Taking Outdoor Family Photos
Scrolling through social media can be a daunting task for an amateur photographer. You see picture after picture of happy families in a beautiful setting and might wonder how to recreate these images. It isn’t impossible, but it does require a heavy dose of patience and practice. There are several tips the professionals use that will improve the quality of your outdoor family photos.
Light can be your best friend or worst enemy. Try to avoid shooting pictures in direct sunlight. Not only will your family be squinting in the pictures, but direct sunlight will also wash out your pictures and can ruin a lens. Look for a shady spot and have the sun behind one shoulder of your family.
Time of day is also important. Early morning or evening are most photographers’ favorite times to shoot. This time of day allows for softer light since the sun isn’t directly overhead and produces less shadows on your family’s faces that will have to be corrected.
Another photography tip that is often overlooked has to do with clothes. We have all seen those family photos with every member dressed in a white collared shirt, but white can be unflattering when photographed and is difficult to get just right. If you want an easier photo, dress your family in darker colors and stay away from white.
I am often asked about what kind of camera takes the best family photos. My recommendation is one that you feel comfortable using. The best way to take outdoor family photos is knowing how to account for lighting and different scenarios. If you know how to quickly get more or less light in the camera and how to increase the shutter speed to account for faster action, you will be comfortable in most family photo sessions.
Active kids are one of the hardest subjects to photograph. They can go from completely still to sprinting in less than a second, and never when you want them to. For this reason, I like shooting kids with a zoom lens. Some professionals like prime lenses because of the great colors and hues that show up in photos, but I can never seem to be close enough to my kids to make it worthwhile. With a zoom lens, you can quickly zoom in to where the action is without sprinting after the kids.
When photographing children, it’s especially important to know how to adjust the shutter speed on your camera. If you want action shots of your kids jumping, throwing leaves or running, turning the shutter speed up will keep the picture from blurring. When my kids are being photographed while running the shutter speed is around 1/500th. When my kids are throwing leaves or jumping it has to be a lot faster.
If your kids are anything like mine, they can carry on normally until the camera is pointed at them. I have so many pictures of my son and daughter acting goofy and making silly faces into the camera. My best advice is to just roll with it and keep focusing. Usually after the goofy face, kids smile a genuine smile that your camera will not want to miss. For smaller children, playing a game like peekaboo or hide-and-seek will make them giggle.
The last piece of advice is to take a lot of pictures, especially if there is more than one person in the picture. By holding down the shutter button, you have a higher chance of getting the picture you want and less chance of a silly face or someone blinking.
Taking good quality outdoor family photos can be a challenge, and the professionals can make it look effortless. With some patience, practice and by following the tips above, anyone can take great outdoor family photos.
