family portrait

Treasure Island Large Family Beach Portrait on the Jetties Sunset Beach Florida

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14-person family beach portrait on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/1 power in shoot-through umbrella to frame right & SB-600 same setup frame leftI was contacted by Kristen about a large family group portrait.  14-people large, with seven of them young children!  She wanted just one single portrait out on Sunset Beach on Treasure Island, Florida.  It went much smoother than I expected getting the shot on only about the seventh take.  Also to my surprise there was basically no wind at all out on the beach so I was able to use shoot through umbrellas with my speedlights softening and expanding the light on everyone in the big portrait.  Kristen wanted to shoot on the jetties and did not want the sun in the background.  After setting up my two lights I found that everyone had already pretty much settled into a good spot.  I gave a few suggestions for moving a bit this way or that, and then boom, 14-person family portrait made!

A silly faces version of the family portrait on Treasure Island Sunset Beach Florida - settings same as above photoThey asked if they could make silly faces after we got our more formal shot finished.  I see that stretching your mouth open sideways is a popular funny face to make!  I really liked how it turned out.  

Large Family Group Portraits on Coffee Pot Blvd St. Petersburg Florida

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16-person family portrait on Coffee Pot Blvd in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 320 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 in brolly to frame left & SB-600 in shoot-through umbrella to frame rightJust before Christmas I had an interesting photography challenge in the form of how to make a large family portrait, 16 people in all, outdoors at a home along Coffee Pot Blvd.  I live within two miles of the location myself and drive by it often.  It is a very beautiful place and I liked having the chance to photograph a family somewhere besides the beach.  

Just the ladies in a family portrait St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 in brolly to frame left & SB-600 in shoot-through umbrella to frame rightI did some research on large group portraits and it helped to have a prop of some kind that some family members could sit on, often the grandparents or grandchildren.  They said they had an outdoor sofa they could use.  I thought the sofa they had was perfect as soon as I saw it and feel it really made the images far better than they could have been without it.

Big family portrait on Coffee Pot Blvd St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 in brolly to frame left & SB-600 in shoot-through umbrella to frame rightOf course when making a large group portrait you have to really pay attention to making sure no one's head is hidden or blocked by another person, and also to make sure no shadows get cast on a person in one of the back rows or interior placement.  To help this, it is best to have people line up in straight rows and not curve at the edges.  

Family on sofa portrait on Coffee Pot Blvd - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 320 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 in brolly to frame left & SB-600 in shoot-through umbrella to frame rightAfter the big group shot I made some shots of the individual families, which were still fairly large as seen by the six person group shot above.  Again, have the sofa helped prevent making portraits with people just all standing in a straight line next to each other.  I also made a conscious effort to have an up and down composition by having taller people at the edges and a taller subject in the middle.  This also helps add balance when you have an even number of subjects, with no central person to compose around.  

Children and grandchildren portrait on Coffee Pot Blvd St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 320 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 in brolly to frame left & SB-600 in shoot-through umbrella to frame rightA variety in hand placement also helps add creativity to a mostly posed large group portrait.  Each of the boys has a different way of holding his hands together, and the same for the others in the background of the portrait too.  

Three levels large family portrait in St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 320 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 in brolly to frame left & SB-600 in shoot-through umbrella to frame rightThe family wanted one person to lie down on the ground for one of the portraits which was fine by me as that adds yet another element of interest to the portrait.  

Candid generational portraits in St. Petersburg FloridaThe last shots of the portrait session were much more candid with me setting up my lights and just having people walk in between them and have fun.  Giving suggestions to the subjects help get a candid reaction, as I asked the grandparents to think of the first time they met, and the grandmother as you can see moved her hand to her heart in reaction, which I was ready to capture.  The girls shared a laugh about something and the boys wanted their football in the shot.

I used the same basic strobist setup for all the shots in this blog post, two speedlights off camera on light stands, one in a 43" brolly and the other in a 42" shoot through umbrella.  I used a 17-50mm lens for the large group shots and an 80-200mm lens for the smaller group shots.  

Redington Beach Florida Family Sunset Portraits

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Piggy back rides for everyone on Redington Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame right & SB-600 to frame leftThe Anderson family was visiting from Canada staying at their condo on Redington Beach for the holidays and while the family was all together, wanted candid Florida sunset beach portraits.  Unfortunately, the weather was not very Florida-like as the temperture was pretty low and the strong wind actually made for a tangible wind chill effect.  Nevertheless, we had a good sunset for a background and made some fun portraits together.

One of my trademark shots, the family facing away from the lens toward the sunset - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThey had seen my other photographs of families looking away from the camera and out toward the sunset and specifically requested to have one of these trademark shots of mine.  I added a bit of a soft filter to the image this time as I felt the high detail of the original did not match the overall feel of the shot.

Staying close for warmth & the portrait! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left and SB-600 behind to frame rightOne thing you may notice in all my sunset portraits is that I always get the people's heads above the horizon as much as possible so the horizon is not unpleasantly bisecting anyone's head.  In order to do that for the family while sitting, I had to lay down on my stomach right on the sand!  Beach portrait photography does require getting messy sometimes.

Brother & sister having fun on Redington Beach Florida at sunset - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightI always like to see siblings having fun together, and here brother gives sister a lift with a bright sun setting behind them.  I feel these kinds of shots will have the most impact twenty years from now and hopefully will help remind the siblings of the fun of their childhood, and in these case, teenage years together.

Family Beach Portraits at Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Demiduk Family

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Watching the sunset as a family on Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left rear & SB-600 to frame right frontOnce again I had the opportunity to photograph a client I already knew as DSLR Photography Lesson student Kristin booked a Family Beach Portrait session for Sunset Beach on Treasure Island.  As I have mentioned before, it is always a plus to photograph people you are familiar with, and of course as a pro photographer it is flattering that a client would give you repeat business.

Baby Naomi was in constant motion when not being held close by her parents!Kristin's nearly 2-year old daughter was a very talkative little girl, and as one might expect a very active one too.  I usually recommend that parents hold their child as the best means of keeping them in the frame!

Having family fun in front of tall beach grass on Sunset Beach Treasure Island FloridaThe whole family had a lot of personality which made it fun to photograph them as they were never at a loss for smiling in front of the lens.  A willingness to get a bit sandy allowed us to make the above shots in front of Sunset Beach's tall grass dunes.

2-year old preparing to be a ballerina - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to frame center right & SB-600 to rear rightUsing a mound of sand that was the remains of a castle, Naomi practiced her ballerina moves as I framed her with the dusk sky out over the Gulf of Mexico.

Gliding down the shore black & white family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/4 ISO 500 1/400th natural lightKristin has two more photography lessons with me where I will help prepare her to be able to make her own family beach portraits in the future!

Treasure Island Sunset Beach Florida Family Portraits Vivid & Dramatic Sky Poe Family

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Mother Nature provided a very dramatic sky for the Poe Family Beach Portraits on Sunset Beach Treasure Island St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightVisiting all the way from Nebraska, the Poe Family were worried about the weather for their candid family beach portrait session.  I told them on the phone in the morning that is is impossible to predict what the weather conditions will be like eight hours from now so do not worry.  As you can see from the above shot, the rain did not fall on the beach, but the fact that there were storms all around provided for a very dramatic sky background for many of our family beach portraits.

A sister and her two brothers vivid sunset beach portrait on Treasure Island Sunset Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 in front & SB-600 to right rearThe youngest and I share the same name which he told me with some great excitement when we met.  It is good to know parents are still choosing it as a name.  For this shot I tried to compose just so that the remaining sun appeared to be resting on his shoulder between his other two siblings.

My favorite shot of the session as it tells a story the most - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/80th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe father requested this shot having seen an example of it with another family on my website.  I believe I first came up with the idea for this type of shot last summer.  For me to not be able to see the subjects' faces allows the viewer to wonder even more what the subjects might be thinking of as they look out upon the horizon with all the Sea and Heavens before them.

Mother & Daughter candid beach portrait on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightI did not have to say anything to neither mother nor daughter for this shot.  I just placed them within my two speedlights, went back to be able to fit them within the frame and as I turned around they were already having fun so all I had to do was then push the shutter and voila!

Hands on to show the family bond on Sunset Beach treasure Island St. Petersburg Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 behind subjectsThe sun itself was really only visible once it dipped below some clouds just above the horizon.  From experience I knew this would be the case and I had everyone ready to take advantage of the little time we would have with the sun in such conditions.

Husband and wife romance novel cover shot on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/60th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 behind rightIn our hour and a half portrait session we made a great variety of shots, which is always my goal as I do not like to shoot a similar shot and always provide the client with very different images, not merely just variations of the same shot.  In this session the shot list ranged from of course all the family members, to each individual child shot, to husband and wife and then each parent with one of their children.  It was a full session!

Honeymoon Island State Park Family Beach Portraits Candid Sunset

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Candid Family Beach Portrait at Sunset on Honeymoon Island State Park - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 in front of subjects & SB-600 behind & to the right of subjectsThe streak continues for photographing past clients.  This time it was DSLR Photography Lesson student Angela's family for sunset beach portraits out at Honeymoon Island State Park.  We had to reschedule our candid portrait session three times due to various weather, including tropical storm Debbie.  There was a bit of a time issue as well as one of Angela's daughters was soon off to college!  In the end we had perfect weather for the entire shoot.

Family Beach Portrait on a swinging bench on Honeymoon Island State Park - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-600 to frame left & SB-800 to frame right

This bench swing was the first and only prop we used during our photo session.  With a little careful arranging the entire family of five were able to (comfortably?) fit on the bench.  To make the image more candid and natural I had them actual swing back and forth, capturing this image as they swung farthest forward.  This also helped solve a problem with shadows coming from the beams holding up the swing.

Trying out new poses during this family beach portrait session - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/9 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-600 to frame left & SB-800 to frame right

Using a handy new iPhone posing app, I showed the family exactly how I wanted them to arrange themselves for a more together looking portrait than if they were all just sidding side-by-side or even in a standard two-row pose.  This was Angela's favorite photo from the session.  

A 60's sitcom promo inspired shot - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/80th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame right

The above image is also an entirely new shot I never made before.  I asked if everyone was willing to lie down on the sand.  Everyone agreed and we were thus able to make this fun photograph that somehow reminds me of The Monkees or other such 60s era type of promo shot.  Since they were wearing white shirts and the sand was off-white, I decided to convert the image to black & white as there was little color in it.

Sisters having fun on Honeymoon Island State Park - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 next to camera & SB-600 behind to the right

We had a theme going of giving piggy-back rides which the three sisters continued for their siblings only shot.  This is yet another uniquely composed beach portrait staggering height rather than depth, creating a vertical look in a square framing.

Moon rising over Honeymoon Island State Park family beach portrait - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/80th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightAs we were finishing the family beach photo session, I noticed the moon rising and a great purple sky.  Now I have made a shot very similar to this one before a few years back much further south near the Tradwinds Resort.  Surprisingly similar as I myself look at them both side-by-side right now.  I was glad that Honeymoon Island State Park provided such a variety of backgrounds for what I consider one of my very best family beach portrait sessions ever.  I have to give a lot of the credit to Angela and her family for their relationships with each other and how well they all interact and can simply just have fun and be themselves, even though I am surrounding them with speedlights and pointing my lens at them.

Family Portraits at Vinoy Park St. Petersburg Florida Grandfather & Granddaughter

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Grandfather & Granddaughter in Vinoy Park for a portrait session - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/7.1 ISO 200 1/200th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightI have been fortunate recently to photograph friends and repeat clients.  Well, this time I had the chance to photograph both, so I was very pleased to receive a phone call asking for a Father's Day present portrait session.  We chose Vinoy Park as our shooting location and it was thankfully a not too warm evening in St. Petersburg, nor too windy as that far out park often is.

Grandfather & Granddaughter are all smiles in Vinoy Park - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/10 ISO 200 1/250th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe 30-minute portrait session went by very quickly.  The star of the show, young Brooke, was all smiles most of the time, as most of my shooting focused on photographing her with her grandfather and fellow classic westerns fan Paul, whom I first met a few years ago at the dog park.

The whole family in Vinoy Park for our portrait session - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/250th Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe above shot was actually the first one of the session as I prefer to shoot the group shots first, then move on to ever smaller groups and pairings.  Featured in the background is The Pier, a doomed structure that is supposed to be torn down next year, but I will believe that when it actually happens.  If it is, then it will serve as a nice time stamp for when this photograph was made.