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Photography: Perfect Family Pictures

You’ve finally got everybody together for a family photography session. The kids have been wrestled into clean dress clothes, and your feuding in-laws have called a truce for the afternoon. Everything is set. Deciding against using a professional photographer, you came to the conclusion that you can do just as well with your own camera. How hard could it be, right? Before you start snapping those photos, you will want to take a look of some of our tips to make sure your photographs turn out just as attractive and creative as those expensive professional shots.

Photography Tips for Family Shots

During this family photography gathering, you should not only pay attention to the people being photographed, but the background as well. A bad or boring background can ruin an otherwise perfect picture. It is a good idea to not have things perfectly balanced. For example, it would be a bad idea to have a tree in the left side of the picture with a similar one on the right. When things are too equal, it makes for a dull picture. Likewise, if you position a single object in the background, it should not be set dead center. This little trick will keep your background from being lifeless and uninteresting.

Positioning people follows a similar rule. When posing your family for a group shot, everybody should not be in the same pose or on the same level. Keep some standing, some sitting on a stool or other high surface, and others kneeling. Not everyone must sit straight ahead, facing the camera. Play around with the poses until you have everyone a little different, while making sure everybody’s face is visible. This variation will keep your family photograph from resembling static school photographs where everyone is made to look the same. With these helpful hints, your family photographs are sure to shine.

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