10
Tips for Doing Your Family Portrait
Photographs from a good family portrait session will be
treasured for many years to come. It’s an incredibly rewarding area of
photography, but it can also be a little daunting for new photographers. You
need to build a rapport with the family, keep the children on board, and meet
the parents’ expectations with gorgeous photographs.

So
where do you start? Which camera settings should you choose?
Here are some important pointers to make your first
session go smoothly, and to help you take great family portraits every time!
1. Get down on their level
If you’re photographing children, get down on their eye
level. This will lead to far more engaging photographs, and will also help you
interact better with the child.

2.
Use the center AF point to focus
Different focus settings suit different
photographers, but using the center point to focus tends to be the most useful
for family portraits. As you take more and more family images, you’ll get a
feeling for whether this setting suits you.
But it’s a great starting point for your first session.
3. Choose an appropriate
aperture
Your aperture settings will be influenced by
the style of photography you prefer.
As a starting point, many lifestyle family photographers
choose to shoot wide open for individual portraits (f/2.2 works
really well if you’re after beautiful background bokeh), and around f/5.6 for
group shots to ensure everyone is in focus.
Here’s an example of the effect you get with a wide
aperture:

This image was shot at
f/2.2.
And here’s what you get when shooting at f/5.6:

This image was taken at
f/5.6.
4. Choose a fast shutter
speed
Children move fast, and sometimes unpredictably.
That’s why you generally want a faster shutter
speed, at least compared to your average portrait settings. A good place to
start is 1/250s, which will still deliver sharp photos, even if children are
rolling over or waving.
If you have a situation where someone is moving very
fast, such as a child jumping or racing off into the distance, choose a much
faster shutter speed (such as 1/800s).

To capture a sharp shot of
this child being tossed in the air, I shot at 1/800s.
5. Use Auto ISO
While you’re familiarizing yourself with the apertures
and shutter speeds that work for family portrait sessions,
consider setting your ISO to Auto. The results are usually satisfactory,
and it’s one less thing to think about when shooting.
As you gain experience and confidence, you can start to
select the ISO manually.
6. Experiment with metering
modes
Certain metering options suit some photographers
better than others. As you take more family portraits, you’ll soon see which
mode works best for you.

This photo was taken using
Evaluative metering mode.
7. Shoot in RAW format
If you shoot in RAW, you’ll have a far greater range
of colors and details in your images – which you can then use for stunning
edits in Lightroom.
8. Use Auto White Balance
Set your white balance to Auto if
you’re doing a location shoot.
Why?
Because you’ll be working with a variety of scenes with
different lighting, and you won’t have much time to change the white balance as
you go.
Plus, correcting white balance is an easy edit in
Lightroom, so you’d be better off spending the time engaging with the family
you’re photographing.
9. Choose your lenses
carefully
Carefully consider which lenses to take to the family
portrait session.
If you don’t have several lenses, consider renting some.
This can be surprisingly economical, and it’ll give you the opportunity to try
out different focal lengths to see which suit your style of shooting.

This baby photo was taken
with an 85mm lens.
Using several lenses in a family portrait session will
also help you vary your compositions, and it’ll ensure you can cope with most
locations. A zoom lens like a 24-70mm will give you lots of
flexibility, while a popular prime lens for family portraits is an 85mm
lens (it creates very flattering photos!). A wide lens, such as
a 35mm prime, will help you set the scene.
As you gain experience photographing families, you’ll
develop a sense of which lenses work best for your style. And once you know
what you like, I recommend you invest in the highest-quality lenses you can
afford.

This sibling photo was
taken with a 35mm lens.
10. Set limits
Limit yourself to capturing five versions of each scene.
This will train your eye to look for the details and expressions you want to
capture, and will teach you to include everything you need in a single
photograph.
Family portrait photography
tips: Conclusion
So there you have it – family portraits in a nutshell!
Practice makes perfect, though, so be prepared to work
hard and hone your camera skills. Above all, a friendly and professional
attitude combined with careful preparation for each family portrait shoot
should make for happy clients and repeat business.
source: https://digital-photography-school.com/10-tips-first-family-portrait-session/