Four Useful Tips For Taking Family Portraits With College Aged Kids
Family portraits are a great tradition to work into your annual family calendar. The pictures from these moments are something you will cherish forever, and they gain value more-and-more as time passes. As your family gets older, it can be harder to schedule portraits; and family portraits tend to go on the “back burner.” In my opinion, scheduling family portraits with college aged kids is even more important to keep the family bond as they begin their independence. Here are four useful tips for taking family portraits with college aged kids.
As Best As Possible, Plan The Session Well In Advance
One of the most important things to consider is planning the session well in advance. This is especially the case if you have multiple kids with different schedules. If everyone is in the same place, at the same time, I recommend fitting in family portraits. This can be scheduled around someone’s birthday, the Holiday’s, or even if you are together on vacation. I recommend scheduling family portraits at least 3-4 weeks in advance. This ensures that your Photographer is available and that you can book the session on a day and time that works for everyone in your family. This will also give you plenty of time to coordinate outfits for the session as well.
Time The Session During “Golden Hour”
The best time for outdoor portraits is at what is referred to as “golden hour.” This is the time of day that is an hour before the sun sets. At this time, the lighting is soft and flattering and the hue of the sun is “golden.” You can check the exact time of golden hour by using a sunset calendar. You will love the quality of the images at this time of day. However, if you are not able to coordinate this time, the mornings also work well. Mid-day is also a possibility but you’ll want to check with your Photographer to schedule the session at a location that photographs well in the afternoon.
Keep The Session Fun And Candid, Incorporate Fun Poses That They Have In Mind
As your kids get older, it may be harder to convince them to take family portraits. One of the things I like to do for family portraits with college aged kids is to keep the session fun and candid. I believe that family portraits should be fun and feel unposed. When working with families with older children, I like to keep the poses conversational. For example, I may ask everyone to give me a word that best describes dad. I will also ask if they have any fun posing ideas that they want to do. Getting everyone having fun and not focusing on the camera can make fun more natural looking pictures.
Plan Something Fun For After The Session
Last but not least, I highly recommend doing something fun after the session. This gives everyone something to look forward to after the session. So instead of spending just 60 minutes with your family taking portraits, you can have even more quality time together as a family. Going to dinner, grabbing ice cream, or doing an activity can be very memorable. Recently, my family took a trip to Golfland in Milpitas 🙂
If you are planning family portraits with college aged kids, hopefully this brief blog post was helpful. Thanks!
