Family Portraits: How to Take Portraits Outdoors
Why should you take family portraits outdoors? Besides the potential for beautiful or fun backgrounds, photographing outside provides the opportunity to use natural lighting. If you are a professional photographer or serious enthusiast then you know that the external flash, studio lights and reflectors work to mimic the beauty of natural light.
If you are new to photography and have a digital compact and built in flash, then taking your family portraits outdoors is the best way to get professional quality portraits that you’ll want to proudly display in a picture frame in your home.
The Best Natural Lighting for Taking Family Portraits Outdoors
Not all outdoors lighting is ideal. The worst time of day to take family portraits outdoors is mid-day. The best times of day to take outdoor photographs is the hour before sunset and after dawn when the shadows are least harsh and the light is the softest. The closer to these times you can gather the family for their portrait, the better.
Another good option is to wait for a cloudy day when there is bright overcast light. This provides enough bright light and is the kind of softness professional photographers spend money on soft boxes to get. If the timing doesn’t work for any of these time frames, find shade that isn’t too dark.
Settings for Outdoor Portraits
The obvious choice and perhaps the best choice is the family’s backyard. Or you could take a cue from high school senior photography and take your outdoors family portrait at a place the family enjoys such as a park. If you go away from home, look for times of the day that the location you choose is the least crowded.
You should also consider using a family activity or a hobby as a potential setting. If the family loves horses, a green pasture with horses in the background and the family posed in front could work well. If the family sails, consider the boat’s deck.
Speaking of boats, a word of caution. If you decide to take outdoor family portraits on a beach, on water or in the snow, select the beach mode on a digital compact or if you use a DSLR or SLR, use a polarizing filter. This will help with the glare. Set the flash to “on” instead of “automatic” to help minimize shadows on the family. Don’t face the family towards the sun or they’ll be squinting.
As with any photo, be sure to remove or hide clutter. Do you want to use the natural lighting of outdoors but want a plain background? Take a piece of material and tack it to something like a fence. Check the lawn for sprinklers and behind the family for things that might be distracting, like a lamp post.
If you want to diminish the overall background, use the Portrait mode or set your Aperture Priority for a smaller depth of field.
On the other hand, you may want to have outdoor features as part of the picture by posing the family in front of a beautiful tree. Just be sure to compose the shot with the focus on the family. And, whatever background you choose, select a picture frame that complements your portrait. For example, if you setting is at the Museum of Modern Art, you probably want to go with a more modern metal picture frame than an old fashioned antique looking frame.
Whether you are taking family portraits outdoors for others or your own family, use these portrait tips and you’ll be sure to take a portrait that will be proudly displayed in a wood picture frame on the family wall.
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Filed under Amateur Photographer, Photography by JamesJ
