Family Portrait Ideas
(How to come up with ideas for family portrait photography)

Portrait planning should start with a few creative family portrait ideas. Where does the family like to visit? What do they like to do? In addition to planning clothing, I ask my clients about their interests and hobbies.

In the family pose above, we met at one of my client's ocean home to do a high school senior portrait as well as a family portrait. I had to shoot this family portrait with a strong bright sun back lighting my subjects. I used a strong Fill Flash to help lighten their faces against the bright sky.

It was one of those family portrait ideas that came out easily once we started discussing all of the possibilities.

For a glossary of terms like "Fill Flash" you can go to the Photography Definitions page.

This mom and dad coached their three kids in soccer, so we thought it was only natural to create this soccer portrait.

Each of the kids had their team uniforms. We dressed the coaches in matching white shirts. If the family portrait tells a story, it becomes a little more interesting.

Do a little brainstorming. Look at the portraits in the window at your local portrait studio or at the nearby shopping mall.

Do a GOOGLE search for family portrait samples. Visit the web sites of photographers and view the family portrait sample galleries.

Make a list of some other unique ideas. Some of the other family portrait poses that I have done include: pajamas, swimming pool, baseball and "gone fishing".

This snow photo on the right took a lot of patience to pull off. We had to wait for the right amount of snow and we had to make it fit in everyone's schedule.

We chose the black, long-sleeved shirts to add contrast as well as keep everyone warm enough to pose for the portrait.

I composed the scene in my mind first while my subjects stayed warm in their cars. They jumped out. I placed them in the composition and fired away on my Canon D-SLR.

The biker family below wanted a black and white portrait mounted on canvas.

I scouted out the location behind an old cement factory. I composed the photo to include just a bit of railroad track in the corner to act as a framing device in the portrait.

This pose was a little static, so I made a real small adjustment. I had the shirtless boy place his foot up on the tracks to create just a little dynamic to this family portrait.

I just photographed one of my wonderful clients again for the upcoming holidays. Mom always comes up with creative ideas for posing her family and this year's portrait was no exception.

I did a mental sketch of the pose after we discussed using the "Chuck Taylor" Converse high-tops that we all wore when we were kids.

I decided to position the shoes in an overlapping manner so that the faces of my subject would not be too far apart in the pose.

This did require quite a bit of photo editing in Adobe Photoshop. I do enjoy doing photo manipulations and this one required a lot of time.

Family portrait ideas be simple as well. In the family pose below I used the living room couch to pose this family of 5.
I was a childhood friend of this family and they wanted a comfortable looking portrait taken in their own home.

I surrounded the parents with their children. I had the father sitting on a posing stool, leaning in on the arm of the couch toward his wife. The woman behind the couch is kneeling on a small stool and the woman on the left is sitting on an adjustable stool raised a bit higher than the father.

The son on the right side of the portrait is sitting on two couch pillows on the couch. I composed the photo to not show any legs or hips of my subjects.

We slid the couch away from the wall and removed a piece of artwork from the wall to simplify the background. I then did some retouching in Photoshop to darken the edges of this family portrait.

Another way to develop a list of creative family portrait ideas is simple scout out new locations. Drive into both urban and rural locations and focus on backgrounds and themes that you could employ in your family photographs. Keep a written list in a notebook or journal.

Writing down photography ideas not only helps you remember them at a later date, but you can also add notes or details as your mind's eye gets clearer on what you want to create in your portrait.

Please add one of your own favorite family portrait ideas for all of the readers of Digital Photo Tips to enjoy in the submission box below.

Family Portrait Photography. What skills are necessary in family portrait photography to be one of the best? This article explores what should be considered when evaluating a good portrait photographer.

Outdoor Family Portraits and Outdoor Family Photography. Here are two articles on some of the things to consider before taking outdoor family portraits. Both have several samples to give you some ideas on what you might want to try.

Portrait Photography Books. If you'd like to have a tangible printed source of ideas in your hands, buy a good book on portrait photography.

How to Choose a Photographer. If you'd like to hire a professional to take your family portrait, you may be interested in the best way of finding a photographer. There is a lot to consider. Read about the 7 keys how to choose a good portrait photographer.

If you have any creative family portrait ideas you'd like to share, feel free to submit your ideas or photos below.

Give us your unique family portrait idea!

Share your idea and submit a photo if you have one. We can all learn a lot from each other. This is a great photo forum without having to go through a registration process.

Go ahead. What are you waiting for? Give us your most creative effort.

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