Hi, I’m Jessica! I found my calling with photography in 2007 and have been a full-time photographer since 2012. I specialize in weddings and family portraiture. I would describe my style as natural and timeless. The photos I create for my clients I want to be relevant many years from now when their great-great grandchildren are looking at them! It’s important for me to capture each session as it unfolds, making it unique to that family.
Today, I’m describing how you can capture an entire family session with just one prime lens and still get a variety of looks. In this case I’m talking about the Canon 85mm f/1.8 lens on the Canon 6D body. You don’t need ALL THE GEAR to create great images for your clients! You just need to know the gear that you HAVE, and how to use it to it’s fullest potential!
Let’s start with what might seem like the unlikely shot with an 85mm lens. The wide group shot! Now, I could have reached into my bag and grabbed my 50mm or 35mm lens for shots like this, but I was at the beach for one, and really didn’t want to subject my sensor to sand and wind, and I love the image quality of the 85, so I knew going into this session that I was going to stick with it!
When you want a wider shot with a longer lens, position your subject where you want them and move your feet! Of course, if you have a really large group, you’re either going to have to stand REALLY far back or opt for a wider lens, but for a family of four this was not a problem!
I can’t tell you exactly how far away I was standing from them (I’m horrible at that sort of thing) but I stood back far enough to give more of a sense of time and place, and make more of an environmental portrait rather than something really tight with a super blurred background.
The left image was shot at f/3.5, 1/320 sec, ISO 125. The right image was shot at f/4, 1/640 sec to freeze motion, and ISO 125. I strategically waited until the family walked into that patch of light to get the right exposure.
My settings for this image were: f/4.5, 1/400 sec, ISO 320. I chose this shot to illustrate a bit of a tighter group shot with the same lens. Completely different look and feel, same lens. I shot it horizontal to give the family variety in their gallery and also because there was a lot of bright water and sky behind them that we really didn’t need in this photo. You get a sense of where they are and the time of day without needing a whole lot of scenery involved in the image.
Close-ups? But of course! The 85mm lens is outstanding at headshots and close-ups! I love the smooth, creamy bokeh it produces! I had the sun at my subject’s back, but I placed him in an area of open shade and metered for his skin. Because I shot from above with a mostly shaded area behind him, I didn’t lose my background, but got some very pretty bokeh from the dappled light behind him! Settings: f/4.5, 1/250 sec, ISO 320.
Both of these photos were shot in the exact same spot using the exact same exposure settings, I just switched out Mom and Dad! It’s such a quick and simple way to give a family a full variety of shots without taking a lot of time! When you’re working with children of any age, you don’t get their attention for long.
I always try to make the most of each set up I choose, shooting from different angles, switching from portrait to landscape, or just moving people around a little bit. Even with one lens, you can see the same scene in different ways! My settings for these images were: f/4, 1/200 sec, ISO 125.
I just love capturing Moms and Dads being a couple at family sessions! Sometimes we, myself included, forget this really important part of doing these sessions. These two were a couple before they were a family and they probably haven’t had professional photos of the two of them together since..well..forever!
By giving them a few simple (and kind of silly) directions and changing my angle/distance a little bit I was able to give them a really great series of images of the two of them together. My settings were: f/4.5, 1/320 sec, ISO 320.
Lastly, I just wanted to show a couple of the last shots of the session. The sun was getting much lower and we had made our way to the spot where I captured the portraits of Mom and Dad, which were surprisingly enough, just “behind” me as I faced the lifeguard station where I shot the portrait of the two boys.
Basically the same spot, same lens, whole different look and feel just by turning around! The boys had started playing in the sand as I made portraits of their parents. I simply turned around and got some candid moments of them playing and then asked them to sit quickly for one more portrait, as I couldn’t pass up that beautiful golden light! Settings Top: f/4.5, 1/500 sec, ISO 320. Bottom: f/4.5, 1/800 sec, ISO 320.
One location, one lens, many different looks! Get out there and wow them with whatever you have!
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