Ten Steps To The Family Christmas Photo

Every year I take our family photo and, like many of you, send it out as a Christmas card. Here’s what works for our family photo; try it with yours.

First, we do it outside. Everyone is more relaxed out there than in a studio environment. It’s an informal, casual setting; comfortable clothing looks excellent and comfortable clothes make for comfortable subjects. It is easier to make good family portraits with a relaxed family. 

Maybe one year, we can have on our pajamas for a great photo! But, of course, that’s probably not a good idea.

Second, it is easier outside. There is plenty of light, and we can control it by where we place the family. We can use open shade or backlighting or do it on a slightly overcast day for soft light.

Third I look for a good background. I love our backyard with all the trees. While looking for an excellent place to do the portrait, I take a few test shots to make sure what I see is what I’ll get.

Fourth I use a tripod and a radio remote control to fire the camera. This way, I can be in the photo and make the shot when we’re ready, not when the timer fires the camera. The remote also allows me to take several pictures without returning to the camera to reset the timer.

Fifth, with three children plus my wife and I all in the photo and me not behind the camera watching for expressions, it’s a real challenge to develop good expressions for everyone simultaneously. Usually, the problem is with only one person, and it is usually me.

Just FYI: Back in the good ol’ days of film, Kodak did some research and found that each person added to a photo required seven times more shots to get a great expression of everyone at once.

No Flash

Meanwhile, back to the present day and the digital image… So everyone, except me, of course, has a good expression in one of the photos. It would be great if I could remove my head in that shot and replace it with the one image where I have a decent expression. (Now is when we fall in love with our tripod.) With the camera on a tripod and with software like PhotoShop, you CAN take my head, or yours, from one photo and put it into another. The latest version of PhotoShop has a menu item that makes this so much easier. If you don’t move your camera during the photos and everyone stays pretty still, you can combine the best expressions of each person into one image.

Sixth I compose the photo, figure out where I need to be, and take a couple of test shots of my family minus one. Finally, if the light looks good on everyone, I join the group and fire away.

Catchlight

Seventh, If your family looks lifeless, hopefully, it is only because of a lack of catchlights in their eye. A catchlight is a photographic term to describe light reflected in the subject’s eyes. The lack of a catchlight, even in an animal’s picture, can make the issue seem comatose.You can use a white sheet to bounce light into the subject’s eyes or use a flash. This year I used a flash.

If the subject is backlit, your flash or sheet becomes more than just a way to create a catchlight—it becomes the leading light.

When using flash, balance it to the available light. Start with a medium f/stop, like f/8, to ensure the group is all in focus. (We’re talking about depth-of-field or how much is in focus in front of and behind the point on which the lens is focused. But that’s another whole newsletter.) Make some test shots at different f/stops and see what you like the best.

Once the light looks good on the family, we can explore ways to control how the flash balances with the outdoor light. You can adjust the ISO from 100 to 400 or more with everything in program mode. The higher the ISO, the lighter the background will be provided the f/stop remains the same. Likewise, the lower the ISO, the darker the background provided the f/stop remains the same.It is easier to do darker backgrounds later in the day or early evening; for lighter backgrounds, do the session earlier in the day.

Eighth, Have everyone dress in the same or compatible colors. Earth tones like browns, greens, and tans work well outdoors. Just be sure one is dressed so differently that they look like the lead singer with a backup group on a Motown group CD cover.

We like to goof around for some of our photos.

Ninth, If you want a lot of fun, let everyone change outfits for different looks. If your family is like ours, we take goofy ones too.

Tenth, Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday.