First ever shoot booked HELP

[Heidi Wheeler]

I have booked my first ever ‘family’ shoot and would love any advice or tips to help me! I have two weeks until the shoot and want to go into it feeling confident and collected! However right now I’m nervous!! It will be at our local park area and I’m going down there tomorrow to find the best spots! Any other tips? Thank you

 

[waday]

Congrats! Right now, you're asking for all tips, which could range from don't drop your camera to do you have a written contract with the family?

Any other input you can provide would be helpful. Do you have any areas that you're particularly nervous about? That will help us narrow down any tips and focus on your specific needs.

 

[JustJazzie]

Good morning!

I find it extremely helpful to make up a set of "posing cards" to help me keep on track. These might look different for you, but for me, they are a set of small index cards. The first one has a shot list that I want to make sure I get. Such as
1.Mom
2.Dad
3.Mom and dad together
4.Family shot....children together, child 1 alone, child 2 alone, etc,

On the next few note cards, I sketch or notate specific poses I want to make sure to cover. My drawing skills are pretty terrible so I try and describe the pose enough that I know what I want.

I suppose if you are technically savvy, you could always do this digitally and just have an example image of the shot you are looking to achieve. I don't always NEED these cards, but they are handy to have if I get stuck, and I always double check the check list before wrapping the shoot to be sure I have covered my bases and haven't forgotten anything.

 

[Heidi Wheeler]

Good morning!

I find it extremely helpful to make up a set of "posing cards" to help me keep on track. These might look different for you, but for me, they are a set of small index cards. The first one has a shot list that I want to make sure I get. Such as
1.Mom
2.Dad
3.Mom and dad together
4.Family shot....children together, child 1 alone, child 2 alone, etc,

On the next few note cards, I sketch or notate specific poses I want to make sure to cover. My drawing skills are pretty terrible so I try and describe the pose enough that I know what I want.

I suppose if you are technically savvy, you could always do this digitally and just have an example image of the shot you are looking to achieve. I don't always NEED these cards, but they are handy to have if I get stuck, and I always double check the check list before wrapping the shoot to be sure I have covered my bases and haven't forgotten anything.

Thank you so much that is extremely helpful! I will definitely put together a poses list and plan! Thank you

 

[Heidi Wheeler]

Congrats! Right now, you're asking for all tips, which could range from don't drop your camera to do you have a written contract with the family?

Any other input you can provide would be helpful. Do you have any areas that you're particularly nervous about? That will help us narrow down any tips and focus on your specific needs.

This is a free photo shoot for some friends to give me chance to practice and to build my portfolio of photos. Do I need any paperwork in place beforehand?

I have Adobe Lightroom for editing which I love but does anyone recommend anything different?

Thank you

 

[Heidi Wheeler]

Congrats! Right now, you're asking for all tips, which could range from don't drop your camera to do you have a written contract with the family?

Any other input you can provide would be helpful. Do you have any areas that you're particularly nervous about? That will help us narrow down any tips and focus on your specific needs.

It is a free shoot for a friend and her family to enable me to practice and build my portfolio of photos for my website and building my business. What paperwork would I need in place beforehand? This is all so brand new to me

 

[tirediron]

Random thoughts...
-Start by discussing the shoot with the family and getting their expectations; can you deliver on that? If not, let them know, always temper expectations!
-Discuss clothing choices: I generally recommend casual clothing of a similar, but not necessarily identical nature. Nothing worse than Mom in her Sunday best and Dad in his sweat-pants and a "spouse-beater" and the children somewhere in between. NO BARE ARMS!!! Consider the colour of clothing with respect to the general tones of the venue and the skin/hair colouring of the clients. Dark-skinned, dark-haired clients in dark clothing and posed in the shade might not be the best images....
-Find out if there are any 'must have' poses or groupings, shoot those first
-Ensure when you do your recce that you go at a similar time of day so that you know roughly what the light is like; a great location at 10.00am might be a horrid location at 3.00pm
-Does the location require permits/permission/fees to shoot? Irrespective of the fact that you are not charging, it could still be considered something for which a use fee or permit is required.
-Consider the physiques involved, especially of the adults when planning your shot list; if one of the parents is especially heavy, read up on poses that minimize this, likewise if there is a significant height differential, plan poses that minimize it
-You should have them sign a document which stipulates that you retain ownership & copyright and will use them as you desire.

 

[vintagesnaps]

Yes, there's going to be paperwork... Get on American Society of Media Photographers - Homepage or PPA and start learning about contracts, licensing usage, releases, etc. etc. There's a lot to learn if you want to someday do portrait work.

I wouldn't even call this booking a photoshoot - this is taking pictures with friends for fun and learning. And if you get a couple of good pictures you could provide those to the friends. And providing pictures to people gets into the paperwork part.

Basically you're doing this in trade, their time in exchange for your practice/skill development and a few complimentary (no charge) photos. From what you've asked I think you have a ways to go yet, so make this just for fun and be sure the friends know this is a learning experience, not a professional photoshoot (yet anyway). Make it fun and keep expectations reasonable.

 

[Designer]

Any other tips?

Most neophytes don't remember to take their speedlight along, so I'm reminding you now.

Speedlight, reflector, tripod, something (or someone) to hold the reflector, watch the backgrounds, do a quick study on posing small groups, take along a DOF app on your smart phone, (and a tape measure, if you are not accustomed to estimating distances), make a list of poses, backgrounds, etc. review with your clients as to what outfits they are planning to wear, plan for the best light (i.e.: late afternoon for "golden light"), get there early to make dozens of photos until the sun is at the right angle, (and to get the children used to being in front of the camera) then a few dozen more about an hour before sunset, make sure you have at least two fully-charged batteries for your camera, and some spares for your speedlight, take along bottled water, crackers, small candy (not chocolate) or some fruit, and napkins, maybe a plain neutral blanket for your group to sit on, etc.

 

[ac12]

If any of the people have deep set eyes, what @Designer said can be important (speedlight or reflector) to lighten up the deep eye sockets.
Depending on the intensity and angle of the sun, the deep eye sockets can go almost black, without some kind of fill light.
You will/may need an assistant to hold the reflector(s). A reflector is a big sail, so you need a person to handle it, not a stand.

A similar problem occurs with people with photochomatic glasses. They go DARK in the sun.
Ask them to bring a 2nd pair of glasses that is NOT photochromatic.

Plan B. I don't know where you are, but when you do your recon, look for alternate sites at the park (or elsewhere), if the weather goes bad on you; rain, snow, wind, 100F+ heat, etc.

Watch the hair color/background. Dark hair against dark green foliage, and the hair can 'disappear.' Been there, done that
I've seen similar with blond hair against an orange sunset, where the blond hair 'disappears.'
When you do your recon, I would bring a friend with you. Preferably one with similar hair color to your subjects. Then do test shots at the various locations at the park.

As @tirediron said, discuss the color of the clothing that they will wear.
You want them to stand out from the background, but not POP. So no BRIGHT colors. Too bright and the eye is drawn to the clothes, not the faces.
I tend to like my group in similar color, but there is an argument for mixing different colors. If you have mixed colors, the colors should all work together/match, not clash. Have this discussion with the mom, she probably has the best sense of color matching.

If you have sample pix of various portraits, that can be a guide to discussing what poses they want, and what you want to try.
Then you need to STUDY the pix, so that you can set them up for the pose.

gud luk

 

[JustJazzie]

Thank you so much that is extremely helpful! I will definitely put together a poses list and plan! Thank you

I forgot to mention, since it sounds like an outdoor shoot, but something to keep in mind-

for studio shoots, on the backs of my posing cards, I add a lighting diagram for each pose. Happy clicking!

 

[dennybeall]

One of the biggest problems I've seen with new photographers is "tunnel vision".
They pose the subject(s) and get everybody just right but fail to look beside and especially behind the subject(s). The subjects end up with poles growing out of their heads and trashcans beside the kids or dogs relieving themselves in the background. All fixable in Photoshop but why?

 

[greybeard]

Check these out

100 Fun Family Photo Ideas for 2018 | Shutterfly