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Hello!
I’m taking our family photos in 2 weeks, and we’re planning to do it in the golden hour (of course 😀 ) I can’t honestly say that I’ve taken a ton of pictures in the golden hour. (I counted 24 😀 ) For family photos especially, I like the ‘flooded light’ effect in the golden hour (I included some examples below.) The problem is I don’t know how I got that effect! : Any thoughts?
Also, if you have any tips for taking family photos, send them along please! I don’t have much experience in that area either, although it is my absolute favorite photography category! 😀
Thanks in advance 😀
Specs for photo #1:
Iso – 100
Aperture – 7.1
Shutter Speed – 1/1250Specs for photo #2:
Iso – 100
Aperture – 5.6
Shutter Speed – 1/100Attachments:
Also, if you can think of anything you or another photographer has used in the past to get little kids to focus, smile, (especially to smile) and look at the camera, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT!! 😀 😀 😀 For example, one time our photographer asked my little brother if he could see any ducks or chickens in her camera lens. 😀 That was an adorable photo. He looked curious and amused – YES!!!
I like the ‘flooded light’ effect in the golden hour (I included some examples below.) The problem is I don’t know how I got that effect!
I believe the way you can get that effect is when you use a wide aperture.
A few other thoughts…
1) Be careful that the effect doesn’t take away from the subjects in the photo. Effects should enhance, not detract!
2) Practice, practice, practice! You said you don’t have much experience shooting in golden hour, and using this effect… the last thing you want is to be still figuring out how to take great pictures in that situation with a bunch of people waiting for you to take their picture!! If you have a sibling or a friend that’s willing to do some “practice sessions” with you ahead of time, so you can get more accustomed to the lighting and how to work with it, that would be ideal!
3) Tips for taking family photos?
– Take your time. Don’t rush simply because of the pressure you may feel: take time to set everyone up, and make sure that you’re getting pictures that are pleasing.
– If you have your camera set on “continuous shooting”, that would be good so you can take a series of photos for each shot – hopefully you’ll have more chances that someone’s not blinking, yawning, looking away, etc.
– This may seem obvious, but make sure that you have everyone’s attention, and they know when you’re actually taking the picture. 🙂
– If your family is anything like my family… some people (like brothers?!? 😀 ) tend to think a great time to goof off is when I’m trying to take their pictures… so I usually take “candids” first – let them get their jokes and funny faces out first (and you can get some really fun photos!!), and then after a few minutes of that, I tell them to smile nicely and I get the “nice” pictures.
4) How to get kids to focus and smile?
– Be patient 🙂
– Be creative! …Just like your brother did! Think of ways to grab their attention, say something funny – and catch their laugh as they’re looking at you.@bennett-family Thank you, Lydia! That all makes perfect sense – very helpful 😀 I just got a shutter remote, so I won’t have to do the self-timer thing. HALLELUJAH!! 😀 😀 I’m thinking I may even put it in my cowboy boot and press the button with my toe!! 😀 😀 I don’t know, we’ll see. 😀 But I’m really excited about it. I will take your advice, if I can. I kind of live in a forest, so practicing with golden hour photos is a bit tricky, but I will see what I can do.
I kind of live in a forest, so practicing with golden hour photos is a bit tricky, but I will see what I can do.
Yep, do the best you can!
this might help 30 Tips for Perfect Family Photos – eBook
Thank you @silas!
Hey, @kina! 🙂
I don’t have very much experience in this area, but I would highly recommend getting together a list of poses and groupings that you want to get done, so that you don’t come away from the shoot wishing you’d done this or that. Trying out the poses with willing family members before hand is helpful, too. When I did a photo-shoot with my grandparents, I did a Google search for posing ideas (not necessarily something I’d recommend!) prior to the shoot and printed out thumbnail photos of the poses on a sheet of paper, so that they could see it and copy it (and so that it triggered my forgetful memory reminding me what to do. Because if your like anything like me, under pressure I forget. lol!) That worked pretty well! Before the shoot, I got my helpful sisters to do the poses and I tried to explain to them what to do, so that means I was prepared and could hopefully well communicate what I wanted to do to my grandparents. I’m really glad that I tried out the poses with my sisters prior, as some of them were weird when you actually went to do them and looked so unnatural. 😀 So I’d definitely recommend giving the poses a go before you get there!
That ‘flooded light’ effect is cool! I think you do want to be very careful though using that effect for family photos, as you want to make sure that everyone’s faces are clear and not distorted by the light. I can’t really remember seeing a group shot with this effect used, but it probably looks really cool! I’m not saying not to use it 🙂 , but just to be careful. Make sure that it actually compliments the image and subjects and doesn’t take away from it.
I hope you have a great time and I’m sure you’ll get some lovely shots! Portraiture is so fun! 😀
BTW, well done with your website! It looks great and you have some really nice photos on there. 🙂
and printed out thumbnail photos of the poses on a sheet of paper, so that they could see it and copy it
Great idea, Caitlin! When I did our family photo shoot, I sketched out ideas, but I was never very good at drawing and it was a bit tedious. I like your idea better! :p
@creative-click-photography Great ideas Caitlin! 😀
I had actually already made a list of poses and tips! 😀 I’d also thought about putting together a collage of photos so I could have a visual of the poses I wanted (like you did) but that seems like it would take a lot of time… especially since there’s 8 of us and maybe my grandparents coming… I don’t think there’s many pictures online that have that exact number of people in them AND the poses I want…??? I don’t know, we’ll see. 😀 If I wasn’t in the Bible Bee, I’d probably not think twice about it, but now I need to reserve my precious time. 😀
I attached a random picture I found of family portraits with the flooded light effect. 😀 I most likely won’t do all of them that way, and I am practicing with the effect so that it doesn’t ‘drown out the people.’ 😀 But I think it’s really neat! 😀
Posing beforehand is a great idea! I’ll do as much as I can… We’ll see how much the older brothers like that. 😀 😀 😀 The littles might think it’s fun though. 😀
Thank you for your kind words about my website! That reminds me that I want to put it up for critique. 😀 I LOVE your photos as well. Have you heard of the Kings Blooming Rose Magazine? I used to shoot for it, and your photos really remind me of the assignments they sometimes gave me! 😀
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@kina, That’s great you’ve already got together a list of poses! Wow! I hope the Bible Bee goes well for you. We don’t have anything like that in Australia, but I’ve heard a lot of Americans mention it. 🙂
Yes! That effect does look cool in family portraits. For some reason I was imagining ‘the flooded light effect’ (is that the technical name for this? 😉 ) to be a bit different! But, I actually do love that effect, now I’ve seen the example. Enjoy the practise poses! 😉 It really is worth it. . .
Oh, thanks! Yep, We have a number of KBR magazines on the shelf. 🙂 When I saw your name come up on here I was like, Kina Lamb? Sounds familiar. Isn’t she a photographer from KBR? And when I looked it up – sure enough you were! I actually did consider volunteering to be a photographer for them at one point, but I guess I won’t be doing that now it’s finishing up.
All the best with your family photo shoot anyway!
@bennett-family, Yes! I’ve heard of people sketching out posing ideas before hand. It sounds great in theory, but when played out if, your a drawer like me. . . You’d rather stick to the printed photos. 😉
Really?! I didn’t think the Bible Bee was that well known! 😀 That’s great to hear! That’s also really neat that you live in Australia. 😀 You know, you can do the Bible Bee and qualify for Nationals even if you live in another country – one guy comes from Greece every year! Bible Bee has been such a blessing to me (not to mention the motivation I needed to memorize God’s Word! When I’m not doing the Bible Bee, I hardly memorize anything at all!)
Haha, yes. 😀 I made up the ‘flooded light effect’ name. 😀 It’s probably called something different. That’s just what it looked like to me. 😀 If you know the real term, please let me know. 😀
Yes, it was fun. 😀 Now that they’re publishing their last issue, I sometimes help out with the forum. If you still wanted to help KBR out by photography, maybe you could do that too!
Thank you! I’m getting really excited. 😀 Family photography is my FAVORITE! 😀
Here’s a awesome blog post James did a while back about golden hour portraiture!
The Secret To Amazing Golden Hour PortraitureAlso, if you are a Pro member, here’s a Lenspiration video that talks about what I think you are discussing 😀
Ever Heard of the “Glowy Effect”?You know, you can do the Bible Bee and qualify for Nationals even if you live in another country – one guy comes from Greece every year! Bible Bee has been such a blessing to me (not to mention the motivation I needed to memorize God’s Word! When I’m not doing the Bible Bee, I hardly memorize anything at all!)
Interesting! I can’t see myself coming to America anytime soon (sadly), but it sounds like a great way to get motivation for such an important thing. That guy from Greece has dedication! 🙂
If you know the real term, please let me know. 😀
Haha! Well, maybe the ‘golden hour effect’. Not sure of the technical name either. . . I think James calls it the ‘glowy effect’! 😉 Which, now that I think about it, is probably a pretty accurate name.
If you still wanted to help KBR out by photography, maybe you could do that too!
Thanks for the suggestion! 😀
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