As a professional photographer, I have taken many portraits for my family during Christmas and other holidays. It can be challenging when you do not know how to make the photos better and that's what I want to help you with today. There are a few things that really help make your photos great and I should know after many years of having to whip out my camera for holiday cards.
Today's blog is for moments when you don't have a professional photographer following you around for family events and outings. Maybe it's outside your budget for a full family session or it's slipped your mind to schedule. Finding the time to schedule a session or any family outing can be difficult and everything doesn't always work out with everyone's schedules.
So I want to help you take your own family photos. It can be easy to do and is great for any time you want to have a portrait with your loved ones. My hope for you is that you can take these tips and capture real moments that are filled with emotion and connection.
1. Having the light source behind your subject
This is a very important mistake to avoid. Why? Because light is what makes photography. You need it to create an image. What happens when the light is behind your subject is a little technical but I will explain it simply. Your phone camera reads the light available and makes a judgment call on exposure. It will expose the brightest spot in the image. If that is behind your subject, the phone camera tries to correct the exposure. This will make your subject dark. If you want a silhouette, then this is perfect. If this isn't what you want, let me share how you can change this and get a decent photo.
If you are at the beach and you want the sunset in the photo, your phone will be exposed to the sun (your light source) making your subject dark or it can make your subject brighter and make your background brighter and you miss the pretty colors. There are two ways you can fix this. The first way is to add flash but this isn't my favorite for the quality of light, so the second way is to turn your subjects so the sun is not behind them but to the side of them out of the frame and the exposure will be so much better.
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2. Leaning away from the camera
I need to remind family and clients about this a lot. Most people when they stand together for a photo will lean back thinking they are standing straight and then they bring their chins down creating the illusion that they are bigger than they are. It also can create the dreaded double chin.
What I tell family, friends, and clients is to lean their forehead toward the camera. This simple task makes faces the focal point and the body look slimmer and remove the double chin.
3. Unflattering camera angle
For our family Christmas card last year, we were recreating a photo from 'Christmas Vacation'. We decided to take the photos on our phones. We didn't have a tripod and it made the angles challenging. We tried leaning the phone on something but the angle would be weird making things in the photo look bigger than they are and we had an up angle to our faces which will show what's up your nose.
When it comes to angles, the closest thing to the camera will look bigger so if that's your foot or hand, it will look bigger than your face. The rule when photographing people for the correct angle is to put the lens on the same level as your eyeline or slightly above. As mentioned above you want to lean forward so your faces are the focal point, turn your feet to your side, and have your angle above the eyeline. This will help the image have the correct proportions.
How did you like these mistakes to avoid for your family photos? Let me know in the comments which one you tried and which ones made a difference in your photographs.
If you do not want the stress of having to think about these mistakes to avoid, schedule a phone consultation and I'll walk you through how I can take that off your plate!
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