Back for another week to finish up my feature on the Kearley family's fall family photoshoot. In this blog, I continue to give insight into how the photographs from the shoot came to be.
Part 2
I love this picture of father and son as they embrace. They were so natural and I loved getting to capture their relationship in these photographs. Having them hug brought out genuine emotion in each of them.
Mother and daughter together in the autumn landscape. Here, I had them sit in the leaves and I piled some more in front of my camera. I laid in the leaves myself so that I could fully capture the scenery as well as these ladies. I love how they embrace each other, lean into each other, and their heads touch. When people are too far apart, it feels awkward and forced so having people, if they are comfortable, touch together brings the photo together nicely.
Getting the kids together with each parent individually is important and so is having all the kids with each parent. This image came out just how I was hoping. The scene is perfect and the emotions on everyone’s faces are as well. The girls were positioned just as they were in the previously featured photograph and I just had Justin jump in behind them. The symmetry is very pleasing to the eye because of the positioning.
Another family group shot as I had the ladies and gentlemen stager. Again, everyone being close together and touching in some way brings the photograph together. The two in the back are lightly putting their outside hand on the two in the front; then, the two in the front hold hands bringing everyone together. Here, I shot straight on so that their eyes were level with the viewer’s.
What would a fall 2020 photoshoot be without a mask?! Justin wanted to incorporate his new accomplishment of being accepted into Elon’s College of Public Health for graduate school… as he should! I loved how the colors all coordinated and we introduced the new normal of this year in a fun and celebratory way.
So much of a photoshoot, as I have mentioned, is about the environment that you are in. I wanted to make sure that the natural scene that we were shooting in was present in this image. When sitting down, it is important to not look too stiff. It also depends on the type of shoot; however, this is a relaxed family shoot. Therefore, I want her to feel comfortable yet confident. Having them lean slightly forward onto their knee brings the photo together and gives them a relaxing feel.
Individual portraits can be uncomfortable for people if they do not take pictures often or if they are self conscious about getting their picture taken. The important thing to remember is to make them laugh or get them into a natural pose where they look comfortable. This will bring out a sense of their personality as well as a genuine emotion. Here, again, I have him leaning forward, bringing the image together and making him comfortable. His individual portraits were lots of fun and I even got some funny shots of him doing some fun things.
I love this image just because of the pure happiness and positivity that radiates from this woman. Her beauty from the inside and out was so prominent throughout this shoot. It was very important to me to capture this smile; fortunately for me, she was a natural and this emotion came without me having to say a word. An important aspect of this photograph is the hand placement. While you wouldn’t think that what your hands are doing is all that important, it can make or break a picture. Many times, as a photographer, you have to guide your subject in where to place their hands because this is one of the things people feel the most awkward about when getting their picture taken. Here, just having her put one hand over the other to the side was perfect and looks natural.
One more sibling photograph that I will feature is this gem. I love all the visual aspects of this picture. It was important for the setting to be featured but not the main focus; so, I made sure to be at the lowest F stop I could go on my lens, which was a 4. Then, I had her turn her whole body to the side and him face me, this way she would be leaning against him. The heads touching brings the photo together nicely and since this meeting point is right on the line for rule of thirds, it is very visually pleasing. This also is a great pose for siblings.
These are just some of my favorite photographs from this family shoot. What wonderful people to be with for an hour and a half. I love getting to see families interact and be in their element with each other.
My hope is that this family can enjoy these photos for years and years to come. They can look back on this time in their life and not only remember what was happening to them as individuals and as a family during this moment, but also remember the experience of going and taking these pictures.
Capture your memories and these special moments with you and yours! A family photoshoot is a perfect way to do this.