Golden Hour Extended Family Portraits At Vasona Park – Five Tips To Help Capture The Perfect Session
Any time you can get your extended family together, this is a great time to take family portraits. With more people included into the session, it is important to coordinate all of the small details prior to the session. For example, the timing of the session and the location. One of the best times to take outdoor portraits is in the evening – or “golden hour.” This is the time of day that is about an hour before the sun sets. Most locations photograph really well at this time of the day. And Vasona Park in Los Gatos is an excellent example 🙂 Here are some recent golden hour extended family portraits at Vasona Park, Los Gatos. As well as five tips to help capture the perfect session.
Communicate With Your Photographer In The Days Leading Up To The Session
One of the most important things to do leading up to the session is to get on the same page as your Photographer. Many Photographers will have you fill out a pre-session questionnaire to gather important information about your family before the session. These questionnaires can include the ages of your family members, if there will be any pets, and any people in your family who may have restrictions. For example, family members who cannot walk long distances. Providing your Photographer as much information about your families demographics will ensure that everything runs smoothly.
Depending On The Size Of The Group, Consider A 90 Minute Session
Another detail to consider is extending the length of the session to 90 minutes. For my recent golden hour extended family portraits at Vasona Park, we decided on 90 minutes. Rather than scheduling the session 60 minutes before the sun sets, we scheduled the session to end just before the sun set. This allowed us great lighting for the entire session 🙂 To see the exact time that golden hour is, I recommend using a sunset calendar.
Choose A Color Palate For Everyone To Wear
With a lot of people included in the portraits, coordinating your outfits can make a huge difference. I recommend giving everyone at least two colors to choose from. Green, blue, and tan worked out really well for this session!
Strike The Right Balance Between Fun And Candid And Overly Posed
In terms of posing, I believe that most portraits should be fun, candid, and feel unposed. Getting a mixture of fun, candid poses and some that are “posed” will ensure that there is a good variety. When everyone is having fun and the session is lighthearted, the pictures are more authentic.
Don’t Be Shy To Mention Any Groupings Or Fun Poses You Would Like To Take
Last but not least, make sure that all of the groupings you want photographed are photographed before the end of the session. Your Photographer will most likely have an idea of all of the various groups. However, don’t be shy if there is a group that has not been photographed. This can include any silly poses that you’d like to have included in the session. If you plan on taking casual headshots, make sure to ask your Photographer if this is included in the session. Some Photographers will allow headshots as an ad-on to the session.
If you are planning on taking family portraits, hopefully this brief post on golden hour extended family portraits at Vasona Park has been helpful. Thanks!
