Scott Carl

With November comes the beginning of the Holiday Season.  OK, OK, I’m sure many of you are trying to remind me of Halloween that has just passed.  Don’t think I don’t get the irony of what you are trying say…

I’m also sure that many of you – because of your interest and skill level in photography – have become known as the “official photographer” for your family, just as I have.  That’s not always as annoying as it seems, actually.  If you’re willing to do so, I encourage you to take as many images of your family members as you possibly can.  Be the family photo historian!  As uncomfortable as it is to discuss, we just don’t know how long we have with each other.  And if you don’t capture those who might be lost, you’ll never forgive yourself.

It’s a small price to pay for the memories captured.  And, it can be very fun and fulfilling to learn how to shoot portraits.  Even if you don’t care to do it for a living, or for anyone besides family, I encourage you to try out your skills.

And what better time than during the Holidays to make these images?  Your family is all together and, hopefully, in a pretty good mood!  Should be a piece of cake, right?  Weeelll…

Here are a few tips to help you succeed at obtaining the best possible images of your family:

1.  Watch your backgrounds!  It’s always a good idea to move people away from windows and cluttered shelves and cabinets.  A Christmas tree makes a fun backdrop if you use a shallow Depth of Field.

2.  Have them toss on a coat if they’re prone to wearing “loud” holiday sweaters.  Or encourage them to bring a solid colored top.  You don’t need to shoot full body shots, just try to make a nice head and shoulders portrait.

3.  Watch those reflections in eyeglasses!  If you’re having trouble creating an image without glare or flash flare, have your family member slightly lift the arms of their glasses (back by their ears) slightly up.  This will put an angle on the glass that shouldn’t be noticeable and will reduce or remove any glare/flare.

4.  When shooting groups, try to arrange heads in triangle patterns.  Again, don’t worry about getting full body shots.  And make sure you have ample room to pose them.  Regardless of how close your family might be, photographs of cramped people are seldom flattering.  And don’t forget to keep an eye on the background!

5.  When using a flash, try to diffuse the light.  Using tissue paper, bubble wrap, or commercially available diffusers, you’ll want to reduce the harsh shadows produce by many on-board and attachable flash units.  It sometimes doesn’t take much.

I could probably go on and on with tips, but these few should be enough to get you started.  Really do give family portraiture a try, you’ll be glad you did!

And let’s not forget the beauty of nature as it sleeps!  Get out there and capture great shots of bare trees, snow, rain soaked flowers and the like.  Expand your horizons and give Christmas lights a try.