How to pick a location?

[JVthePT]

Hello all,
My wife wants me to do some portrait shots of the kids (11,12,15 years old) then whole family shots this evening. We live on a nice 40 acre small farm, mostly timber and hay (which is about mid shin height and trefoil and alfalfa both in bloom now). I'm having trouble deciding where to place my subjects and wonder if there were any general guidelines I should follow? I know not to place them looking into the sun or severely back-lit but any other pointers would be great.
We are in a severe drought like the rest of the country so no flowers in bloom in the beds, grass looks a little brown but have nice tree lines for good background.
thanks for any suggestions.
John

[issue1]

Personally I would use a non distracting background if you intend to use bokeh, but if you're going to use a deep depth of field with your shots, maybe you could incorporate an appropriate background that reflects who you are as a family.

[YBMC]

Forty acres! Lucky you! You're probably so accustomed to all the locations on your property. A barn? Animals? I know this is a week old but you might want to go out and shoot again. Open shade is your friend and so is the last hour or half hour before sunset. Let them be kids and do what it is they might ordinarily be doing and you should get great shots.