Project 52, Week 47, Thanksgiving Family Portraits

Thanksgiving is a good time to get family group photographs, whether it's two people or twenty.  (And yes, friends count as family. Sometimes more so than your actual relatives.) 

If you don't have a family or can't get together with your family and friends this week, maybe you can volunteer to take someone else's photos, or create your very own project that is pertinent to you.  Compose photos with a Thanksgiving or autumn theme, using the composition techniques we've been practicing this year.

If you're wondering what family portraits have to do with "movement", you've never tried taking a good group photograph that included everybody, all at the same time, standing still, smiling, and not looking silly.

Things to Consider:

• Get prepared. 
• Check your equipment and charge your battery the night before. 
• Make sure you have a digital media card with plenty of space in the camera. 
• Plan your shots (as much as possible).  Do you want one large group and then individual groups?  Do you want a table shot and an outdoor shot? 
• You may want to set up a special photography area with a backdrop and/or props for some shots.
• Practice using any new equipment before you need it.
• Don't expect perfection. 
• Get that classic shot with everybody at the table, but get another group portrait away from the table.
• Keep a camera handy and get plenty of candid shots. 
• Get in the shot.  I recently heard a story from a professional portrait photographer who used Photoshop to create a family portrait.  After the father's death, she had to use Photoshop to put the father in a picture with the mother and three children because they had no family group photos that included him. 

Suggested Readings and Examples:

1. How to Take Great Thanksgiving Family Portraits by Amanda Herron at eHow; a lot of great tips
2. Thanksgiving Photography Tips at Exposure Guide; short illustrated tips, photos include setting suggestions
3. How To Capture Thanksgiving With Your Camera at New York Institute of Photography; short illustrated article
4. Shooting Thanksgiving Photos and Get-Togethers at Lifepics; short illustrated article
5. Thanksgiving: family photo tradition by Barbara Curtis at Mommy Life; short illustrated article - maybe not the best technical photos, but a lot of heart