4 Sessions

[asaphotographer104]

Today, I've got 4 family sessions to shoot! (Three of which are combined and will have shots of all three families together!!)
I"m super excited but am wondering if I could get any quick tips for some epic shots? I wanna do right by these people, ya know!

It's ten AM, overcast but sunny, outdoor in an open pasture....lots of little kids!! haha

I've already got my WB set to "daylight" and ISO on 400.

Another session will be this afternond around 3:00...I have no idea what the light is supposed to be doing!

[BigFuzzy]

Quick tips:
Use open shade, or flash because neither time is idea for shooting outdoors.

Get inspiration from other photogs. Look at family photographer portfolios and see what they do with groups and see what (if anything inspires you). Just do a search on google with "family photographer" then click on the Images link to see a ton of ideas.

Go prepared with a ton of ideas.. with such a large group of people, it'll all go to hell if you're sitting around thinking of what to do next. Have a staple of shots you always take and then just go with the flow. If you show up and try to think on the fly, it'll show and you'll screw up the relaxed atmosphere you hope to establish.

Know your camera and settings (if you don't already) so that you don't waste time (like above) fiddling with things

Try jumping photos, always fun!

Ask this question sooner than the day before!

And have fun!

Good luck, you'll need it, sounds like hell to me!

[Jim Poor]

+1 to what Fuzzy said (but it's the day of, not the day before).

Plus PLEASE get rid of the auto play music on your site. UGH. Went there to look to see if I could offer any help, and got run off by the music.

Originally Posted by BigFuzzy

Quick tips:
Use open shade, or flash because neither time is idea for shooting outdoors.

Get inspiration from other photogs. Look at family photographer portfolios and see what they do with groups and see what (if anything inspires you). Just do a search on google with "family photographer" then click on the Images link to see a ton of ideas.

Go prepared with a ton of ideas.. with such a large group of people, it'll all go to hell if you're sitting around thinking of what to do next. Have a staple of shots you always take and then just go with the flow. If you show up and try to think on the fly, it'll show and you'll screw up the relaxed atmosphere you hope to establish.

Know your camera and settings (if you don't already) so that you don't waste time (like above) fiddling with things

Try jumping photos, always fun!

Ask this question sooner than the day before!

And have fun!

Good luck, you'll need it, sounds like hell to me!

[asaphotographer104]

Jim, sorry about the music- I forgot it was even on there! I'll attempt to do something about it!

The shoots ended up going excellently!! I've posted a couple shots below (one from each session).

Since I go to church with the huge family (there were 15 of them total, btw) it was really easy to get them to do what I wanted plus one of them is a great coordinator so she was a huge help in arranging people and getting them to cooperate!
This day of shooting reminded me of just how much I love taking pictures and how much I want to do nothing but that!


f/9
1/200 exposure
400 ISO
SB-600 flash
Auto WB
(Post: replace center mom's mouth, crop & OptikVerve Fall Colors filter)


f/20
1/200 Exposure
ISO unknown
SB-600 Flash
(Post: replace grandfather's eyes, crop, OptikVerve Landscape filter)

[Jim Poor]

Nice. Not the critique forum, so I won't give any, but I like the second one a ton better than the first.