Family portrait tips?

[james_tigerwoods]

I am planning to do some family photos this weekend - Primarily of the kids, but it'll be of the farm-ily.

I have borrowed a pro "pop up" screen and will shoot against the white background (I think) - I have my D3100 and a 35mm and an 18/70 (I doubt the 55-200 will get any use here), a stand and [i]only[/] an SB600 - I'll bounce light off the ceiling or something and see how that fares.

However, are there any tips and tricks that anyone has - I appreciate that I should have tried to get a big umbrella type flash, but that slipped my mind.

Thanks

JTW

[londonagent]

Here's some ideas for poses.

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

[james_tigerwoods]

londonagent said:

Here's some ideas for poses.

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

The first post? I was hoping that that link might at least be the sixth...

[londonagent]

james_tigerwoods said:

The first post? I was hoping that that link might at least be the sixth...

Too good an opportunity to miss. I'm sure someone better qualified will be along shortly...

[Simpo Two]

You won't be able to get the b/g white so concentrate on getting the people looking right during the shoot, then be prepared for some shopping behind afterwards. Shoot RAW for colour balance.

I hope your b/g is big because a group of people needs a remarkably large one.

[andy-xr]

Put them up against a window and shoot into the light if you want that blown white look, the SB600 might come in handy for some fill. You'll probably not get full lengths this way, but it's either that or some major dicking around with a curves adjustment layer afterwards. Saying that, getting a fun feel will be more important than the amount of stops over the b/g is

[Citrus7]

Forget the flashgun and use natural light. Find the largest window in house with no direct sunlight beaming through ( north facing is fine) and get subjects to be side on to window. Shoot as wide open as possible with lens to blow background out of focus. For natural shots ask the family to relax and talk to each other , and start shooting.

Example with just window light



Dave

[Simpo Two]

Citrus7 said:

Example with just window light

That's nice with one person, but how do you get a group of several people sideways on to a window and illuminated evenly? The b/g will also be more of an issue.

[Citrus7]

Simpo Two said:

That's nice with one person, but how do you get a group of several people sideways on to a window and illuminated evenly? The b/g will also be more of an issue.

Good point. Personally I would use the white background as a white reflector the opposite side of family from window and bounce the light back.

To use a single falshgun, if you haven't got a soft box, I would look to rig up large white sheet cotton shoot at about 45 degrees from front of family , and shoot flashgun off camera in to sheet, to make it act as a Large soft box. This assumes shooting in a room with curtains closed etc to manage light.

Couple of links that may be of use.

How to attach soft box to flashgun on the cheap :- http://www.davidjameswilliams.com/photography-chat...

Some example lighting setups :- http://www.davidjameswilliams.com/photography-tuto...


Warning. Once you get into studio lighting toll be hooked . Good thing is you can start at around £250 for 2 light setup, that will produce stunning results.

Good luck with shoot

Dave

[ian in lancs]

We have used two sets of 3 of these for a year now in the studio and they are amzingingly good!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1500Ws-Studio-Flash-Kit-...

consistent white balance, exposure and fast flash; loverly! Oh, and offer £350...

[james_tigerwoods]

Thanks all - I've been thwarted on this as my son has had an adverse reaction to his MMR and my daughter is being a refusenik. I might try my daughter anyway as she might warm to the idea after a bit bribery is the way to go

[Simpo Two]

james_tigerwoods said:

I might try my daughter anyway as she might warm to the idea after a bit bribery is the way to go

A mention of boarding school can work wonders... (and is free unless you go through with it)

[james_tigerwoods]

A few of the 300 or so I took - Not pro quality as I set up in a little of a hurry, Harry still isn't well, Amelia (the 4 year old) got cranky, I got cranky, we all got narky, etc...

Final editing is yet to be done though:

[Simpo Two]

Yup, looks like a decent start. Now you just have to sort the b/g... good luck with the girl's hair!

[james_tigerwoods]

Simpo Two said:

Yup, looks like a decent start. Now you just have to sort the b/g... good luck with the girl's hair!

Thanks - I don't mind the background so much but I welcome any tips to sort it...

[Gad-Westy]

Looks like you have a good starting point with plenty of potential in PP if you're so inclined. Have you had a play with curves? You could potentially get the background a bit blown whilst still keeping the subjects well exposed.

[james_tigerwoods]

They've all had about 5 minutes each of basic Lightroom editing - exposure, clarity but no curves, I've not had time to really have a go yet...

[Simpo Two]

james_tigerwoods said:

Thanks - I don't mind the background so much but I welcome any tips to sort it...

Well IMHO nothing makes a shoot look more amateur than a creased old sheet in the background. Fortunately you've got the subject decently lit so it's just a question of making the b/g white while leaving the subject unchanged. That to me would suggest selection in some way - I might try a polygonal lasso with feathered edge but there are many ways to skin the Photoshop cat. Or, if you like light grey but just want to lose the creases, maybe the clone tool.

[james_tigerwoods]

I'm a perfectionist so that'll be my task for the next week or so...

Not sure how I'll manage with my daughter's hair though. ..

[LongQ]

james_tigerwoods said:

I'm a perfectionist so that'll be my task for the next week or so...

Not sure how I'll manage with my daughter's hair though. ..

There ar a couple of applications out there that claim to be able to do really smart things with troublesome selection layer subjects - hair and tree branches being the more obvious.

Topaz Re-Mask is one.

OnOne Perfect Mask another.

I seem to recall Adobe claiming advances recently but can't recall where or when nor which product.