Saturday, December 17, 2011

15 Things I Learned at My First Family Photo Shoot

I did my first family photo session today. I learned a lot!

1. ZOOM IN! For some reason I forgot to zoom in and really wish I had. I am super happy with the “far away” shots, but am sad that I didn’t get more close-ups. Next time I will shoot at as many focal lengths as possible.

2. TAKE YOUR TIME! I rushed and rushed and in hindsight, just needed to slow down. Breathe. Relax. Take your time setting up your shots.

3. I really enjoyed doing this! I have always thought I love taking nature photos, but it was great taking shots of a family.

4. SLOW DOWN! This is directly related to #2. I should have slowed down to check the shots I’d already taken. For instance, if I wouldn’t have been in a hyper-speed mode, I would have realized that I needed my other lens for this picture.

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5. Take advantage of the time between poses. They can be the best and most touching shots.
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6. Sometimes the best shots are shots that you didn’t plan out at all, but the ones where the people put themselves in their own “poses”.
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7. Make sure the kids have fun. If the kids aren’t having fun, no one is having fun.
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8. Be sure to capture the essence of the children in between planned out poses.
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9. Shoot, shoot, shoot! I took over 300 shots in about 30 minutes and I’m so glad I did. This picture captures this family so well! The mom laughs like this a lot. The older son has this somewhat serious quality to him. The younger son is quite the little comedian and the dad stands and smiles like this a lot. If I hadn’t been shooting away, I wouldn’t have caught this “real” moment.
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10. Have some fun with it!
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11. Try poses even if you think they’re kind of dorky. They might turn out great like this shot!
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12. Ignore the rules. This too-sunny shot is perfect, even though it’s technically not perfect.
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13. Be sure to capture some special moments between all family members.
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14. Getting a picture of just mom and dad is important too.
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15. Make sure to take individual shots of all of the kids.
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Thank you so much Joly family for giving me the honor of photography your family!

Sarah:)

8 comments:

  1. Congrats on your first photo shoot! You have some great tips to share here. Thank you!

    Kathy

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  2. Sarah, these are SO great!!!! I LOVE them all. You have such a gift for photography. I would love for you to do a shoot of our family some time!

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  3. Your family photos are so beautiful! The scenery was perfect and you all look so happy :)

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  4. Great job! Love the shots holding hands!!

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  5. Thanks Sarah! We enjoyed doing it and there are some great shots - can't wait to see what's on the disk!

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  6. WOW - you look like a seasoned PRO! I find myself feeling so rushed. I like BOTH your tips to slow down and pay a little more attention. I often slam my hand into my head once I get back to post-process and say..."what was I think?!?!?"

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  7. What fun, and such great stuff. Are you turning this into a job now?

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I love comments! Thanks so much for taking the time to write one!

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