Need suggestions for pics of my kids and their cousins

[mom2AnH]

I'm hoping to take some shots of 4 kids this weekend; my 2 boys (age 11 and age 8 ) and my niece (age 15) and nephew (age 11). I am by NO MEANS a professional (hardly a beginner, my photos aren't so great). But we're trying to do these for my mother in law for her birthday as she's been asking for good photos of the kids together, separate, etc for a while now.

Planning on having the kids were red/white/blue (it's a theme we started years ago....). The girl will be wearing navy with white overshirt, the nephew a red shirt, and my boys, haven't decided yet..... am thinking my older one in Red and younger in navy and/or white.

Hoping to take pics of all 4 kids, niece/nephew together, my 2 boys together, then my older son and niece together (oldest grandkid each from my husband and my brother in law) and younger son and nephew together (younger grandkid each) and then of course, the kids all separate. May do some goofy poses of each as well, just for fun.

Doing the photos at a park....

Any suggestions for poses....? Which of my lenses should I use? Where should I Have my manual focus point set? any tips? Should I take a tripod? (I'm not so steady).

Thanks so much for any suggestions.... I don't have time (or money) to buy any new gear, so I have to use what I have

[mom2AnH]

anyone? suggestions?

also.... my 11yo son is autistic and we'll likely have very little to work with LOL :) So any suggestions or tips I can gather before hand will be extremely helpful!

The area where I'll be shooting at is mostly shaded (with some sunny spots, though late in the afternoon maybe not so much) and there is a little river/duck pond and bridge and some benches, etc.

thanks again!

[JoePhotoOnline]

1. Keep it light and fun



2. If you are doing this at a park... stay in open shade. Open shade means an area without direct sun but still with a big blue sky over it. The photos will look 'blue', but setting your white balance to 'Shade' and shooting RAW will take care of it. I say RAW just in case it isn't right, you can save it later. JPGs are much harder to save.

3. For singles, use the telephoto. Thinner DOF will make those 'pop'

4. For the group, use the kit lens or 50mm (depends on your working distance) and stop it down to f8 to ensure enough DOF to cover the group. Also, the kit lens performs it's best between f8-11.

5. Watch your backgrounds. Don't get other people or other distracting objects/shapes. Watch what is around your subjects head. Don't let things 'grow' out of the head.

6. Perspective. I'm guess you are taller than the kids. Don't stand and shoot down at them. Get on your knees. Your lens should be at eye-level or lower with kids. It makes them look bigger and more mature. Shooting down on kids is a quick way to look amateur. (Same with sports, BTW, if you ever do that)

7. DON' T use full auto if you don't have to. You won't have control of any of these things. Try Av so that you can set DOF. Shoot the 75-300 around f6.3-f8. It's really bad wide open. Use the kit around f8 as well. The 50mm looks great at anything over f2.2, but the DOF is THIN. Watch out for that.

[Viva-photography]

Any suggestions for poses....? Which of my lenses should I use? Where should I Have my manual focus point set? any tips? Should I take a tripod? (I'm not so steady).

Thanks so much for any suggestions.... I don't have time (or money) to buy any new gear, so I have to use what I have

Tip one: shoot during the golden hours. Right after sunrise or right before sunset.
Otherwise, you'll get really harsh shadows.

Lenses to bring: your 18-55 and your 50mm.

Tip two: Use ISO's at 400 and below for clean shots on your rebel. I typically use ISO 200 for outdoor portraits.

Tip three: Use an F-stop around the range of...11 for groups is pretty safe, use your 50mm at about 2.8 for individuals. Use AV if not Manual

Tip four: you want the light outside falling on your subject.

Tip five: SHOOT SHOOT SHOOT! Make sure you take tons of pictures of the positions that way if you get home and one is a little bit out of focus, you can just find another that you took of that same pose.