Blocking & Other Family Portrait Tips

When I was in school, I used to direct stage plays.  I learned about blocking, the importance of lighting and coaxing expression from my actors - and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Faced with a portraits project, I want to read up and find tips on how to make our pictures stand out.  So of course I google around for tips and here's what I found.

1. Schedule the photo shoot when the kids are the happiest - they are the hardest to coax out of a bad mood.
2. Advise the family to coordinate - but not necessarily wear the same thing.
3. Patterns are for backgrounds and not your subject - advise your family to avoid wearing distracting patterns.
4. Go casual, this is a matter of preference, but a relaxed family seems a lot more interesting to me than a stiff and very formal shot.  I think this helps with the kids' mood as well, if their clothes aren't itchy, they will be able to smile more.
5. Make your portraits more interesting by changing the angle of your shots.  Climb up a chair and shoot from up high (this usually helps when you have a big group) or shoot from the ground up.
6. Just because you're taking a picture of them doesn't mean your subjects have to look at you all the time.  Have them look off somewhere outside your frame or have them look at each other.  This will make for a more interesting composition.
7. Placing subjects off center is not a bad thing - it creates a bit of an artistic flare to your photographs.
8. Candid shots make for good portraits too - especially with kids.  Just be ready to click away when your little subjects get comfortable - they are adorable by nature, most don't need you to coach them.
9. Add a prop for more interest.  If your subject is musically inclined take a picture of him with his guitar or drum set.  You can use the prop to bring out more of your subject's personality in the portrait.
10. Take a series of shots - as much as your camera will allow and let your client have a lot more choices - they'll appreciate it.
11. Create more interest with different poses.

So there you have it - I will test all these tips out soon and will add feedback to this post later.  Feel free to post more tips here in the comments section. 

Sources:

9 Tips for Taking Great Family Portraits by Simple Mom

10 Ways to Take Stunning Portraits by Digital Photography School