Self Family Photos. Tips?

So, every year I do our family portraits. This year I tried something a little different. We have this nice live tree and the lights are pretty cool. So I wanted to make sure we were able to see the lights on the tree. I didn't use a flash. I figured since my daughter was old enough now to keep herself still I figured I'd try shooting at a higher ISO with a long shutter speed and no flash. I used 3.2 seconds on my 40D. I had all of the lights off in the house except the tree lights but still, somehow I ended up with some nasty shadows. possibly from the lights reflecting off other things in the room. Would the 580EX II set at it's lowest flash level (1/128 I believe) and a little faster shutter speed work better or would it overpower the lights on the tree?

The speed light is your solution.

When using flash you have two exposures. Ambient exposure and flash exposure.

Shutter speed will be your ambient exposure. (shoot in Manual)
Set this lower/slower to pick up ambient light. Do a test with out the flash or people to find what shutter speed you want with the available ambient light. Normally this would be around 1/40s. If you literally want to do a 3 second exposure, set your flash to 2nd curtain, making it flash at the end of the exposure to freeze subjects.

People/flash exposure are determined by aperture. Smaller a (higher #) the more flash that will be used. You should be fine at F/5.6.
Set your flash to TTl and aim it up at the ceiling or ideally using a white wall and ceiling shoot it into the corner off to the side for more natural looking light. Use the little white card on your flash to help bounce the flash toward the people to help add light to the eye sockets to reduce the racoon look. The ceiling will work as a giant soft box. Raise and lower your flash exposure compensation to get the proper exposure on the people. Most often i set my flash to -2/3 of a stop for proper exposure.

ISO should be fine at 100. ISO will effect both ambient and flash exposure. Raise the ISO if you feel that your shutter speed is too low. The TTl flash will auto compensate for the higher ISO.

Thanks! I'll give this a try.

In addition to adding a speed light, I'd use a little bit longer of a focal length if possible. The photo is showing a bit of distortion in the faces along the edges. Also, using a longer length will make your tree look nice and big, which it clearly is, touching the ceiling and all! Love the ambient light, though!

I was using a Sigma 10-22mm lens. Probably not the best lens for this but the tripod I was using was maybe 4 feet away. I may try this with my 24-105 at 24mm this weekend. We'll see. Very busy this week with my daughter in dance recital practices every day and a show this weekend. Busy, Busy, Busy, Busy...

Yea, with the 40d, your best bet is to shoot a little bit tighter, at least 40mm if you can, and also you don't necessarily want to shoot from so low. The camera should be about your chest height or shoulder height if you can get it there. Can't wait to see what you get!