Family photography is one of the most popular genres of photography, as families are one of the most significant elements of human lives.
Portrait photographers from all over the world can specialize in family photography, as it can be a rewarding career path for them.
Their work includes shooting occasions such as weddings, and baby showers, or families simply wanting to document their regular lives and emotions for memories through a photo shoot.
However, it is not as easy as it looks. There is a lot of investment, knowledge, and trial and error involved in a photography business.
As a family photographer, you will need a good balance of both art and technique that sets you apart from other family photographers.
We have created this ultimate guide to help you get all the knowledge and tips you need to achieve success as a family photographer!
First, let us get started with the basics:
What is family photography?
Family photography is a broad genre of photography that involves photographing anyone that can be considered family.
It involves capturing the precious moments of individuals or groups of family members, including newborns, extended families, and even pets!
Delivering a good experience to your clients is very important. Let’s not ignore the fact that most of the family members are not professional models who are comfortable in front of cameras, and it should be your priority to make them comfortable.
If they liked the experience of working with you, they are going to contact you again in the future and, most importantly, spread the good word about you to their friends, which is very important for your business.
Family Photography Essentials:
Equipment for family photographers
While starting and growing your family photography business, investing your money in the right equipment is not a simple task.
Considering the cost of photography gear is very high, you need to do thorough research on it or you will be stuck with low-quality or unsupported gear.
Make sure you invest in all the right types of equipment, such as:
- Camera Body and Lens
- Tripod
- External Flash
- Light Reflector
- Camera Bag
- Memory Cards and Batteries
- Remote Shutter Release
Buying a camera will require you to buy the lenses that support that model. There are different types of lenses on the market, such as prime and zoom lenses, giving different depths of field to the photos.
Family photographers require a lens that gives a shallow depth of field to the photos while maintaining a close distance from the subjects.
The right gear will help your family portrait have a professional look while making sure there are no limitations to the quality.
As a lot of families print such memorable photos, hence, you need equipment with a higher number of megapixels that gives the photos print-worthy quality.
Best Tools for Efficient Photography Workflow
From generating leads for your photography business to delivering galleries and keeping the backup, the workflow can be too costly as well as time-consuming.
Moreover, this directly impacts the photographer’s productivity and delivers a lousy client experience. Making use of the best-in-class tools on the market will help you have a more streamlined workflow.
These tools are smartly designed to help photographers out, using AI technology and seamless integrations with each other. Some of these tools include:
- FilterPixel is an AI Photo Culling tool that will save you time by automatically selecting your best photos in a click.
- Honeybook is a CRM tool that helps photographers manage all their administrative tasks smoothly while giving customizable options for your brand.
- Luminar Neo is an easy AI photo editing software (and Lightroom Plugin) for Mac and PC. Created by Skylum it offers a variety of AI enhancement tools that Lightroom is missing.
There are other tools and services for online gallery-sharing, website management, and file compressions that photographers can use to have a more streamlined workflow.
Do’s and don’ts of family photography
By creating some guidelines for the shoot, you will realize your photo sessions are going smoothly and comfortably for everyone.
A lot of experienced photographers have a few simple rules, such as having coffee with their clients before shooting their pictures, as it helps them get to know their clients better and capture their true selves.
Such rules go a long way, as the photographer can capture their chemistry better in the photos.
There are also a few things every family photographer should do to make sure their clients have a wonderful photo session, such as:
- Form a close bond with the family members
- Make everyone feel comfortable
- Use the golden hour wisely
- Discuss clothing ideas
- Use a fast shutter speed (especially with kids)
- Have prompts and pose ideas
Best location ideas for family photography
The location where you are capturing the family is an important element to consider for the shoot.
Alongside you, the clients should also feel comfortable with the selected place. Photographers often run out of ideas for such locations, or it can become too repetitive for their gallery.
Here are some location ideas for family photography so you can gain some fresh perspective:
- Beaches
- Forest
- Carnivals
- Parks
- Lakes and rivers
- Favorite coffee shops
- or the home itself!
For lifestyle family photographers, capturing the family in their own home itself is the top choice as that is where the family is most comfortable.
How to take fun and natural family portraits?
Taking posed pictures of your clients can be stressful for them as a lot of them are inexperienced in front of the camera.
Especially for kids, the young ones can be difficult to manage and they can mess up the whole vibe of your sessions.
Keeping the family portrait session fun, light, and natural is important to make the family members stay comfortable in their shoots.
To make the family photos more fun and natural, here are the following tips:
- Use Props to keep them busy
- Prepare some jokes to ease the tension
- Discuss and avoid things that the family is not comfortable with.
- Keep smiling and encouraging everyone
Clothing tips for family photography
What clothes the family should wear during the family photo shoot is another doubt that comes to the mind of the photographer.
You wouldn’t want to have a lot of distractions in the photo, so better consult them on their clothing before the shoot.
Some clothes look great in real life but not so much in photos. There are also a lot of questions, such as:
- What fabric to avoid?
- V necks or round necks?
- What color should the family wear?
- Which color complements the surrounding the best?
Make sure to have this all discussed with the family members before the photo shoot.
How to photograph family photos?
What should be the camera settings for family photography?
Shooting family photos with the right camera settings is as important as using the right equipment.
To use your gear to its full potential, you need to learn how to set up your camera according to the subject and the lighting conditions present.
Capturing parents in the golden hour will require different settings than the settings it would require to capture small kids inside the house.
Shooting family photos with the right settings is as important as using the right equipment.
To use your gear to its full potential, you need to learn how to set up your camera according to the subject and the lighting conditions present.
Capturing parents in the golden hour will require different settings than it would require while capturing small kids inside the house.
Learning how to operate a camera requires you to understand the purpose of shutter speed, aperture, and ISO first, and then a lot of practice. This is essential if you want to be a professional photographer who can shoot high-quality work in different settings.
For example, if the subjects include young and naughty kids, you would want to increase the shutter speed as they move a lot.
To get a shallow depth of field for beautiful bokeh, a bigger aperture is required, such as f/1.8 or f/1.4. These settings will get more light into the camera, so make sure the photo is not overexposed.
If these settings can’t be changed, one can tweak the ISO, but a high ISO means more noise in the photo.
A good balance of these three camera settings is required according to the situation to get the perfect shot.
14 composition tips for family photography
Trying out and experimenting with new compositions can result in some interesting results in your photos. A well-composed image can really level up your photography game and set you apart from other photographers.
Although the definition of “well-composed” can be subjective, in family photography, there are dozens of different composition rules you can try with your clients, such as:
- Rule of thirds
- Along the Horizon
- Frame within the frame
- Leading Lines
- Use of Negative Space
- Rule of odds
and some complex ones such as Juxtaposition, dynamic composition, etc.
12 best tips for golden hour photography
Golden hour is undoubtedly the best time of the day to get pretty visuals, bokeh, and creamy skin tones. Perhaps, that is why golden hour family photography sessions are in great demand among family photographers.
Capturing in golden hour requires a lot of planning, photographers can use a golden hour calculator app like The Photographer’s Ephemeris or try other apps like Helios Golden Hour (for iOS) and Blue Hour Calculator (for Android) or PhotoPills for tracking it.
Such apps can make it easy for planning sessions for families in advance. There are dozens of other things to keep in mind while shooting in golden hours as well.
You can experiment with backlight photography or create silhouettes. Simply bring your camera and get ready to capture the golden lights of sunrise and sunset!
Best tips for pet photography
We all know that not all families are the same, and not all the members of a family are humans either. They can come in different shapes and sizes.
A lot of families have close relationships with their pets and, hence, want to have them included in their family portrait for obvious reasons.
Family photographers have to be ready to deal with pets eventually, and it’s not an easy task either. And not just dogs, but cats, horses, and even birds could be your clients as well.
Capturing pets for family photos is on a whole other level.
Here are some tips to help you with pet photography:
- Get some sitting shots in the beginning
- Use their favorite toys to get their attention
- Schedule the timing of the shoot when they are most active
- While playing, shoot their photos with a fast shutter speed.
- Keep some treats ready to reward the good behavior of pets.
How to capture timeless black-and-white family portraits?
Black and white portraits of families are special for a lot of reasons. They are timeless and of great sentimental value. For families, these portraits can be the medium for them to give back a few of their special memories.
As a family photographer, you should definitely try capturing your clients in black and white for a change, if you haven’t already. Adding a few black-and-white photos to your photography packages can also bring a nice change to the galleries for your clients.
To make your black and white family photos look better, one can use the following tips, such as:
focusing on the contrast of lighting and shadow
getting proper attire for the family
Use HSL sliders in Lightroom Classic to get different tones.
How to get a sharp focus on big family portraits?
Keeping everyone sharp while clicking a group portrait is something every photographer struggles with at some point.
In family photography, (especially during weddings), you will come across many such scenarios that will require you to capture five or more people in one frame.
The aperture setting and the distance between the photographer and the group play a big role in keeping everyone in focus.
Using the right type of lenses for different scenarios is also important. As a wedding photographer, you would require at least one prime lens such as 85mm f/1.4 (for low lighting/ indoors), and one zoom lens 70-200mm f/2.8 II.
Another trick is to keep everyone aligned with their toes. A lot of people in the group form a curve, and this can blur out the people on the edges.
Poses for family photography:
Family photography poses
Guiding and posing your clients in the shoot is one of the most important elements that determine how your photo will turn out.
Although every posing rule is relative and depends on the specific family and surroundings, it can be hard to find new inspiration that goes along with everyone’s personality.
Unless you are doing studio photography, photographing the family in their candid settings is also a great idea.
This is referred to as “lifestyle family photography” where the photographer creatively captures the candid moments of the family in their regular lives.
For family portrait photography, we have a list of simple yet creative poses that will work for a smaller as well as a larger family on our family photography poses blog.
Couple poses and locations for capturing the romance
Be it a valentines day session or an event such as a wedding or anniversary, family photographers have to capture a lot of couples in their career.
While photographing couples, capturing their intimacy and chemistry properly should be the top priority.
Romantic poses go a long way toward showing the chemistry of couples in the photos. Without a doubt, guiding couples is, a career-boosting skill that’s well worth acquiring.
That’s why we’ve put together this couple photoshoot guide, which will provide you with a wealth of advice and ideas, ensuring that your next couple portrait session is a huge success!
Best poses for men
Posing men can be hard, especially if it is their first photography session.
As a photographer, you need to highlight your male subject’s masculinity, and sometimes you just need to capture them more in their natural-looking postures.
Sometimes male subjects get nervous, and a lot of them don’t know what to do with their hands.
There are four places to remember (mixed in any combination utilizing both hands).
- By the side, loosely.
- On one’s hips.
- In your pockets.
- Cross both hands across the chest.
To learn more about such ideas in detail, head over to our blog 25+ best poses for men.
10 Best Poses for Women
From “Hands at the front”, “flip the hair” and “hands behind the neck”, photographers can guide their models in a lot of creative poses depending on how confident their model is.
Posing women can be a little tricky at first.
Photographers can practice posing themselves first, by looking in the mirror. This will make it easier for them to understand the correct posture and guide their clients.
To get more ideas on poses for women, check out our blog on “10 best poses for women.
Complete Guide to Newborn Photography
Parents are often crazy about newborn babies, and a lot of them want to capture the memory of their young ones when they are still little.
For newborn photographers, the best timeline for photographing babies would be within the first two weeks.
As that is the time when the child is more likely to fall asleep in their baskets, making it way easier for a newborn photographer to capture their photos than the time when they are awake and crying.
Since your subject is very vulnerable and delicate, you will need to be extra careful with everything, including your surroundings, equipment, lighting, etc., so as not to disturb the baby in any way.
Most photographers prefer natural light to capture the small and delicate details of the baby and avoid direct and harsh sunlight.
To learn more about shooting newborn sessions, check out our guide on Newborn Photography.
Editing family portraits:
Why you should use presets as a family photographer
Using presets to edit your photos has a lot of benefits for family photographers. There are countless presets available online designed by professional editing studios, photographers, and editors to give the pictures a certain mood or aesthetic.
Moreover, using presets has a lot of advantages. It keeps your portfolio looking more consistent and makes your editing faster. As a family photographer, you should invest in some good preset collections.
Check out our blog: Why should you use presets as a family photographer? to learn more about buying and using presets for family photos.
8 best editing tips for family photographers
Editing your photos is a big and very important part of your workflow. A great edit can turn a mediocre photo into a masterpiece. Having said that, the time taken to edit photos should not be very time-consuming either.
Taking forever to deliver the photos can make the experience bad for your clients.
Being familiar with the basic settings, using presets, and knowing shortcuts to speed up the editing process, go a long way in helping photographers deliver their photos faster.
Find the best editing tips in our blog that family photographers can follow in their editing process to make their workflow more efficient.
Conclusion
Family photography is indeed a broad genre of photography, involving a lot of emotions and challenging subjects such as pets, newborns, and large groups.
Capturing their chemistry and special moments in a creative way can be challenging and rewarding at the same time.
I hope this blog helped you improve your knowledge of family photography so you can deliver the best experience to your clients with your photos.
