Video: 6 simple tips to improve your family portraits

 

 

Whether you want to become a professional portrait photographer, or simply want to capture better photos of your own family, photographer and Canon Explorer of Light Michele Celentano has six tips to help you improve your photos.

Celentano's first tip is to use a tripod. You may think that you don't need a tripod because you're shooting with bright natural light or using artificial light sources. After all, your handheld shots will be sharp, right? However, Celentano thinks that it's vital that her camera is on a tripod rather than in front of her face when photographing clients. The best way to get good expressions in family portraits is to interact with your subjects, which is hard to do when your camera obscures your face. Another benefit of using a tripod is that you won't need to constantly recompose as you capture different images at slightly different camera heights and positions. You have a consistent foundation to build upon.

While this may not apply to every family, Celentano's second tip is all about dads and males in general. Many men don't wear makeup, so their skin can have more shine, redness or imperfections than someone wearing makeup. Celentano keeps oil-blotting tissues and green primer (which reduces red tones in the skin) in her camera bag. This makes retouching the images later much easier.

Celentano's third tip is to make sure you consult with the family before the scheduled session to get to know the kids. It's important that children are having a good time during the photoshoot and that you can interact with them about their interests. The kids are likely to be much more expressive if you talk to them about their interests.

To see Celentano's other three tips for improving your family portrait photography, watch the video above. If you'd like to see more from Michele Celentano, visit her website and follow her on Instagram.

For additional videos from B&H, check out the links below:

• How to pose families during a photoshoot 
• Family portrait photography tips: From planning to photoshoot 
• Taking great images of kids 
• How to photograph non-models 
• Mastering the family portrait 

(Via B&H)