Portrait Planning

Sometimes you will be creating individual portraits as well as family portraits. Ask parents to decide beforehand which is more important to them. Try not to go beyond the comfort zone and attention span of the children. That can be a brief period, depending on the ages of the child or children. Better to start off with individual portraits and move on to the groups if time and temperament permit. If you, or the family, prefer the family portrait, do that first.

Many people want to have more natural and un-posed photographs. Of course, the more people you have in a portrait, the more posed it tends to be as you try to corral everyone into the frame, unless you have the luxury of scheduling a session during a more natural event (family reunion or picnic). Be sure to communicate that knowledge with parents so they are prepared to see less spontaneity when there are more people in the photograph.