Skip to main content

Take your own Family Portraits

Around the time that I had my fourth child, I decided that I was not happy with the way that professional photographers took family pictures.  Now, I know there are some very talented photographers out there, but I got sick of them trying to fit all of our family into the picture (Mr. Right is very tall, I am short, and the kids are everywhere in between) and get the kids to smile.  We'd always end up with unhappy looks on some one's faces or we would have an odd set up.  I'm sorry, I am a whole foot shorter than Mr. Right, so it doesn't look right to have me at the same level as him!

So, I started taking pictures of my kids myself.  Of course, I've had my fair share of disasters, but not anymore than the professional have.  Plus, I can wait until they are all in a good mood!

Of course, after my newest niece was born, I couldn't resist trying to get some good portraits of her, so I shot away.  This is my favorite:
What do you think?  It thing it's so adorable, but of course I could be a little partial!  Here are few of my tips for taking your own good family portraits:

  1. Make your whole family pose for a family photo (including yourself - use the self-timer) EVERYWHERE you go!  I have two reasons for this: 1) They get used to always posing for the group shot, so it's no big deal. 2) You have a ton of photos to choose from to use as that one great portrait.
  2. When you see a beautiful sight, grab one of your family members to just do shots of them.  They feel special, and again, you will often get just that right photo.
  3. Take lots of shots!  Close up, far away, from the side, even from behind (I love shots of the kids walking away hand-in-hand!)  I took at least 20 bad shots of the above to get that one good one.
  4. Study pictures that are taken by others and decide what you like about them.  Then emulate it.  I found the shot above on Pinterest by doing a search for baby photos.  
  5. Have fun with it!  Last summer, I took tons of pictures of everyone in the family, even Grandma, in those goofy signs that you put your face through at zoos and fairs, etc.  Everyone giggled every time they found one somewhere, because they knew it was coming... the big photo shoot!

Goofy signs - OK so these aren't the portraits for blowing up on your wall, but it was fun for the kids and I was able to easily make them stand next to a pretty flower since they endured could do this humiliation fun time!
Although, I am not a professional, I do get a ton of compliments on my photos.  I hope some of these tips can help you down the path and challenge of saving money, by taking your own family portraits.   Be sure to check out those blogs on the right column that I love to link up to.  What other tips do you have?

Labels:

Comments

  1. EtcetorizeJuly 11, 2012 at 2:29 PM

    Great tips! Practice makes perfect. Thanks so much for sharing at Etcetorize this week!

    ReplyDelete
  2. TaraJuly 11, 2012 at 7:05 PM

    Very Cute picture. Love the little toes holding the rings. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. LVJuly 12, 2012 at 8:10 AM

    I loved the idea you had far this cute shot. You are doing great and it is a lot cheaper.

    ReplyDelete
  4. StitchesJuly 12, 2012 at 8:58 AM

    I think it's a great picture. Love those little toe buds with mommy and daddy's rings. very nice!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. AshleyJuly 12, 2012 at 9:45 AM

    Thanks for posting these tips!

    ReplyDelete
  6. KathyJuly 18, 2012 at 8:39 AM

    Fantastic tips! My daughter is our faithful family photographer - she does such a lovely job! I love that photo! Can't wait for grandbabies! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks so much for your comments! I love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

DIY Pig Feeder

  This is our second year of raising pigs for the fair.  We've had some bumps along the way, one of them was our homemade feeder of last year.  I tend to have ideas, and then Mr. Right gets the pleasure of trying to execute my ideas.  Most of the time it works out, but last year, our feeder was a fail.   This year, we need a feeder that can go a long period of time, since our pigs are not on our property where we live.  Our neighbor made a complaint about the smell of the pigs last year to our landlord, so the landlord told us no more pigs. (Keep in mind, there are only 2 pigs on 6 acres and they are only here for 5 months and then go to the 4-H fair and livestock auction) Thankfully, another neighbor graciously allowed us to pen up a corner of her horse pen, to put our pigs in.    This year, I wanted to be sure that Mr. Right did a quality version of the pig feeder that would make it through the entire five months, and hopefully into the next few years!  We agreed on
Post a Comment
Read more

Burlap and Ticking

I found a queen size bed ruffle with  a ticking ruffle on it.  Immediately, I picked it up (for only $1!) at our local thrift store.  I knew that I would combine it with my find of burlap bags.  ( I picked up 200 of them for only $10!  Yes, that's right, they were only $.05 each! I overindulged in them, and could take no less than 200 because of the price.)  One of the problems with my new bags is that they are a little smaller than the printed ones that I have.  I personally like really long table runners because I have a really big table, but I decided to get over my own feelings and make this runner as long as I could (the ruffle really helped, too).  So here is the runner.  I think the ticking and the burlap really look great together.  I know how to make ruffles and have ticking, but for $1 I thought that this really was worth using from a different source! You could have it in the middle of a big table like above, or you could have the ruffle hang down the edge of the
16 comments
Read more

Drop Cloth Couch Re-do

It's my 100th Post!  What a great big reveal I have in store for you today! Three years ago, I found  Miss Mustard Seeds' 6 part How to Make Slipcovers Series  and started with watching the first video.  I ran out to Home Depot and purchased two drop clothes, washed and bleached them to get ready for making the slipcovers for my two couches, and there they sat folded nicely in my craft room!  A year ago, we moved across the country, so I packed those drop clothes up in a box, clearly marked them and put them on the truck.  When we arrived, I put them in front of all my other boxes to do first.  We even moved again over Christmas, and I moved that box again!  Then, I did a pillow re-do,  HERE  that pushed me over the edge.  I just had to tackle those slip covers! Before of the couch and the pillows that began the entire thing!  I  had a Saturday, where the guys were doing guy things and it was me and the girls home, so I watched all 6 videos!  Yes, I did, from start to
14 comments
Read more