My friend asked me to take portraits of her kids.....help!

[kerry0621]

One of my best friends asked me to take some portraits of her girls (4 & 6) to use for Christmas cards. I am definitely an amateur, but she likes the shots I take of my kids. I feel pretty confident taking my kids, but a little intimidated taking shots of her kids.

She wants to do some shots outdoors. I am thinking I should try to do them around sunset. I have tried taking shots of my kids in the shade on sunny days, but I never seem to get the eye pop that I want. Any tips on that?

First off, what lens should I use? Here is what I have: Canon 50mm 1.8, Tamron AF 28-75mm f/2.8, and a Sigma 18-200 f/3.5-6.3 DC OS. Should I buy something else?;)

What else do I need? I don't have any reflectors or anything like that. I'm sure I could get a small reflector easily, but I am not sure how I will use it since I will probably be shooting them alone.

Are there any good sites to look at for poses?

I usually shoot in AV mode. I am thinking that is what I will do for this too. Any reason not to?

Thanks for any help or any links you can give me!

[kerry0621]

Does anyone have any suggestions for me?;):p

[MCB]

I like natural light, and like the separation between subject/background that you get with something like the 50 1.8. I've had good luck with that lens for portraits in general, so I would say that's a good choice. Christmas cards are likely fairly small, too, so you can afford to bump the ISO up if needed since you'll be resizing down. Shade outdoors could work out okay. Your speedlite would help...

Good luck. :)

[Dave Ringkor]

If you use the 50mm f/1.8 be sure to stop it down. Wide open, your depth-of-field would be so narrow that you'd never be able to get two kids' faces in focus in the same shot. For shots outdoors of two kids I'd probably use your Tamron lens. MCB makes a good point regarding a Speedlite as well.

If your friend likes the shots you take of your kids, then she'll like the shots you take of her kids with the same equipment and using the same techniques.

AV mode should be fine. I looked at the EXIF info from my wedding photos and the professional shot almost everything in AV!

[shannyD]

i did something of a christmas card last year.. i should have used f4. that would have been optimal for the pose i used. they nver sit still for more than a couple of seconds.

but i got to go with dave R on this.. if your friend likes the shots you do of your kids.. then she will like the ones you do of her kids.

ugghhh this only reminds me that i have to do that again this year.. good luck, and i look forward to seeing your results.

shannon

[kerry0621]

I do want to use my Speedlite for fill flash. The problem is I am not very good at flash phototgraphy. All my shots outside seem to be blown out. I need to do some research on that one. Any simple threads that explain fill flash with a 580ex and an XTi?

I am thinking of using the Tamron, because like Dave Ringkor pointed out, I am worried about the DOF with 2 kids. I have 3 kids and I have so many shots where one of them looks great and the other 2 are out of focus.

I am mostly worried about getting them to pose and sit still. I am not a professional so I don't have a bunch of tricks for that. I took some shots of one of the girls today and everytime I got near her she laughed and ran away. I think I might be in over my head;)

[tonylong]

Kerry,

Your 580 Speedlight has a built-in bounce card that works quite well -- you pull it up along with the wide angle diffuser then push the diffuser back in. Tilt your flash head up, and you get bounce! It makes a huge difference with flash photography. Also, experiment with your Flash Exposure Compensation to get the most pleasing results. You can fine-tune your flash setup to look very natural.

A reflector could definitely help as well, especially if you are shooting in vertical orientation and don't want a one-sided flash look. You can set a reflector up on a tripod or a chair or whatever, but that will take some experimenting to get it right. I think that for that type of setup it may actually help to have the flash off-camera with an extension cable so that you could control your flash head/reflector positions.

I'd do some practice shots with your flash in the time of day that you will be shooting in to try to ensure that you get started on the right foot. Flash will allow you to let in the ambient light/background if you set your basic exposure to do that and then use the flash to fill -- that way you avoid the blown flash as well as the darkened background.

Hope this helps a little!

[kerry0621]

Thanks Tony,(and everyone else ;)) that was helpful. I always wonder about the bounce card. I am just never sure how to use it.

I think I'll take my own kids to one of the place I am thinking of shooting and just play around with the flash. It will help me take better photos for my friend and help me learn!

Any tips on posing or getting kids to sit still will be greatly appreciated!

[MCB]

Getting the kids to sit still will be the hard part, not to mention sitting still in a pose you like! For that reason, I think of kid portraits kind of like sports photography and try my best to keep the shutter speeds up pretty high. But as others have mentioned, the DOF can be a killer if you have multiple subjects. Practicing with your flash is a great idea. :)

Maybe these kids are too old, but I play peek-a-boo from behind the camera. I do this for a while not taking any pictures, just sort of getting them into the game. I'll count up: 1...2...3... then pop out from behind the camera smiling and say peek-a-boo!! Some kids like that and get into it. After a while you can just do the countdown and they start smiling. I get some good shots around 2 and 3. :)

Other tricks just involve talking to them. I ask a lot of questions, like what color their shirt is, do they have a cat, where is mom, are you a boy (ask a girl that and get a fun, indignant "no! I'm a girl!!), ask the older one how old he/she is (are you two? no? three?? "i'm 6!") etc... at least they're looking at you and maybe you can get a smile or interesting look. Maybe their mom can stand behind you and make faces, help out with peek-a-boo, etc. You can get some surprisingly solemn, introspective-looking faces just by asking if their shoes are tied. They'll look down all serious to check and see. :) Sometimes anyway... Kids are tough.

Good luck. :)

[PhotosGuy]

Angeline outdoors (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=483975)

VERY simple "outdoor studio" (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=122297) It doesn't get any easier than this.