Best Family Photography Tips

So, this is my first 'legit' paying job as a photographer, and a family has asked me to do their family photos. Do any pros have any tips? A checklist? Certain poses? How much to charge? Most people in my area charge around 80$ for a half hour sitting, and a half hour at an outdoor location, so I should charge less, right? But how much less? How many pictures do I give them? Etc. I just want to be sure that I nail this on my first time.

find out if they expect a studio sitting or want location work. Then do your homework first and inspect the location site if that's what they want. Determine whether you will need to bring accessory lighting (i.e. strobes, umbrellas, bounce cards, etc.) and what time of day will be the best lighting. Will it be indoors, or outside? If it's indoors, you will get your best results if you have a large picture window as the light source, as long as you don't have direct sunlight coming through the window. As far as the number of prints go, I would show them several "proofs" which are sample images to choose from. Then, let them select the images they want, offer them prices on a variety of sizes and possibly some package deals to get them to purchase more images.

2008-09-11 16:04:22 by Amy

Learn how to arrange your subjects, what clothes to wear, and what not to do when you want to take unique family photos that you will want to ...

http://digital-photography-school.com/we dding-photography-21-tips-for-for-amateu r-wedding-photographers

I'm excited my sister asked me to be her photographer for her wedding. I've always loved photography and take loads of pictures of my own family but I've never done a wedding! I want to be sure to do an awesome job.

Make sure sister is prepared to receive less than stunning photos of her big day. Although you may do a decent job there will still be things that would be done better using a professional. Also think of this: As the event photographer you will not be participating in the festivities as a sister and honored guest. You will be working. All day. No time to chat with sis and family members. Also family members and other people may not take you seriously as the real photographer, so you may find it difficult to take control when you need to.

Anyway, here is a link:

http://www.rokkorfiles.com/Wedding101-pa ge1.html

Also www.photo.net, look for the beginners section in the wedding and event forum.

If you decide to do it, be sure to get backup equipment of some sort. Cameras do fail, so you need to be able to continue shooting. I have given many tips to first time shooters, just look at some of my past answers and you will find my sage advice repeated many times. Good luck.

2009-08-18 07:39:02 by proudmama

Price: $29.95

We're having a family portrait professionally taken and we're leaning toward black and white. There will be 8 of us in the photos.

My question ... How does black & white photography differ in the way colors are portrayed?

If the photos were to be in color, obviously we would all wear colors that are flattering to us ... is that the same for black & white? Do some colors not photograph as well as others?

Is it better to wear clothing that contrasts with your complexion and hair?

Do bright colors photograph differently in B & W than more muted shades?

I'm asking because my daughter and I both have light hair and light skin (especially her) and I'm afraid afraid we'll look "washed out" ... but neither of us looks good in extremely dark clothing either.

And what about makeup ... would you do it differently than you would for a color photo?

Any tips, suggestions, ideas? Thanks!

Talk to your photographer before making any final decisions. Black and white is great, but wearing black and white can create issues of very high contrast, whereas any light color that is worn will show up as white but not have the contrast that white would. It will be a challenge for the photographer to utilize lighting when the differences are so great in what you are wearing - you can't add as much lighting to white as will be needed to show the details in black. White to me would be too stark and could easily overpower everyone's faces - faces that would appear as shades of gray. Suggest you choose dark and light clothing, all the same colors, not black and white. Look at some websites where photographers use black and white photography - you'll see what I mean.

2008-10-20 13:08:50 by *Sombra*

Price: $34.95

In a few weeks I am photographing a friend of the family's wedding. I have done other weddings in the past, but this is the only one where I actually know the people personally. It is a small ceremony in their parents' backyard. Any tips on poses or anything else would greatly be appriciated. The backyard is by woods, and they have a brick patio with a small waterfall (man made) and a lot of wildflowers. The ceremony is at 2pm, and the couple is very casual. Hope someone can help.

when i was asked to photograph a wedding, i looked through many wedding pictures on webshots.com
It would be cool if you could come up with something like this
http://family.webshots.com/album/3523454 47BRjMGY
i think those pictures are absolutely gorgeous, if you can, show them to the couple and say this is something you want to achieve.
I didn't manage to take pictures like this because it was raining hard the whole day long on the wedding day.
Usually couples have lots of ideas what pictures they want, and they will direct you in most cases.


good luck!!!

2007-08-22 06:34:01 by shorty951983

Photography has been my hobby for quite some time, so I've taken photos in a lot of different settings but mostly for close family or friends. My sister has a piano recital coming up and her teacher asked if I would take some photos of the students for her. Mainly for display inside the studio. It will be during the recital as she wants some of them playing, but she also mentioned head shots of the students and probably group shots. I haven't had any experience doing events and would love any tips. All I have is a Nikon D60 with an 18-55mm lens. I also have a tripod but no light sets or additional flashes or lens. I've been considering getting a flash and thought maybe this would be a good time to do it. Is this a good option? http://www.adorama.com/NKSB600AFR.html?s earchinfo=nikon+sb+600 Also could I do bounce flash to reduce shadows? I've heard its better that way

Any tips you have on the best camera settings for this type of event would be great....Thanks!
So are you saying I need to upgrade my lens first?
If it is more important to upgrade my lens first, what is a good (better that 18-55mm) choice? I can't really spend more than $500 right now

Upgrade your lens.

If it's a piano recital you're photographing, chances are it'll be in a darker auditorium or concert hall?

If that's the case, it's aperture you need to focus on. Your 18-55 is a great lens for everyday shooting situations (http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/18-55-i i.htm)

But what you will likely need is something like this 2.8 70-200 http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/70200vr .htm ... a very nice lens, with a large aperture.

If that's out of your budget, and if you can get closer to the stage, consider picking yourself up a f 1.8 50mm lens. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/5018daf .htm ... a real gem of a lens, and the large aperture lets you shoot in low-light situations.

The flash you're thinking about buying is great. I own two, and I'd reccomend it. But get a good lens first.

2009-10-31 16:32:39 by sk8