The ultimate guide to family photography

Family photography may not always be as easy as you imagine, but with some planning, you can capture those treasured moments much better than if you try and grab shots on the fly. 

This guide is not only for serious photographers shooting with a DSLR or Mirrorless. It applies to anyone with a camera, albeit a bridge, compact or even a smartphone.

You’ve probably heard the old mantra, “you are not a photographer with a smartphone!”. But quite frankly, a photographer is anyone with a camera who plans and puts a concerted effort into making a photograph (notice we said making, not taking). 

The fact is, it’s not the camera that makes you a photographer. It’s the difference between just snapping a shot on the fly and taking time to carefully craft a photo.

So with that in mind, grab whatever camera you have and read our ultimate guide to family photography.

 

1. Know your equipment well

What we mean by this is to know what your camera is and isn’t capable of. Good photographers understand the limitation of their cameras and work within them. 

For example, smartphones and compacts can take great photos, often resulting in great images when used within their capabilities. 

One such limitation is focusing on fast-moving subjects. In most cases, the autofocus could be faster, and you will struggle to focus on your children if they’re running around. 

If it does lock on, then the lag between successfully finding the focus point and clicking the shutter will also mean that the subject, one of the children, will have moved away from the focal point and be out of focus, especially if they move further away or close to you. 

So in cases like this, try to keep the children still for your shot, or wait until they have stopped moving if taking candids.

This is less of a problem for higher-end cameras, but again, know how well your camera performs in these conditions. Practice in situations that are less important if you make mistakes. 

Many cameras have a continuous autofocus feature, which tracks the subjects as it moves. How fast and accurate it tracks also depends on your lens quality. 

It would help if you also kept the focus on the subject, meaning you must pay close attention to your composition because the subject is moving around as you track. 

One trick is having the child run away from you or towards you in a straight line. This makes it easier to maintain your composition while keeping the focus point centred on the child.

You should also plan your shot in advance. In this case, you can plan a composition by watching how the children and adults are playing and running. Then you can decide where you want the person you are focusing on to be in the frame when you shoot. 

Once done, you can select and move your focus point into that position and wait for the child to run into it, then rapidly focus and fire the shutter.

 

2. Keep an eye on your shutter speed

When photographing people, another thing to ensure is that your shutter speed is fast enough. How often have you looked at your photos and kicked yourself because the person is blurred? 

This is especially true in the example above. Even when people are posing, it is hard to keep completely still. 

When photographing candids of people talking or interacting, you need to ensure you freeze the action. The less people are moving, the slower the shutter speed you can get away with. 

We recommend at least 1/125 sec or 1/250 for most posed shots for that fidgety relative. If you use a longer, heavier lens, more is needed. The rule of thumb for handheld is to shoot a shutter speed closest to your focal length if above 125mm. So for a 400mm, shoot at 1/400.

For people moving around or running, a much faster shutter speed is needed. Generally, the faster they move, the faster you need to expose them.

But it is not just about how fast they are moving, but more to do with how fast they appear to be moving in your frame. A person moving horizontally across the frame will appear to be moving faster than one moving directly towards or away from you in a straight line. So, a faster exposure would be needed with the former.

Be aware of the light when shooting fast exposures. Achieving this in good light is relatively easy, but always monitor your settings when the light is low or changeable. 

Ideally, shoot in full manual mode if the light is consistent. If the light is changeable, shoot in shutter priority to ensure you maintain control over the exposure time while still exposing correctly. 

If you can’t manually control the shutter speed, keep an eye out, avoid taking the picture if you can’t achieve a fast enough exposure, and find areas with good available light.

 

3. Avoid direct light

People often ask me why I move them into the shade and not in the sun. There are two reasons for this—shadows and squinty faces. The problem with direct light is that it is harsh, and secondly, it comes from a small source that creates harsh shadows. 

Ideally, you need to shoot in diffused light. Diffused light comes from a larger light source and falls more evenly over your subject, reducing or eliminating shadows. 

A great example is on an overcast day. Instead of light coming directly from the small source (the sun), the sky becomes your light source. 

The clouds act as a massive diffuser. Look around you next time you are out on a cloudy day, and you will notice the almost complete absence of shadows.

So try to photograph your family outside on a cloudy or overcast day. Alternatively, take them into the shade of a building or tree, and watch to ensure the background isn’t too bright.

 

4. Use natural light indoors

If photographing indoors, place your family members near a large window. Large windows also act as a softbox, especially if you have net curtains. 

Remember to position them facing the window. The window will diffuse the light, but unlike being outside in the shade, you can still get some shadows, albeit softer. So watch out for this.

 

5. Shoot early or late in the day

When the sun is low in the sky, its intensity diminishes, which presents a perfect time to photograph your family members. It’s especially great when mist or haze is on the horizon. 

Again, watch out for shadows. But in this case, shadows can often be long, so you could use them creatively. If you want to use the sun as a backdrop, then use a fill-in flash to avoid the person being silhouetted. 

 

6. Use a natural environment

Don’t just take your family to a beautiful location and line them up like mannequins to be photographed. It will make them feel uncomfortable, which will show in the photo. 

Photograph your family in all the regular places you visit or simply at home. Children especially need to feel safe and relaxed and want to have fun. You will capture a person’s best and most natural look when they are having fun. 

Forests or countryside walks are great for this. Take the family there and photograph the kids as they indulge their curiosity, play and climb the trees. If you often go walking as a family in a specific location, use this.

Don’t always go in close. Pull back with a wider angle to include the environment too. Get down low and shoot upwards with the child climbing the tree or on top of you for you a fun shot!

Try not to shout at the kids to smile or look at you, as this often results in an awkward pose or smile. Instead, have another family member there to just talk and engage them while you shoot. This way, you will capture the smiles and emotions more naturally.

 

7. Try different angles and focal lengths

We often find it hard to crouch down when taking photos and want to do it standing up. 

However, this creates photos that look directly at adults or down on children. Children also look dwarfed next to adults or older children. 

Get down to the child’s eye level, or even lower sometimes, to make them look taller. 

When photographing siblings, for example, you could place the older one next to or between the younger ones and then get lower and shoot upwards to make the older one look like the proud, protective bigger brother or sister. 

If a child is climbing a tree, shoot from directly underneath with a wide angle to emphasise the enormity of the climb. Have your child stand on something to make them look big.

 

8. Blur the background

For portrait shots, use a large aperture to blur the background and make the person or people stand out more in the photo. 

A large aperture reduces the depth of field, which is the distance in front and behind, which remains acceptably sharp. 

It’s not only this that affects depth of field, though. The closer you stand to your subject, and thus the closer your point of focus, the more the background will be blurred. 

Additionally, you can also move back and use a long focal length. Longer focal lengths also reduce the depth of field, so moving back and zooming in can really throw that background out of focus. 

This is ideal when you have a messy background that you want to reduce to a complete blur.

When photographing a group of people, be careful with the depth of field and how they are standing. 

Usually, they won’t be standing in a single line, but some will be a little in front or behind. If your aperture is too wide, people behind could be out of focus. 

Always focus on the person closest to the camera, as the depth of field in front is narrower than behind, and then select the appropriate aperture. 

If your camera has one, use the depth of field preview button to check. Alternatively, take a test shot first, then zoom in on your screen to check.

 

9. Capture all emotions

“Stop pulling faces, smile!” How many times have you heard this being told to a child when having their photo taken? 

Yes, we all want beautiful photos of our children. However, childhood is a wonderful time full of all emotions: fun, smiles, tears, anger and, our favourite, pulling funny faces. 

So be sure to capture all those special, funny moments so you can look back one day and laugh at those great memories.

 

10. Don’t forget to include yourself

We’re often told off for not being in our family photos. Don’t forget to include yourself too. If you don’t trust someone else to take the photo, then this is easily done by using a tripod and setting your camera’s timer. Even smartphones can now be attached to a tripod with a special clamp, and many high-end phones have a timer option.

So there you have it, the ultimate guide to family photography. A few tips to help you capture those treasured family memories in the best way possible.

 

About the author:

Ian Middleton is a travel and landscape photographer and writer. He is the author of several books, including a practical guide to photography. His photography has been used in numerous publications worldwide and is sold as high-quality wall art online.

Visit his website for more info.

 

Specialist camera insurance through Ripe Photography 

If you're heading out to master our family photography ideas, you may also want to protect your camera and accessories through specialist camera insurance.

At Ripe, we arrange theft and accidental damage cover up to the value of £30,000 for portable equipment you use when shooting on location and up to £60,000 in total. 

You can also choose to insure your smartphone and tablet if you use them as part of your photography. 

Click here to learn more about specialist camera insurance, or hit the button below to get an online quote today.