I’ve always believed that the best time of day to photograph almost anything is just after sunrise or just before sunset. The problem with that is that most of us aren’t prepared to do that. Just try telling your teenager that you are getting them up at 5 am for a family photo shoot. I’d like to see that face just for fun but you get the idea. The same thing goes for sunset. It’s the witching hour for young kids, can you say terrible twos. I won’t even book a two year old in the late afternoon because it only works out about one out of a hundred times.
So the light is great at sunrise and sunset but the people aren’t in a great mood, so what do you do? The truth is that the best light is the light when you get everyone looking good, not squinting or throwing a fit or bags under their eyes etc. although we can usually fix the bags in Photoshop.
Here are a few things I often do with families and groups. Have them face away from the sun. Unless your family members are professional models or you want them all wearing sunglasses they probably can’t help but squint. Not the best photo. Next I try to have them all in the same light. I often see photographs where some of the people are in shade and the rest are in sun. This makes for a lot of contrast, which most digital cameras can’t handle. Either the highlights will be blown out or the shadows will be muddy or blocked. I also try to get people sitting or standing comfortably. It’s not always possible but people look better when they feel better. I once photographed a man when he was sick and his face looked a shade of green in the picture. I never thought that was possible.
I don’t want to get too technical because for most people they just want a to take a decent photo of their family with their digital camera. If you can, do a test shot before you are ready to take their picture. Read your camera manual. I’m a pro and I keep my manual in my camera bag most of the time.
The important thing is to get the picture. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I would rather you get an okay photo of your family than say “oh the light isn’t right I guess we’ll wait ‘till next week” or whatever. While your goal is better photos, any photo is better than no photo. Can you imagine a photo album with no photos because the light wasn’t the best? Leave perfect for God.
Shoot often and have fun.
Jon Lamar
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