I've been asked to photgraph my friend's family...HELP!!!

[Cindie Lou]

I have had my first DSLR for only six months and my friend has asked me to take pictures of her family. I have a D300 with two lenses, 15-55mm and 55-200mm. No external flashes or filters. I know my camera quite well but I do tent to over-expose my portraits.
She wants to include her horse and dog. There are two school age children and two adults.She is asking for casual and posed shots. I plan to go a few days before to see what the surroundings look like.
Should I shoot in Automatic? What should I focus on? How should I meter? What type of poses might work best? I'm planing to practice with my family and post my results for any advice before I attempt my friend's shots. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Are there any posts here that would also help me?
Thank you for your help....

[sk66]

I say RUN!!!

Do NOT get pressured into doing something you don't feel ready for...ESPECIALLY for friends!
To be honest, I can't answer all of your questions for you..and since you can't answer them either I feel you are in over your head...

I would probably use aperture priority or manual with ISO set to auto.... I NEVER go full auto.......

[Cindie Lou]

Thank you for your honestly....I feel like I'm over my head....I have told her I would try my family first and see how I feel. I haven't made a full commitment to her yet, I told her I would need a month to see what I can learn. If I decide I can't give her what I want I have no trouble giving her the name of some local phototgraphers.

[JAD40]

Shew! That's a ton of subjects in a photo. It's funny cuz I think going from
one subject to two subjects is a whole different ball game.

[ReenaG]

only do what you are comfortable with....maybe just do her family then another the dogs. Horses tend to look really weird if you don't get them at the right angle! but to do them all at once.....my oh my!!

[BigVinnie]

Horses AND dogs! Run, quickly!

Here is a shot from about two weeks ago:



First note the horses ears. ALWAYS get the ears pointed forward. About half of the time the horse wanted to munch on the grass and was annoyed that we kept interrupting. Keeping the horses attention was the job of her little sister.

There are two other people you don't see. One is on camera right holding a lightstand with a flash and shoot through umbrella. On camera left is another person holding a flash on a paint pole with a grid and CTO gel aimed down. The day was overcast so we faked magic hour.

Having the lights mobile is necessary as the horse, clearly out weighing the girl moves about. We have no choice but to keep the lights mobile to maintain distance.

Now take this setup and toss in more people and a dog. I would not do it without more gear and at least a really good assistant.

Good luck.

[Cindie Lou]

Great points from everyone...Thank you. I have told her we will start with the family shots and see how it looks. As for the lighting...wow!..talking way over my head...which I'm sure I am. I only have the flash on my camera and no filters. My friend knows how green I am and this is just a test to see how I get on and possibly move forward to start making a little money to buy the equipment to pursue portrait photography. That being said...I'm sure she still wants the pictures to look great....so thank you for all your advice...keep it coming.

[chetanvala]

I also tell you that, I can't answer all of your questions for you. But I suggest you about time. Choice morning time for photos.

[naeno]

Originally Posted by Cindie Lou

I have told her we will start with the family shots and see how it looks.

Take your family pictures with a grain of salt. My kids sometimes behave in front of the camera and sometimes don't.

If you have a horse, dog, and kids, this is going to be a tough shoot. Shoot every pic a lot of times so you can change out heads in post after the shoot.

Read up on posing people.

If you're totally uncomfortable, so no.

If you decide to do it, get an assistant to help wrangle kids and dogs when they are not on camera.

Good luck!

[Cindie Lou]

Originally Posted by naeno

Take your family pictures with a grain of salt. My kids sometimes behave in front of the camera and sometimes don't.

If you have a horse, dog, and kids, this is going to be a tough shoot. Shoot every pic a lot of times so you can change out heads in post after the shoot.

Read up on posing people.

If you're totally uncomfortable, so no.

If you decide to do it, get an assistant to help wrangle kids and dogs when they are not on camera.

Good luck!

Thanks Lynnae.....I didn't think about post production so taking lots of the same pose will definetly help. I will drag my son with me to do the grunt work like the dogs and horse if we cn get them in. My friend wants shots that don't look posed and look as if they are just having a day at the park or playing in the barn. I'm going tomorrow to get some ideas and practice some poses..... All your suggestions will help I'm sure.