4 Tips to Snap Professional-Looking Family Portraits

Have you wondered how some people are able to snap professional-looking family portraits that look as if they’ve been shot in a studio? Honestly you’d be surprised how good your family portraits can turn out even without professional equipment, and all it really takes is the right technique.

If you’d like to snap better and more professional-looking family portraits, here are a few tips that should get you started:

Make sure the scene is brightly lit

If you want to take a good photo you’ll need lots of light, preferable diffused so that it is soft and doesn’t cause too much contrast in the photo. Sometimes it can help to position your group near a large open window or door, or even take the portrait outside.

Do not place a bright light source in the frame or directly behind you

When a bright light source is in the frame of the photo, odds are the rest of the portrait will look washed out, shadowy, and lacking definition. On the other hand if the light source is directly behind you while you’re taking the photo, it may cause your family members to squint due to the brightness. If the light is soft or diffused it won’t matter as much, however it is still best to avoid both these placements.

Be patient yet assertive as you direct the group

It isn’t easy to try to direct a large family and get them to sit in the right place, look at the camera, and smile at the right time. Frustrating as it can be however, it is important that you remain patient as it will just make things more difficult if you lose your cool. Focus on assertively directing your family members and being specific about what you expect from them.

Try snapping non-traditional portraits

Sometimes you may have better luck if you try non-traditional portraits with funny poses, interesting settings, and other elements. For some families these types of portraits provide them the opportunity to be more natural, and could result in a far better-looking portrait.

On top of the tips listed above, it will help if you can edit your portrait after the fact to fix any small issues or stylize it in certain ways. Don’t worry if you have no experience in editing however, as you could just use Movavi Photo Editor on that front.

Essentially Movavi Photo Editor is a simple and user-friendly editor that will make editing your portraits a breeze. With it you can touch up portraits, remove blemishes from photos, delete unwanted objects, improve the photo quality, apply filters and effects, or even alter the frame and composition in other ways.

Suffice to say if you take advantage of the features in Movavi Photo Editor, you’ll be able to ensure your family portraits truly look as though they’ve been professionally photographed. Just remember to use the techniques that you just learned, as they could make a world of difference as well.