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Question from Wendy: “I was hoping for a little help here please.. I have been taken pictures for a while now. I only have one session under my belt of a Multiple family. My big problem is with is the poses to have all the families together and making it fun for everyone…Any suggestions..just not all traditional.. (it will be one large family I want to say 12 it is like 2 brother’s that have a family and 1 sister and family and mom and dad… trying to figure out the best way to do the whole family in one and not look crazy with so many..and not sure about the poses..)”
Stephan: I would put mom and dad in middle and have everyone else around them. Outside would be better and from an elevated position. have them position and repositioon until it all clicks
Dena: Google image search: large family portraits
Sarah: Do at least 3 or 4 of the whole family together and then breakouts. Do mom dad and the kids, add in the grand kids, do the brothers families separately, do just mom and dad and just the brothers. The more variety the better!
Lindsay: Have them all stand in a row and walk towards you. Tell them to act like you aren’t there. Swing the kids, laugh it up, etc.
Rebecca: l having them in a row won’t work too well, as you’d have to shoot from really far away to get them all in, and they’d be hard to see then. what i’ve done is to group them on a large set of stairs. makes rows of family either one row per stair, or rows going down the stairs. kwim?
Tony: Try getting above them, eg on a balcony and get them to look up at you. Keep them fairly close together, make sure you can see all the faces, and don’t worry about posing. Then make them shift about a bit, and you will start getting great shots!
Morgan: I’ve included two links to my two big weddings. I just looked through 1,000,000,000,000 pictures to get ideas and figure out some good posing techniques
Colleen: money shots first (i.e. traditional) then play time….Ring around the Roseys with kids, walking towards or away from camera. Do the family bits and for the big group….find a bench…main family (i.e. mom/dad or grandparents) sit down, tall behind standing, short in front sitting, babies on main family’s lap. Tip triangles for interest. Also, for sitting poses, go all the way down and shoot low…but have family look at each other, not you (to avoid downward eyes). Hope this helps!
Christina: I photographed a large family and it was not easy! We were at a beach here in Hawaii and I had all the grandchildren roll up their jeans, sit down on the rock ledge, and smile. We did some candid as well. Also I had all 13 grandchildren stand with their backs to me for one pose and then look over their shoulder at the camera. It was cute and fun!
Tami: Pinterest! I take snapshots of the computer before my sessions of the poses I want to do. It comes in handy to flip back through your camera during the session.
Haley: Group them by families with the mom and dad (grandparents) in the middle. Space the groups put by having the men sit in chairs, wife on the ground and children around ect.
Wendy: Thanks everyone from giving me great advise I will try every thing.
Kat: You’ll do great!
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