5 tips for a family photoshoot

To create valuable memories of your family is amazing. Timeless photos to look back at when the kids grow up, and beautiful art to decorate your walls with.

Photographer and Sigma Nordic ambassador Maria Lindberg creates magic with her fairytale photos, where you and your family gets to be the main characters in your own saga. Photos of the whole family together, photos of the children, siblings, and maybe even the furry friends of the family get to be included in the photos. But, to photograph children, and pets, takes some planning, and often plenty of time, as well. Photographer Maria Lindberg gives you her best tips for a family photoshoot.

1. GET A FEELING OF THE MOOD OF THE DAY

Sibling photos and individual portraits of the children is an important part of a family photoshoot. Sometimes, we’ll start with the family photos and go for the individual photos of the children later, when they’ve gotten a bit more used to the situation. Or, we’ll start with the sibling photos and individual photos. It depends a lot on the mood of the children, and how they feel about the situation.
As a photographer, it is important to read the mood of the children to determine what sutis best for this particular photoshoot.

2. RESEARCH THE PHOTO LOCATION

Are you going to have the photoshoot out in the beautiful nature, or inside a studio? Make sure to research the best photo location for this particular shoot, and what fits into the family’s preferences, of course. It is good to be prepared and to know exactly where the photoshoot is going to take place, for you to be able to prepare for the right settings etcetera. It is also good with back-up plans. For example, if you are going to be outside, and suddenly the weather turns too bad and you need to change location.

3. PUT TIME INTO THE POSES

Don’t rush through it, let it take time when posing the family members, siblings or pets together. They can certainly wait a few extra minutes if it makes the photo so much better – and it does!

Take your time and dare to control exactly where each hand should lie and how each person should have their body and head positioned. Back up and look through the camera at how it looks, repose and correct if something doesn't look right.

The only time you have to hurry is if a smaller child is present in the photo, with very little patience. Then it becomes more important to get the photo taken at all, than that it's perfectly posed.

4. CREATE CLOSENESS AND CONNECTION

When I pose a family, siblings or people together with animals, I want to create a sense of closeness. I want them to be as close to each other as possible. Preferrably that they touch each other by holding hands, leaning against each other, putting one hand on the other's shoulder, patting/scratching the animal's neck/under the chin.

Another way to create contact and closeness is to have everyone's eyes in the same direction – then it feels like they are in sync. So either everyone should look at the camera (ask the parent or pet owner to stand behind you and call attention so everyone is looking at the camera at the same time) or they should look at each other or in the same direction to the side. You can also have a mix of someone looking at the camera and the others looking at the person looking at the camera. A good tip is to ask the (older) people to mirror the animals/toddlers. They should always look in the same direction as the animal/baby is looking.

5. BLURRED BACKGROUND, BUT SHARP PEOPLE

I love blurred backgrounds and always shoot with a wide aperture (F1.8) – it gives a shallow depth of field, which means that what's just behind and just in front of what my camera is focusing on will be blurry. That's why I strive to place all individuals in a group shot at the same distance from the camera, because if someone is behind or in front of the person I'm focusing on, they will also be blurred. But if everyone's faces are at the same distance from my camera, everyone will be sharp.

Sometimes, however, it is not possible to have everyone at the same distance. Then there are two options: Either I have to take a smaller aperture (around F3.5), which gives a longer depth of field and thus a background that is not as nicely blurred. Or I have to cut and paste. Then I shoot several images with the focus point set on different individuals on each image, and then I can cut together a final image in Photoshop where all of them are sharp. I love my blurred backgrounds and choose to keep my large aperture and almost always shoot with aperture F1.8.

QUICK TIPS FOR YOU AS A PARENT

·         The most important thing is that you try to relax. That will get the children on board after a while.

·         Don't stress. I'd rather spend half an hour extra on the photo shoot if it makes the children feel more safe and confident.

·         Let me know if you think the children need a break. A little coffee break is never wrong.

QUICK TIPS FOR YOU AS A PHOTOGRAPHER

·         Feel free to ask about the children's personality before the photoshoot. This is how you know how to best connect with them.

·         Have a plan, but make sure to be flexible. If something doesn't work, move on and try something else.

·         Be clear with the parents that there is no stress and that it will work out. Calm parents make for more relaxed children.

Wishing you all the best of luck with your future family photoshoots!