Fall Family Photo Shoot


Last weekend I had the chance to photograph a friend's extended family. Admittedly, I was a bit nervous, as I knew I only had 15 minutes to produce some decent shots. Regardless, it was good practice to photograph a group under pressure while paying attention to background, lighting, and the smiles on little boy faces.

To prepare for the photo shoot, I scoped out a park in our city (see picture above). The park was showcasing rich autumn colors. I desired to capture the warm hues of the trees at this time of year. For two days, back-to-back, I took my family to the park and practiced camera settings. I made sure I was shooting the pictures around the same time as the scheduled family portraits. I discovered my "go-to" setting of Standard/Shade under the Portrait setting (EOS Rebel T5) produced dark pictures with muted brown tones. I changed the settings to Warm/Daylight and the pictures took on more vibrant colors. I was pleased with the result.

Photo shoot day came. Thankfully, the lighting was the same. However, the wind created cooler temperatures and flying hair. Also, my background of choice was taken by another family's picnic, thus I had to quickly find an alternative shady spot. When the family arrived, I rapidly arranged family members for the various compositions. Instinct kicked in and I allowed myself to "just go with it". I tried my best to pick out flaws before the camera was clicked. A piece of paper on the ground. A phone attached to a belt. Flying ties and closed eyes. And I used the continuous shooting setting to get as many pictures as possible. All the while, I prayed the auto focus would work (I still don't trust myself enough to use manual focus).

In the end, the pictures were satisfactory. I found at least one "best-of" in each composition. I still found flaws in my skill at arranging people and poses. At times, people were stiffer than usual. Or the auto-focus wasn't as crisp as I wanted. And there was the case of the awkward tree that I originally thought would look good in the background. Thankfully, a decent crop job minimized the awkwardness.

In the end, I conclude I have much to learn about photography. But, practice makes perfect (or close to perfect). Thankfully, photographers are a dime a dozen, so my slightly better than average skill should be okay.

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