Tips/advice welcome!

[frommrstomommy]

I'm going to take some shots for a good friend and her family sometime this weekend. She's pregnant and they have a lil girl, 14-15 months old and her husband will be away for training soon (we are military). I've never done an actual "photo shoot" so this will be my first attempt. I only ever photograph casually, mostly of my son. I guess I'm planning to use my 50mm lens.. and this will entirely be a learning experience. Wish me luck! Advice welcome.

 

[Derrel]

First off, find some decent lighting!!! A place where there are not a "lot" of strong shadows, and where there is NOT a pattern of dappled light. Areas of open, shaded lighting, are relatively easy to work in. Places like where a building creates a shaded area, but there is light from the sky coming in, for example. You can face the woman toward the direction the light is coming from, and create light on her, and also, on the "off-side", you will get some shadowing; a little bit of shadowing helps show shape.

The second bit of advice is to maintain a decent shutter speed to alleviate camera shake or subject movement. Do not be afraid to set the camera's ISO to 400, or even 500 or 640, if shooting in daylight hours. ALso, do NOT shoot at f/2.8...shoot at f/4.5, or thereabouts. Shallow depth of field from f/2.8 is fine--until it starts causing problems with bad focus, which is typically sooner, rather than later. Do not forget to shoot plenty of "talls"...on standing poses, "talls" make more sense, much of the time.

 

[Mully]

Derrel has you covered.

 

[jwbryson1]

I would add to Derrel's good advice the following:

1. Don't crop too close "in camera"--you can always crop the image in post production. So, leave some space around the subject for cropping.
2. Watch for chopped hands, feet, heads, etc. It's SO easy to focus on getting the shot with eyes open that you don't pay attention to these little details. Nothing kills your shot faster than chopped hands, feet, etc, so pay attention.

I guess that's it. Good luck! :mrgreen:

 

[Pixdoc]

Agree with Derrel on lighting. Overcast and shaded areas are great for portraits, family photos. Indoors, bounce the flash if possible, or use a room with sufficient light. Pay attention to the foreground and background as well, remove all clutter and distractions. Take whole body, as well as close shots. Try a different angle - perhaps a high one using a short ladder (be careful). For individual photos of the kids, you may get great candid natural shots by setting your drive move to continuous - kids are constantly moving and may be unpredictable. A few props may help. Good Luck!