Today I want to introduce you to a part of me that I have been cultivating for a while now and that I am ready to make public : Portrait photography and specifically for this article my being a family portrait photographer.
I said specifically, because being a portrait photographer is very general, since portraits then, can be of various kinds.
Indice dei Contenuti
I photograph family portraits: where do we start?
Multi-person photography is very complicated. We need to multiply the number of problems that usually occur for a single person, by the number of participants in the portrait. We speak not only of photographic composition , or of laying, but also and above all of people management. The hardest part of a portrait.
The reason I go into this type of photography is because I love to put myself out there, but I will preface this by saying that it takes a good deal of patience, energy, and quick shooting.
The sense of a family portrait photo
We live in a country, in which the family photography it is not used much unlike, for example, in Anglo-Saxon countries. In Italy, paying a professional to take a photo is usual only for events such as weddings, if we are lucky also baptisms, communions, confirmations and some birthday parties.
Hardly people have the desire to be represented in a personal portrait, if not for work or social needs, imagine the desire to be photographed with the whole family.
Someone, though, in the family, as the years go by, realizes that he or she does not have a good photo that represents theentire family unit, and the first thing that comes to mind is to go to a photographer’s studio to have a family portrait taken, such as the one you see in the photo above.
This is an important first step in generating a memory that will remain forever in the home of the person who commissioned it.
We try to analyze the difficulties that can arise in the realization of one photo for family made in the studio.
Making a family portrait in a photo studio
The difficulty in representing a photo portrait of family in studio it is not just a question of pose, composition, lights, black, white or spotted backdrop. The real difficulty is there people management , who in most cases is not used to being photographed and therefore finds herself in extreme embarrassment in front of the lens of a camera . Let’s imagine then when the flashes start, or the annoyance of the intensity of a continuous LED light in their eyes.
The photographer must be extremely good, attentive and at the same time sensitive to be able to manage all this, putting people at ease, and at the same time making sure that all technical difficulties are under control.
But are we sure that studio photography is the only way to represent a family?
Outdoor family photography: why?
In my opinion, another very valid solution is outdoor portraits. But don’t think they are problem-free. In reality there are many more variables to manage than in a photographic studio.
Outdoors, at least I don’t wear flashes, so as not to run into the classic paranoia of the studio photographer, where the mania for perfect light sometimes prevails what is the communication and emotion that a photo should arouse.
The added variables are natural light, wind and not least the background including strangers, mopeds, garbage cans, etc, etc.
If you add all this to dynamic moving situations, you will understand how the realization of a family shoot outdoors, is more complicated and tiring than a shot taken in a studio.
Of course, all this, also affects the cost of the service, which is necessarily higher than the single studio shot and thus further discourages people from doing this kind of shoot.
My family portraits
Although tiring and very demanding, in my opinion, it is worth trying to realize these services, because they offer a very particular dynamism and complicity. Some like to call them Family Shooting , I leave you some links here to see what I mean: CLICK HERE !
But know ‘, that if you are used to comfort zone of your photographic studio, where you love absolute control of pose, lighting and backdrop, outdoors you will be totally prey to randomness and the unpredictable. This could throw you into total panic. Not everyone is willing to do it and by doing it, I mean “doing it right”.
I advise you to start with some of your family members, in order to avoid problems with a client who commissions the work to you.
If you need advice or insights, do not hesitate to write to me, I will be happy to be able to give you some of my personal advice, hoping to be able to help you in this splendid journey in the world of photography.
Francesco Russotto
My name is Francesco Russotto and I have been involved in photography and imaging for as long as I can remember.
I am a professional, award-winning photographer based in Rome, but working wherever there is a need. Selected among the top 10 best Italian wedding photographers in reportage style in 2020 are also Portrait Photographer for men, women, professionals, companies, families and children. I always try to make particular and insert creativity within each of my shots.
Why not combine the beautiful with the particular ? I create personal or group photography courses and workshops for different types of clients, from amateurs to professionals. If you need information, in a completely informal and without obligation, please ask.