5 Tips for taking great family photos!

Do you have a problem with people squinting in your photos or looking washed out? We know this happens because we have them facing the sun so their faces aren't dark. But there's other ways to get a great photo with out having to have your subjects looking into the sun.

One easy way to do this is to take your picture during the Golden Hour (the time around sunrise/sunset). DigitalPhotographySchool.com (http://www.digital-photography-school.com/the-golden-hour-perfect-times-for-portraits) and many professional photographs suggest this tip. The light is softer and that can alter the appearance of a persons face. Think of your lights in the bathroom at home or the restroom at work. Hard lighting isn't pleasing to a persons complexion so taking portraits in the softer light at dawn and dusk is ideal! Plus, the odds are the sun isn't shining directly in their eyes.

If this isn't possible another option is to move your subjects into the shade and turn on your cameras flash and fill flash. Yes, you can use the flash outside in the middle of the day. The flash isn't just for indoors or candle light situations, almost any low light situation will do. Many photographers are moving up from point and shoots1 and purchasing DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) cameras. This opens a whole new set of options. You can bring in your tripod and adjust your camera's Aperture Priority mode to ensure you get enough light. Double check the shutter speed to make sure that it won't be too slow and your subjects are blurry.

Do you have a lot of photos where it's so dark you can barely tell what's going on? Many people don't understand the limitations of a point and shoot camera's flash, or a DLSR flash for that matter. I sure didn't! I had so many photos that were so dark and no matter what I did in Photoshop I couldn't get them to look good. The trick is to understanding your camera's flash and knowing it's limitations.

Point and shoot camera flashes are very small and don't put out a lot of power. They also have a small range and can only reach up to 10' to 12' feet away. So if your at a wedding or a birthday party and your subject isn't that close to you the photo will either turn out dark or the flash will hit the wrong subject. You have to really get up close and personal with your subjects to make sure the flash works correctly. In the first photo, I knew better but I tried sitting in the shade and using my flash to take the before photo. In the after photo I moved to the edge of the shade so my flash was able to reach my subject. The majority of the change was moving from the back of the patio in the deepest shade to moving to the edge of the patio at the edge of the shade. You gotta do what you gotta do to get a great shot.

Another problem is not using the fill flash. Say you have a subject sitting near a bright window or door way, your camera may think there is enough light to take a good picture but your subject will show up too dark. Make sure to use both the auto flash and the fill flash to avoid this problem.

If the problem with your photos is the subject is too far away to see well then simply move in closer. Yes, if you can, physically move closer to your subject. Don't always let your camera's zoom do the work for you even when you have a high optical zoom. For portraits of individuals and couples get close, between 5' and 10' feet from the subject and really fill in your frame. Be careful not to cut off anyone's head, ears or limbs. In your viewfinder zoom in on your subject so you the bottom of the photo is crossing around the middle of the torso. Makes sure you leave a little room all around the other sides of your subject so no one looses body parts (aka the infamous missing hand or feet). Once you've got your subject framed the way you want start snapping your photos.

If you physically can't get closer to your subject then make sure you use your camera's Optical Zoom to get as close as you can. Try never to use your camera's digital zoom as that is just the software inside the camera and that won't give you the best photos.

If your photos have objects 'growing' out of your families heads I've got a simple and easy fix but it does take a little extra time and energy but it really helps. My tip here is take your time and try to set up the scene. Walk around and look at the area like your looking at a photo. Yes, there is a time and a place for snapping away like a paparazzi but when you want to get quality snapshots or portraits of your friends and family take the extra minutes to scope out and set up your scene.

The first thing I usually do when I want to take a quick portrait of a family member is look for a cool place for them to stand or sit. I look for a place with a simple background with as few trees and power poles as possible. I envision where they will be, if they sit or stand, and I look around to make sure there's nothing that could "grow" out of them. Once I have a place where I want to take the picture I get the family member, place them and snap away.

Well that's what I usually do. This past Easter I was trying to hurry and I didn't scope out my scene and made a grievous mistake and let a pole grow out of my cousin's head. When I checked my screen and the resulting shot I knew immediately that I had to try to move the girls. Our family is pretty big and with that many people it's sometimes hard to find the ideal spot but I did find one that worked better than the first. As you can see in the after photo there are bushes and a tree behind the girls but nothing is growing out of anyone's head.

If your using the Auto feature on your camera your photos might be coming out OK but it's time to get to know your camera better. Most point & shoot cameras have a variety of specialty settings from portrait to sport and sometimes even night or macro. Learn which settings your camera has and make sure you're using the best settings possible. Start practicing with the different settings to get a feel for them.

When your taking pictures of the kids playing (or pets) try using your Sport/Motion setting (usually a icon of little man running). When they're playing make believe and dress up try using the portrait setting (usually an icon of a person's head/face) and getting in close. Pretend to be the paparazzi and take fun photos at different angles and use silly poses. Set up different scenarios like these to practice using these settings to make your photos look awesome!