Help! First family portrait shoot,...

[faeriegodess612]

Ok, so I asked for this technically,...I've got a MySpace page of my photography, and I think I've got a pretty good START on photographing things and places, but I havent really tried people. I did a shoot of my friends 2 yr old son, and OMG! I learned how hard it is to do that. Most of them were out of focus, but she liked them anywayz, and I dressed them up a little in PP. All that is fine and dandy for a friend, but I posted a bulletin ( for those of you who dont know about MySpace, a bulletin works like a virtual bulletin board. It goes in an area where all of your friends will see it.) asking for someone to volunteer for free portraits. Since I'm no pro, I'm offering to do it for free to get the experience. Free prints and/or CD. All photos will be watermarked. I've already learned a few things from doing the shoot for my friend. Like how to use your flash even on a sunny day to give you faster shutter speeds, when you only have a P&S. BUT,... I'm scared to death of doing it. I dont want to waste this girls time, but I really want to try to do it too. I've got a tripod and I've learned the value of the shade of trees. I hope and pray for an overcast day, but if not, I know how to use the shade and time of day. I dont have a makeshift studio yet, so I'm doing it at a local park. The park is a state park and its very pretty. Great areas for backgrounds.
I'm about to peruse the DPS archives for family portraits and look it up on Google to get ideas and see what I can learn, but any other suggestions would be great. I've already told her to wear something comfortable but not TOO casual. Neutral. And to bring toys for her son.
Its about a week and 1/2 away, if the weather is good. But again, any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanx.

If you wanna check out my MySpace its Creative Imagery by Amber,..I live in Tennessee.
My Flickr page is posted at the bottom, I think most of it is private and I'm trying to figure out how to undo that. But its there if you wanna check it out too.

[DanSir]

Alright, i think i can help you here....i can give you some advice...

the best portraits I find, is always, when you get that "unsuspecting smile", "priceless expression"...... i am not sure how to say it... i will put up some pictures when i am connected to my hard drive later this evening.

the thing with family portraits i find, is that it depends who you are shooting. First if you are shooting only the child(ren), mom, dad and children, or family + extended family

Second, the shot will depend on the age group of the people you are shooting. I find shooting a 3 year old child is slightly more challenging then shooting an 8 year old. Also if there is more then one 3 year old, or younger child.

Third, if you do not have reflectors. The best I find is to use the natural sunlight. Plus some child(ren) do not put up with reflectors well, “must touch!” it is like inevitable. I find if I shooting families with children between the ages of 6- 9, I try to avoid using reflectors. Unless, I know the family and they can control their children and refrain from touching my stuff. It also depends on the settings of where I am shooting; inside/outside, shade/sunlight, park/hiking...that kind of thing.

Lastly, if your camera has the option to shoot in Raw, I would shoot in Raw + JPEG. When you are done the shoot you can always go into the Raw file and change stuff like the white balance to fix up your picture.

I know from my experience that, for example: a Mom would love to see their son or daughter smile, or crack up with laughter over something silly, or have their child have this expression of disgust over a small bug... Expressions all the way, I find.

One idea for portraits if you are doing child(ren) or parent(s) + child(ren), is the interactions between who ever the people are in the picture. so for example if you are shooting a 3 year old and his mother... try and get them to interact. It could be as simple as Mom giving child a hug and child smiling, or father blowing bubbles and popping the bubbles and laughing. (this is you can make as complicated as you want.) However, I find simple works best.

Any other questions, let me know, and I can see if I can help.

Danny

[Trader]

I know a web site that is a absolute must for you to spend as much time viewing as you possibly can. There are quite a few very worth while videos there. Here is a link to one that exactly fits what you are going to do: http://www.prophotolife.com/2008/09/...r-portraits-3/ I know I have spent a lot of time there and still go back from time to time, it is very worth while. Hope that helps.

[faeriegodess612]

Thank You Trader for the link. The videos were very helpful. I think I'm gonna make some ghetto reflectors. It's a good thing I work at a hardware store,...lol.
DanSir,...Thank You for your advice. I'll keep the expression thing in mind, and try to get some of those shots.
And its a young family. In their 20's, just Mom, Dad, and lil boy whos almost 2. Shes not sure yet if shes gonna bring the dog. I wanted to try and get some posed shots, and some candid. Like them playing on the playground. I'm still nervous as hell over it. My biggest concern is focus. I'll just have to make sure to take my time a lil more, pay more attention to my camera. I think I'm kinda underestimating it. Even tho it's a point and shoot, I know it can take good pictures. Thanks again, and if anyone else can add anything, that'd be awesome.