Group/Family Portraits

Family Portraits
These are possibly the most important portraits you will take. You are capturing the most important group in most people’s lives, the prized possessions they love the very most. Often, you are recording a rare event—a time when the entire extended family is present. Potentially, these are portraits that will be posted on websites, displayed in offices and homes, and distributed across the country in Christmas cards and given as gifts to extended family. These can become priceless treasures of comfort at times of loss. Taking one’s family portrait is both an honor and a responsibility. In our class portrait sessions, as we practice on each other’s family’s we have the opportunity of providing a service that will be remembered and treasured for years. Feeling over-whelmed? It’s great that we’ll all be there together, and with multiple cameras snapping, we’re certain to get a variety of shots that will be loved and cherished.
Since portraits are so important, I ALWAYS say a personal prayer before each photo shoot and a private prayer of gratitude afterwards. It helps in so many ways. I’ll give a quick summary of some helpful things to know.
What Family Should Wear:
Solids work best, drawing attention to the people rather than the clothes. Choosing a general color scheme is helpful, possibly coordinating with the décor of the room the portrait will hang in. If everyone is wearing the same color, the photo can appear flat (though this is a popular choice, as you’ll see in the examples). A sweater, jacket, or scarf in a different color can help break this up. Choosing a color scheme (like for a large group, request everyone wear blues, blacks or whites) or a variety of shades (black, gray, charcoal, white) helps provide contrast. For women, darker pants make one look smaller; ¾ or long sleeves are more flattering. Broad stripes or patterns distract, drawing the eye to the pattern rather than the people.
Important things to keep in mind
Bring plastic trash bags or mats for people to sit on, a bucket for standing on (photographer) or for someone to sit on.
The group portrait is probably the only portrait that will be enlarged to a size larger than 11x14 (unless it’s a sports poster print). There are all kinds of size options, many depending on the frame. When composing the portrait through your lens, leave some extra space in your composition to allow for cropping. The sizes that capture the entire frame of what you are seeing through the lens end up being 8x12 or 20x30. Typically, people like giving 8x10’s or 11x14’s to parents to update their family’s spot on the photo wall; large framed portraits often end up sized to 16x20 or 20x24. If you’ve filled the frame and composed the perfect family shot with no extra room, when it is printed as an 8x10, for example, 2 inches will be cropped off. Many places online will show you what the cropped print will look like, but often you have to know to even look for it. So, be sure to check a preview of your crop and if it lets you, make that choice yourself. If you forget to leave room for this adjustment, you’ll then need to start looking for frames that are 8x12 or 20x30, which are not as easy to find, don’t have as many options, and usually will cost you more money. Always shoot in the highest quality image setting.
Placement: If it’s a family portrait and there are two parents, I try to always keep them together, visually expressing the “oneness” that marriage creates. With candid and jumping shots, it’s hard to hold fast to this rule, but when possible, I think it’s important. TOUCH is also an important element for making a visual picture of unity. Try to portray love and warmth by having some arms around others, hands holding, hand on shoulder, leaning on, etc… I usually start by arranging the couple (unless there’s an active toddler or baby, I arrange one parent, leave a spot for the other, then arrange everyone else around them (they don’t have to be in the center, just together as a couple), having the parent with the busy toddler come in at the very last. I try to have variety in heights and levels. Remember that whatever is closest to the lens appears larger, so I try to keep everything on the same geometric plane, or as close as possible, which helps with depth of field and making sure everyone is sharply focused.
Once the group is posed, move quickly, change YOUR angle for different looks, without the family moving, shoot from down low, shoot from slightly above, use grasses and foliage to frame the family, come in close, shoot from a distance so background shows.
Take several shots of the same thing—same arrangement, same distance, etc… Hopefully, you’ll get at least one shot that is perfect. But if a head swap is needed, you’ll need several options where everything is the same except for facial expressions. In general, I try to take lots of shots of each family pose/angle/arrangement to increase the odds of success.
After the photo shoot, when you’re sorting through, DO NOT automatically delete any family shots that are not perfect of everyone. If the image quality is poor, it is fine to delete, as long as you first know you have some that are better. If a head swap is needed, you’ll want plenty of shots to choose from as you look for alternative “heads.”
Group Portraits Task Sheet
· Jumping shot in full sunlight
· Shots on deck
· Playground shots
· End of trail
· Near dock
· Barn shots
· water in background
· Candid, playful shot
· Posed
· Silly shot
· Loving shot (group hug)
Subgroups:
· Parents
· kids
· The boys
· The girls
· Mom & son
· Dad & Daughter
· Individual of each person
Bird’s eye, worm’s eye
Use fill flash when group is backlit

Portraits by Window Light

Window Lighting Review - Edit

September 24, 2009

In spite of rain and dark clouds, our window light portraits were a success! To make up for the darker skies, we had to adjust our ISO's to 400, and some may have switched to 800. We turned the flash off so we could use natural, ambient light. When doing window light portraits, it is important to have your subject as close to the light source as possible (especially when it is over-cast outside). Choose a window that DOES NOT have light streaming directly in. We're after natural, ambient light. Have your subject facing the light, or have the light coming from the side. Many of us needed to compensate exposure by setting the exposure compensation to -1 f-stop. This will look like a number line with a zero in the middle and a -2 on the far left side and +2 on the far right. We also used +2 to over-expose when our subject was in front of the window and we were shooting from behind. This helped us see that over-exposing can make the subjects look fine, while "blowing out" the background, making it appear white. This is nice to experiment with to help you realize what happens when you use both sides of the exposure compensation. For some of the portraits, we bounced light back onto the subject using a reflector. A silver reflector worked well for these cloudy days. On clear days, I usually use a white reflector--the silver is too strong. If the walls in your room are white, they may be sufficient for bouncing light back onto your subject.

When taking portraits by window light, watch the eyes and make sure they have catch lights. Be sure to lock your focus on their pupil (push the shutter button half way), then compose the picture. For some portraits, we draped a black cloth behind, for others we used white; for some, we didn't use a background and let the furnishings in the room serve as background, faded out in the background.

Below, you'll find our task sheet. It has a variety of tasks, so if you are not comfortable doing all of them, choose the ones you feel you are ready for, and don't get frustrated if you aren't familiar with some of the tasks. Feel free to email if you have any questions.

Window light Portraits

Task Sheet

Exposure compensation:

Same shot, -2,-1,0,+1,+2

Facing window

Window to the side

Window showing

With dark backdrop (low key)

With light backdrop (high key)

With reflector on opposite side

Detailed shot (prop, jewelry, toy)

Baby body parts (toes, grasp)

Angled shot

Candid

Worms eye view

Bird’s eye view

Silhouette (no flash)

Metering – spot, center

Exposure lock *

By KathyF10E at 5:32pm

Outdoor Portraits

For outdoor portraits, we learned about using reflectors. Reflectors help subtly bounce light onto the subject, giving a look of rim lighting (highlights from the sun) and catch lights in the eyes. A great reflector is a light-colored building. Have your subject face the building. Use buildings, tree trunks, etc.. to shade yourself from the sun, thus avoiding lens flare (when the sun directly hits your lens).

What to wear - We discussed this a bit in our first class. Solids usually work best, dark solids on the bottom half are slenderizing. Three-quarter sleeves or long sleeves are more flattering on most women. Bold stripes and patterns draw attention to the clothing, rather than the person. BUT, for individual portraits, where you’re trying to capture a child or teen’s personality, it’s nice to let them decide what to wear. This individuality can help capture their interests at that point in time. It can also help them relax and have fun. It’s also fun to add a prop—something that helps define their personality. Some ideas: a ball, doll, trike, rock, skate board, musical instrument, etc… Bubbles are often fun and help capture natural smiles in kids. In the Fall, having a child hold a hand full of leaves, then throw them up on a certain count—using your multiple shot mode to capture the fun—results in some fun shots.

Time of Day – For outdoors, on a sunny day, the first couple hours after sunrise or the last hour before sunset are the ideal times—when the sun hits at an angle. In the evening, first have the subject face away from the sun, using a reflector or a flash to fill in. As the sun lowers enough that one can look towards it without squinting and just after sunset, have the subject face where the sun is. This gives you a last bit of warm light to finish out the photo session. Once the sun has dropped, this is a nice time for silhouettes with the beautiful sunset in the background. Don’t use a flash or fill light for silhouettes. Use a flash or reflector if you want to see the face AND the sunset

Remember, the eyes are the most important part if your subject is looking at the camera, so lock focus on the iris, then compose your shot. The task sheet below is full of ideas you can try. Several can be used in one photo. See “Assignment #3” in our class album for the homework assignments. Have fun!!


Outdoor Portraits Task Sheet
Use reflector on all shots unless noted,
sun behind subject, shade lens
to avoid lens flare) Most shots vertical

Head shot – face or face & shoulders
Full length shot-
¾ shot—hips up
Detailed shot (shoes, guitar pick, etc..)
Rim lighting (highlights behind)
Angled shot
Vertical shot
Horizontal shot
Subject looking over the shoulder
Action shot
Candid (not posed, not looking at camera)
Worms eye view (camera down low)
Bird’s eye view (stand on bucket)
Side lighting with reflector bouncing off side
Lens flare (let sun hit lens)
Silhouette (no flash, sky behind subject,
subject appears as shadow)
Subject sitting or lounging
Frame subject with flowers or architecture
Background showing depth—pillars, street
Emphasis on prop

Important Change!! Hamilton Town Center for Outdoor Portraits

Since the weather is getting cooler each week, and the fall color is arriving early, we're moving ahead to our portrait classes and postponing the "motion" class for later. We are also adding an additional portrait night, with week 1 being outdoor portraits with a reflector, and week 2 by window light, followed by group/family portraits. This will make the family portraits, hopefully, in the prime of fall color.

We will have 2 sessions of outdoor portraits, our regular Tuesday evening at 6:30, and an added Thursday morning at 9:30, both held at Hamilton Town Center. It provides a variety of backgrounds/props, with nice potted plants, architecture, etc.. The Tuesday evening class will meet at the side of Dick's Sporting Goods--between the movie theater and Dick's. I'll park with the front of my car facing Dick's, right by the store. I have some "models" coming to help us Tuesday night--and we can also use eachother as needed.

The daytime group will meet at the playground in Hamilton Town Center. This option should help shrink our total numbers for these classes. I feel badly that I haven't been available to help or answer as many questions as some of you may have had. We'll talk about portraits and demonstrate things at the playground, using the kids as our models--maybe moms too, so be ready!

We will be using reflectors. Wear a white shirt, if you can, and also bring something to reflect with. I purchased some foam boards at the dollar store if you'd like to buy one from me, bring your dollar and let me know in case I need to pick up more. They sell them at Walmart for almost $3, or you can use anything white, flat, and easy to move--a white gift box lid, campaign yard sign that's white on back, cardboard covered with white paper.

Please spread the word if you know of anyone that doesn't check their email. Thanks! You are all doing an amazing job! Thanks for your dedication and enthusiasm.

Kathy

Aperture/F-stop and Focus

Aperture (F-stop) and Focus
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Aperture (F-stop) and Focus - Edit
September 8, 2009
Tonight we took our cameras through all of the aperture levels available in our cameras (f-stop is another term that refers to this). We put the SLR dial on "A," "AP" or "AV", then turned the dial to get the lowest aperture number, then dialed it through to the largest. We had a demonstration with funnels and 1/2 cup salt. With the large hole (small aperture number, like 4), the salt went through quickly. With the small hole (aperture 20) it took longer but the added time lets the lens capture more detail and depth. Several with point-n-shoot cameras did this exercise by taking a photo with the same focusing point in the icon mode with a mountain and then with a face or flower. This gave them a small opening (large aperture number - 17) or a large opening (small aperture number - 4), show the same effect.

We then worked on locking our focus, then composing our picture. Some SLR cameras would not lock focus because they were not in the single shot focusing mode. Once we changed the focusing mode to single shot, the focus could be locked. Some point-n-shoot cameras would not allow a center focus or lock (at least, from what we could find in the books as we were looking).
Face finder is a focusing mode that focuses on several faces or points. Center focus allows the photographer to choose what is focused and what is not.
We used tripods or steady surfaces, releasing the shutter with the timer to avoid camera shake (this results in blurry pictures because the camera moved when the button was pushed). We tried shots from different angles and different points of view like birds eye view (shooting down from above), worms eye view (from the ground up), and taking shots on an angle.
If you weren't able to join us, here's what was on our task sheet and homework assignment:
· Take one shot of same object using all aperture values. Use flat surface and timer to release shutter. (Point-n-shoot, take a shot in landscape mode-mountains, and one shot in flower or face mode).
· Practice locking your focus. Take 2 shots of same composition, but change focusing point
· Shoot from bird’s eye view
· Shoot from worm’s eye view
· Shoot at an angle
Homework:
Post 2 shots of AV (aperture value), smallest and largest number.
Post 2 shots of focus lock, either a pair, or 2 favorites that are different.
Next week we are focusing on time values--how to freeze motion and how to show movement. We'll meet in the Kroger parking lot, close to the back of the gas station to carpool over (this is a neighborhood and we don't want to bombard them with too many cars). If anyone emails me beforehand, I can be there at 6:00 to answer any specific questions. We'll meet at 6:25, fill vans/cars, and drive over. If you have one, bring a tripod. If you don't, we can stead your camera on a rock or bench.

Self Portraits with Timer & Making a Shutterfly share site

Last night was our first night of class. We had over 20 people! I hope everyone learned a few new things about working their camera. I loved seeing everyone work together to share knowledge about individual cameras. Sunset came sooner than I'd expected, so we'll need to change our class time to 6:30, and if needed towards the very end, we may have to shift it again.

Since we have such a great group, when we do the portraits of one person, we'll schedule both a daytime class and an evening meeting that week. I could do a Monday or Thursday morning, but we can poll the group next time to see what works best.

Our main focus last night was to learn more about your camera's capabilities. The most important aspects, as far as our future classes go, are knowing how to lock the focus until the picture is taken, turning the flash off, and forcing the flash to fire. These are the tasks we did in class, if you'd like to try them on your own: Take a shot in each of the icon modes (face, mountains, runner, etc...); ISO: take one shot in each ISO level (like film speed); Set a center focusing point, then lock focus on the iris of your subject's eye by pushing shutter button half way and holding, recompose, then push shutter button the rest of the way; Take a continuous shot (find mode where you hold the shutter down for multiple shots); Use the timer; force the flash on a photo; turn off the flash a take a photo.

Homework: Take a self portrait using the timer, then post your favorite self-portrait to our class album "Self-Portrait with Timer." Next, set up your own Shutterfly Sharing Site (there's a link on our class page that says something like "create your own," you can have a basic one up and running in 15 minutes, but you'll find it is fun to add more to it later), then add a link to your new site on our class sharing site. Feel free to call of email if you have any questions:

NEXT WEEK

Next week we'll meet at 6:30 at Geist Park. (I'll be there at 6:00 if anyone wants to come early for some one-on-one help or review). Take 116th to Olio, turn right, turn left at 113 (Just before the bridge), follow past neighborhoods on the right to FLORIDA, turn right and the park is about 1/2 mile on the right. From the south, 104th also hits Florida, but you'll turn left onto Florida and go about 1/2 mile. If it rains, we'll meet at my house.

Reading the Instruction Manual

So, today I opened the instruction booklet for my point in shoot for the FIRST time. I learned so much! I had no idea that my camera was capable of doing so many things that my SLR can do. I can't wait to try some of the new things I've learned. The timer allows me to take up to 10 shots on timer! I never knew! I can also change the "face" focus to a center focusing point, where I can then lock it on the iris of my subject's eye before composing the shot. \

It's amazing how much one can learn from reading the instruction booklet. I'll learn even more once I practice the instructions. Hopefully we'll all learn new and helpful things about our cameras.

I've set up a Shutterfly site for our class. It's an easy place for all of us to post our "homework" assignments and add comments each week. I'll use this blog for comments and thoughts, but use the shutterfly site for photo posting and comments regarding class.

Our first assignment will be a self-portrait using your timer. This will help us all get acquainted AND get to know our camera. More about this assignment on our first night of class.

http://fishersphotographyclass.shutterfly.com/