What to do if there is no good background?

Hi,

we are having a baptism today and I would like to do some portraits of our family.
If was thinking of outdoor portraits at sunset but couldnt find a beautiful background in the area. Ugly walls, fences, messy fields etc.

And if I shoot during sunset, should I use CTO gels on my speedlights?

Has anyone some advice for me?

Thanks
Dirk

Shoot with a zoom cropped tight at f2.8 to blur out the background?

yup, +1 on the blurred background.
A gel on your flash during sunsets can really make them pop. I sometimes put a green gel to get some really nice magenta's in the sky.
You can also bring a background if it is really hideous.

yes blur the background, or shoot against a dark hallway so the background is completely dark

Brick or plain walls make good backgrounds. You can also blow the background out, I call them Bobby style formals.

If it's at a church why not use the church?

Thanks everyone,
I found a nice wall and used 200mm and cropped the pictures very thight. The sunset shots didnt work at because of the weather.

@PeaceFire,
I shot at the restaurant were we went afterwards. Had no time to do a shoot in the church.