Family pictures: the ultimate guide to posing family portraits Article and images by Brett Harkness
Being the family portrait photographer is a tough gig – there are
different relationships, dynamics and personalities to capture and often
within a single frame. Polished, professional-looking family pictures
that have been creatively crafted are all perfectly posed, and that’s
what stops them from looking like snaps.
Arranging your family together, choosing where to photograph them,
both in the home and out on location sounds a lot easier than it is – as
ever the hunt is on for the best light and there are plenty of tricks
to get family photos with the poses you’ve envisaged.
Here top family portrait photographer Brett Harkness shares some of
the tips and tricks that keep him in demand with families across the UK.
Image © Brett Harkness
Family Portraits At home
Family Pictures – Tip 1: Use the front door
The best contained lighting you’ll get into any home will come from
shooting into the building, from outside, with your subject(s) stood
three feet back from their front door - move their doormat back and ask
them to stand on it.
The darker the door and wallpaper, the better the effect, which
closely mimics the effect used for fashion shoots, where they use huge
black polyboards.
You need to turn off the lights in the house and underexpose your
shot by one or two stops, to retain your skin tones and so that the
background gets darker. Shoot with a 70-200mm lens and crop tightly.
Family Pictures – Tip 2: Be early
You can get some great opening shots by turning up early. It takes a
considerable about of effort to get a whole family prepared for a shoot.
If it’s a friend’s family, turn up half an hour early and capture some
great candids of the kids still in nappies or having their hair brushed.
If it’s your own family, try snapping while everyone is getting ready.
Family Pictures – Tip 3: Use the parents
When it comes to posing the kids, use the parents… A great trick is
to get the child or children in a doorway, or at a window, looking out,
and get the parents on the other side entertaining them, and then you
can capture the genuine reactions, while having composed the image
before hand.
Family Pictures – Tip 4: Incorporate the house and its ambient light
Sometimes it’s really nice to incorporate the house you’re shooting
in and take a few environmental portraits. I recently took a shot of a
grandmother, sitting in her armchair, lit by the window and the fire.
Incorporating ambient light sources from the home can work well, as
long as your main light source is either flash or daylight. In the
winter I’ll keep lamps and Christmas tree lights on, in the background
of home shoots and throw them out of focus, so they just look like
twinkles.
Family Pictures – Tip 5: Identify your centre point
When it comes to posing the whole family together, find a centre
point and arrange everyone around it. This could be a meaningful piece
of furniture, like ‘Dad’s chair’, or the matriarch of the family,
usually the mother. Make sure you shoot with an aperture that’s
appropriate and gets everybody in focus.
Family Pictures – Tip 6: Don’t be rigid
When it comes to posing a family at home, don’t be too rigid,
otherwise you may as well be shooting them against a white background,
in a studio. For example it’s not uncommon for me to use the parents as a
holding devise for their children who won’t keep still otherwise.
If the parent is wearing a dark colour and the child leans against
them, the fact that it’s a person in the background, not a backdrop,
won’t be visible in the photo.
Sometimes, having older family members thrown out of focus in the background of child portraits works really well too.
Family Pictures – Tip 7: Use tricks
When shooting whole families together you’ll find it’s incredibly
difficult to get the children to look at you, rather than their
parents/siblings/something more interesting. Try getting everyone to
look at something – a spider, aeroplane outside, anything.
It’s important that your family photos have everyone looking in the
same direction, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be in your
direction.
Family Pictures – Tip 8: Become a bit of a psychologist
Part of being a family photographer is being a bit of a psychologist.
I only ever do one family shoot per day, so I take away the time
pressure element of the shoot – it takes time to get kids on your side.
Always tackle braver, more confident children first, giving shier
ones the chance to see how you work and relax in your presence before
you start posing them on their own and as part of group shots.
Family Pictures – Tip 9: Get in the garden
Don’t get too formal with your poses and arrangements with the kids –
it’s important to allow kids to be kids. Get them outside, in the
garden, where you can capture them having fun and getting a bit dirty –
but do it last!
Family Pictures – Tip 10: Strip it back
When you are shooting children, it’s important to get them by
themselves – their parent’s are paying you to take pictures that they
can’t get.
Don’t force them to smile; allow them to do so when they are ready,
or not at all – some of my best shots have been children looking deadpan
into the lens – sometimes you really capture the essence of a person
this way.
Family Pictures – Tip 11: Show their true age
I find parents love shots which show their kids acting their true
age, not how grown up they think they are. Encourage your kids to pull
faces – make a game out of the shoot. Series’ of pictures showing
children pulling faces and laughing work incredibly well and can be
timeless reminders of what they were like at that age. Use a 50mm lens
for this.
Family Pictures – Tip 12: On the couch
If photographing your baby, a good trick is to push the couch up
against a window, open the curtains and turn the lights off. Put the
baby on a dark throw or towel, on its back, and underexpose your shot by
two or three stops. Lighting the baby using just the window light, with
the dark background looks great and mimics the effect of lighting with a
giant softbox.
Family Pictures – Tip 13: Use the bathtub
Assuming it’s white, the bathtub makes a great place to photograph
your small children, as it acts like a huge reflector, while containing
the children at the same time.
Family Pictures – Tip 14: Documentary
The home can be a great place for some documentary shots of your
family. I recently shot the process of parents getting their kids ready
for bed, using a fixed 50mm lens, and produced a very personal set of
pictures that my clients loved.
Family Pictures – Tip 15: Change
Make sure you look to change clothes at least once. This change of
“look” will give another dimension to the shoot. Then if you want to
make several prints from this session, the different outfits will make
it look like they were taken on multiple shoots.
Image © Brett Harkness
Family Portraits On Location
Family Pictures – Tip 1: Find the best light
It’s all about the light, so when on location think lighting first,
background second. Put your hand in front of your face and twirl – see
how the light changes the appearance of your hand and the best light
makes it look less wrinkled – this is the direction in which you want to
shoot your families’ faces.
Family Pictures – Tip 2: Keep it fun
Take your family on a walk and stop when you see something
interesting that’ll make a good background. Remember to keep it fun for
them – “Listen to the pixies inside, can you hear them?” is better than
“Stand still in front of that garage door”.
Family Pictures – Tip 3: Colour and texture
Look for interesting textures and colours that will complement individual family members’ hair, clothes etc.
I recently photographed a little boy against the brake light of my
Audi – he liked it because he liked the car, and I posed him there as
the red matched the red of the toy plane he was carrying. Sometimes you
have to think outside the box a little when on location.
Family Pictures – Tip 4: Take a seat
Sit kids who are big enough on the back of benches, with their feet
on the seat. This will keep them in position for you. Make sure they are
facing good light.
Family Pictures – Tip 5: Posing tool
It goes without saying that you should be using a reflector when
shooting out on location. When working with kids, it can become a useful
posing tool too – mine is known to become a magic carpet, an island and
a boat – this gets kids interested and more importantly gets them to
sit on it and keep still…
Family Pictures – Tip 6: Walk the line
Outdoor poses don’t have to be regimented. Getting the whole family
in a creative shot can be tough, but don’t be tempted to line everybody
up in front of a wall.
Try asking the family to link arms and walk down a path together, so you can stand back and get some great long shots.
Family Pictures – Tip 7: Think diamonds
Always think triangle and diamond shapes when arranging families –
they look much more appealing than other shapes. Sometimes you need to
get a bit creative to make these shapes – and don’t be afraid to get
kids on their dad’s shoulders, etc.
Family Pictures – Tip 8: Find your level
Sometimes kids just won’t keep still, so shots of the whole family
together can be difficult. A good trick in this situation is to bring
everyone down to the child’s level.
I recently shot a family portrait with everyone crouched around their youngest and it worked really well for that family.
Family Pictures – Tip 9: Give teenagers space
When you are photographing teenagers it pays to give them some space
and let them to do their own thing – allow them to feel cool and
separated from other siblings. Find a separate area on location just for
them – a specific wall or door, anything like that – and get them to
strike a pose with that space.
Family Pictures – Tip 10: Separate siblings
A great trick is to get pictures of the kids together but where they
are separated by your composition. Look for areas where you can give
each child their own space, but include them in the same picture.
I recently shot a brother and sister against a skip, which had a
giant ‘V’ shape and two green triangles either side for the kids to
stand against.
Family Pictures – Tip 11: Green green grass
Most photographers will take kids into a field or park to do some
poses. On a sunny day this is great to do, but be aware of the green
cast that can reflect into the child’s face from the grass. Use a
reflector to sit the children on to get rid of this unwanted colour.
Family Pictures – Tip 12: Accessorise
If you are shooting out on location then take accessories with you.
Hats, umbrellas, favourite toys, bike or ball will all add to amount of
poses you can create, as well as helping to keep the child’s attention
for just a little bit longer.
Family Pictures – Tip 13: Pose for the light
Try and get the sun directly on the back of subjects’ heads. This may
seem a typical thing to do but is a lot harder than you may think.
Having harsh across the face direct light is not flattering and will
leave your family photos looking amateurish.
Family Pictures – Tip 14: Mix it up
Change up your lens choice to give a different feeling to the set of
images. Sometimes a great wideangle shot will work well alongside my
50mm f/1.2 lens, which gives very shallow depth of field. Not for the
faint-hearted, but beautiful when executed well.
Family Pictures – Tip 15: Use puddles
Shots of the kids, or indeed the whole family, are a great way to end
a shoot. Joyful, fun pictures like this always look great; just
remember to find out which direction the best light is coming from
before you suggest it.
Image © Brett Harkness
Try
and plan for photos immediately after nap time and directly after a
good feeding. Well rested and well fed kids are happier and more
cooperative.
