12

THEAPPRENTICE

TOP TEN TIPS FOR

FAMILY PORTRAITS

1

Travel light

I don’t like to be bogged down by huge amounts of kit

so I keep things simple. I shoot mainly with a single

Canon 5D Mark III body, a 50mm portrait lens and,

occasionally, a reflector, but that’s about it!

2

Build relations

Take the time to get to know your client and what

makes each family individual, then try to capture

those characteristics throughout the day.

3

Fake it until you make it

Even if you’re not confident you’ll need to act

confidently when you’re on a shoot, otherwise your

clients won’t be fully at ease and you likely won’t get

the best out of them if you look unsure.

4

Keep an eye on the position of the sun

Bright sunlight will give you faster shutter speeds,

but also harsher shadows. It’s best to guide the

family towards a shady spot for more gentle and

even lighting. It will also stop them squinting!

5

Open up

If you’re using a lens like a 50mm f/1.8 don’t be

afraid to open the aperture up all the way. This will

suck more light in giving you faster shutter speeds

and makes it easier to blur the background too.

6

Don’t force smiles

I always try my best to capture the kids and families

looking as natural as possible, so don’t try to force

any smiles, just let the kids be themselves and shoot

any magical moments that come up along the way.

7

Use the environment you’re in

Every location will be different and you can

incorporate parts of your locations into the pictures

to make them more unique. For example using

reflections in water or posing your model in a field.

8

Shoot from afar

Short telephoto lenses with a focal length of around

70-200mm will give you a much more zoomed-in

look. This lets you get frame filling shots from further

away and makes it possible to get candid reportage

style shots that are on trend right now.

9

Keep the conversation flowing

Having a running dialog with the parents and their

children will help them feel more relaxed. It will also

make it easier to gently guide them in the location or

help pose them for the picture.

10

Use cloud cover

Having large clouds in the sky is no bad thing when

it comes to portrait photography. The cloud acts as a

massive diffuser, softening harsh sunlight and giving

your portraits much more photogenic lighting.

Lens Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

Exposure 1/1000 sec, f/2.2, ISO

HOT

SHOT

TOP GEAR #

50mm f/1.2L USM

THE top flight 50mm f/1.2L

USM belongs to Canon’s

esteemed L-series range. It’s

Catherine’s lens of choice,

being her workhorse on shoots

as it delivers fantastic image

quality, a rapid autofocus which

is useful when the little ones are

on the move, and a wide

maximum aperture of f/1.2 that

makes it possible to shoot at

faster shutter speeds and also

blur backgrounds more easily.