How I photograph a family and dogs

by Stanley LearyPhotography
Getting all the expressions in one photo can be a challenge. Nikon D3S, Nikkor 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/60, Alienbees 1600 at 1/32 power triggered by CyberSync radio remote.
The sun is lighting all the scene well, but the Alienbees 1600 firing at 1/32 power is giving just a kick for fill-flash helping with a catch light in everyone’s eyes. another benefit of the flash is it helps with the color temperature and giving good skin tones.

Don’t attempt this alone as I did, unless the person you are photographing can really trust you. I was lucky, I was able to photograph my good friend Yaniv with his bride to be Shannon and her son Aidan.

I worked at getting everyone in place creating some nice triangles for composition. I prefer not to have everyone’s head in a straight line. 

Yaniv, Shannon and Aidan had great smiles and needed very little help giving great expressions. It was like working with professional models.

The hardest part of the entire photo shoot is getting the dogs to have great expressions to compliment them. 

I am holding the camera making squeaking noises, whistling and doing all I can to get the dogs to perk their ears up and look attentive.  Honestly, unless these are dogs trained to work for modeling and TV you are not going to have lots of moments.

What I recommend is a team for these photos.

  • Animal person – someone off camera who’s sole responsibility is to get the animals to look their best.
  • Wrangler for the small children – you need someone other than the mother holding a baby getting the attention of the child. Usually this person is playing with kids before the shooting begins. They are building a relationship and finding what will work for them in the photo.
  • Photographer or one more person – to get the expressions of the adults. 
  • Stylist – can be great to have help. They are paying attention to wardrobe malfunctions, hair and makeup. 
  • Photo Assistant – this person is being sure the flashes are firing, moving them and help changing the power on the flashes to help the photographer.

 The key is planning and everyone understanding their rolls. Shoot lots of photos and then you will have trouble picking one image when everyone does their best.