone in the frame in focus.  Secondly, don’t worry if everyone is looking. Before you set up your shot, give each person something to do. Boy 1 and 2 can tickle each other. Mom and dad can snuggle etc. People need direction. Just let it go that you will get everyone looking at the camera. Prepare your client that you will be focusing on capturing real interaction and connection and you will be good to go!

Back up! Think about the rules of photography. When you back up, you increase your focal length thus allowing a bit more wiggle room for getting everyone in focus! if you know your will be in a situation that will be tight, change your lens to something wider than 50mm (35mm, 24 mm,etc).

Stack! How do you keep your focal plane and still have a visually interesting photo? Throw some kids up on dads shoulder. Go vertical! You don’t have to have everyone standing in a line to stay on that focal plane.

3. Let it go!

Yes. I said it. The song is officially in my head.  But for real.  Let it go! Don’t feel like every single family member has to be in EACH photo. Be ok with photographing mini groups of kids, mom with a random kid, dad with the smallest, etc.  Parents know that each kid can’t possibly be in each photo.

If you see a kid running and being silly, go take the shot. If you see the little crying on mom, grab the shot. All of the in-between moments will end up being your clients favorite.

HAVE FUN!

Would you like to see more of this incredibly FUN session? Head right over HERE to see more!

🙂