Plum Island Family Portraits At The Beach

NEWBURYPORT FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER

You’ve succeeded in coordinating a large family gathering — a reunion, a backyard party, or maybe renting a beach cottage for the summer — and you’d like to commemorate the occasion with a professional family portrait session. But with several families in your party and potentially different ages, how does a family group photo session work so that everyone has a chance to enjoy themselves and participate in the photographs?

For one, before the session, decide what you’d all like to wear for the pictures. I’ll consult with you before our session to offer wardrobe suggestions based on the season and session location. You can either all wear a matching ensemble, or mix and match a few shared colors, just like this wonderful family did with shades of white and blue. On the day of the session, I’ll arrive early to scout our location to see which spots will work best that day, this way no time is wasted, and we can jump right into photography. I love starting the session with a group picture, while everyone is fresh, especially the kiddos, and from there we’ll move on to sittings with each family. We'll also make time for special groupings, like siblings, grandparents with grandkids, parents with sons and daughters. And, of course, if you have a particular request, you can be sure we’ll make time for that as well.

My approach is to photograph a combination of posed-looking-at-the-camera images along with candid-engaging-with-each-other images. Photographing both styles ensures everyone can select their preferred look, keeping in mind that even though you may love candid images, someone else (perhaps a parent) might love to have a traditional shot of all of you looking at and smiling for the camera. As a last bit of advice, it’s not uncommon for a person in the group to be anxious about having their picture taken. They know it’s a time for family to be together, and they are present, but perhaps it’s just not their thing. The good news is I’ll always be sensitive and alert to how someone is responding to the camera, and there are plenty of techniques to capture nice photographs of even the most reluctant. In fact, by the end of the session, these very same attendees often admit to having a great time, so try not to be too concerned in advance about how well someone may do during the session. You might be surprised!

Thank you again to this family for entrusting me with their summer family portrait session at Plum Island. You were all fantastic, and I’m glad we were able to capture a lovely night of you all together at the beach!