“Yes, honey, I was there, too. I was just the one taking the pictures.”
Is that the way you want your children to remember you? As the ghost in the frame? We all talk about how important it is to document life, to capture memories for our families, to have a visual history of the day-to-day because the years are fleeting. Well, I have news for you: you’re a part of that. You need to be in pictures.
So you don’t like to have your photo taken, huh? I don’t, either. Get over your vanity. I say that lovingly. Take a shower, put on a little makeup, throw on that shirt you love but never wear because you’re afraid someone will wipe his little ketchup smeared face on your shoulder. This goes way beyond pictures – when you feel good about the way you look, your whole attitude changes for the better. Take care of yourself. Or don’t. Maybe you don’t have time to blow dry your hair today. Your children don’t care. What they will care about is that they can see what their mom looked like at 25/35/45/55, that she played with them, that she gazed at them lovingly, that she laughed with them … capture that for them. We need more than just the memories. We need pictures. You know that better than anybody. Stop making excuses.
Not sure where to begin? I’ve got you covered there …
1. Haul out the Tripod
It’s not necessary, but it sure does help. You could certainly hand your camera off to a willing helper or set up a mountain of books to get your camera to the right height, but a tripod allows you to really be in control of the shot as you fine tune your settings and work to get your framing just so. In many cases, it’s also much more secure for your camera. For my own purposes, a tripod is a necessity (but I might be just a little bit of a control freak).
2. Choose Your Setting,Then Choose Your Settings
Prepare your area just as you would normally. Pick up (unless you’re going for that this-is-what-our-house-really-looks-like feeling), pay attention to your light as you choose your camera’s vantage point, and try to avoid a lot of unnecessary background distractions in the frame, especially objects that could potentially appear to come out of your head once you place yourself in the frame. Then set everything you can before even bringing the other subjects onto the scene: aperture, ISO, shutter speed, and white balance.
3. Prefocus
Prefocusing is key. If it’s a more formal group photo, this is fairly easy (focus on someone else, then join the group yourself), but even if you’re capturing more candid moments, you can ask someone else in the group to stand still for a moment so that you can prefocus (or even use a stand-in such as a stuffed animal just to get the camera focused approximately where you will be located). After prefocusing, be sure to SET YOUR CAMERA’S FOCUS to manual. If you don’t, your camera may re-autofocus on the wrong plane when you actually hit the shutter.
4. Close Down
Use a smaller aperture than what you’d normally select for the scene. I usually close down by 1-2 stops as compared to the aperture I’d choose if I weren’t in the image and could grab focus and fire all at once. The last thing you want is to finally get an image of yourself that you (actually!) love, only to find that your face isn’t quite in focus. Hedge your bets with a smaller aperture (for a full body self-portrait with my kids fairly close by, I’m often shooting at around f/5.6).
5. Let Your Child Press the Shutter
If you have a child that is four or older (or younger than that, if you’re a brave soul!), let him/her play photographer a bit. With your camera on the tripod (or a specific place for your child to stand and hold the camera), preset aperture/exposure/ISO/white balance/focus points/focus, and show him or her what button to press You may be surprised how seriously children take the job of “photographer”!
Image by Jackson Wilkerson (kind of), age 5
6. Use a Remote … AND the Timer
We’ve all seen the images in which group is smiling nicely at the camera, and there’s a blur of clothes and hair entering from the left side of the frame. Don’t be that blur. You can, of course, simply give yourself a little more lead time with a longer timer setting, but you’re still running back and forth between the camera and the group. I recommend getting yourself a remote … then adding a short timer setting. That way, you can sit naturally or interact with your child/family for a series of shots (if you know you have focus, just keep shooting!), but you have time to tuck the remote in a pocket or set it to the side before the camera fires. You’re not running back and forth, and you can actually enjoy unscripted, real moments instead of having images full of your remote-clutching-fist (you’re not fooling anyone) pointed at the camera.
7. Hand Off the Remote
Like letting a child physically press the shutter button on the camera, letting the child be in charge of the remote allows her to feel invested in your “session” together. It’s a fact of life that kids love anything with buttons, so you’re also more likely to get more extended cooperation (and consistently cooperative sessions down the road) if you let him/her be involved in this way for at least a few of the shots. PS – Husbands love remotes, too. But you already knew that.
8. The One Person Rule
When you’re taking photos with more than just one other person, arrange it so that one person is doing something different than all of the others. Depending on the setup, it can allow that person to really shine and be the subject of the photo. I encourage you to allow yourself to be that main subject. Some ideas:
1) You look at the camera, but ask your family to look at you or one another.
2) You sit (or stand) still, but have your children run, dance, or jump around you.
3) You face the camera; kids face away.
9. Get a New Perspective
Set the tripod up low (kid height) so that full body shots don’t completely include the adults. Or set things up so that you’re shooting from behind. Or pull way back and get a ton of context and just let be as your family prepares breakfast in the morning or plays together in the backyard. Get creative. You don’t all have to be smiling and facing the camera.
10. Shoot Your Own Perspective
Okay, this one doesn’t require a tripod, but I am talking about going beyond your regular position behind the camera and shooting yourself actively involved in your scene … bring some limbs into the frame. It helps to have a wide angle for these shots, which are some of my personal favorites … THESE are the moments I’m experiencing as a mother. They don’t just capture my observations – they truly capture my experiences and – most importantly – my involvement with my family. I close down quite a bit for these shots, since my depth of field usually needs to extend from behind the camera (where I’m located) out towards the other subject(s) in the frame.
11. More Ideas
Here are a few more ideas that can help to generate interesting and natural family self portraits:
1) Have everyone make a silly face or do a silly pose. It may not produce the picture you want to hang over your living room mantle … but then, again, it may. Either way, there’s a good chance that it will help you and your kids/husband/etc loosen up.
2) Ask your kids to deliver the same expression that you do, or play Simon Says with them. It’s a great way to get them to engage with you instead of with the timer light flashing on the camera.
3) Let someone else be the director. Ask the oldest child what he/she wants to do, or have your youngest give everyone else instructions for posing or making a certain face. Letting your children be the boss for once makes the experience fun for them, and they may just think of something fantastic that never would have occurred to you.
4) Make sure everyone is touching, especially if you’re posing. It’s a classic rule of family portraiture, and yes – it still applies here.
12. Use What You Know
Most of the same rules apply here that would apply if you weren’t in the frame. Don’t be above bribery to get extended cooperation, make sure kids are well fed and well rested, and wipe faces and style your subjects ahead of time (if that’s something that is important to you).
13. Have Fun
It may sound obvious, but allow yourself enjoy the experience. While I emphasize not putting off your pictures until “tomorrow” (and tomorrow, and tomorrow), also keep in mind that there will probably be more opportunities to set up these “sessions” if this one doesn’t work out. This probably isn’t a one time deal, so if your kids are truly not cooperating or you just can’t get into it, cut yourself some slack. Odds are that your goal here is not to document tension or holding little Johnny in a headlock to keep in the frame (unless that sounds like fun to you). When it’s no longer fun, cut your losses and go upload your card … I bet you got some unexpected keepers anyway.
Have some of your own favorite family self portraits? Have other tips or approaches that have worked well for you? Share with us in the comments!!
Sarah Wilkerson, Colorado
CEO, CMU Instructor
website | facebook | twitter | pinterest | instagram | mentoring | ask a pro
Sarah currently resides in Colorado Springs with her Army JAG husband, three sons, two dogs, and a baby on the way. When asked how she got into photography, she replied, “My husband had deployed 10 days after our first baby was born, and I realized a few months into the deployment that I needed a way both to document the milestones for him and to keep myself busy. I bought a DSLR in 2006 and found quickly that it appealed to my right brain desire to create and express myself + my left brain obsession with technology and precision.” Sarah shoots with a Nikon D4 and particularly enjoys tilt-shift and atmospheric black and white work. Gifted in teaching, she instructs CMU’s upper level composition courses (Elements of Design, Composition and Creativity, and Story and Vision). A former attorney, Sarah loves research and writing and enjoys lattes, mojitos, flip flops, and reality tv.
Read more photography tutorials by Sarah Wilkerson.
This was a great post !
Just hate it when people look like the did it themselves..but so hard to always ask someone!! WOuld love to use these tips !
can't see all the pictures…..great article, just wish i could see all the content….don't know if it's because it's an older post or if content has been removed.
Just found this on pinterest. Really helpful tips thank you. I need to get myself a tripod!
Thank you for inspiring me to learn how to use my camera timer! I will now be able to be in the pics, not just behind the lens, or the seldom pic my husband snaps. :)
This is such a great article. I'm always behind the camera but haven't made much effort at putting myself in the frame. The shots were gorgeous and have inspired me to give it more effort. Even one great shot will be well worth it!
OK, I just loved what you said about you being there too. I think there's a commercial on tv about that as well and it makes my tear up every time I see it. Anyways, I blogged about self portraits today and have linked this to it, thanks for sharing!
Revisited this blog post after reading it awhile back (from a pin!) — I'm now a member of CM and used the tips in this article for one of the CM classes I am taking! I really, really love this article because we photographers never seem to get into the shots ourselves. I love all the great tips on using my own photography knowledge to take those special shots for ME with my own kids! Thanks!!
I was just thinking the same thing the other day!
http://mymommymakes.wordpress.com/2012/10/04/momm…
Thank you for this article! It was a great reminder that I need to be in the story I am telling. And not just when I hire someone for formal pics- but for everyday. I ordered a wireless remote and can't wait to use it. This inspired me to start putting myself in the frame.
I have read this post and if I could I want to suggest you few interesting things or advice. What Are the Specialized Necklaces for the Twelve Constellat http://travelingheroes.com/bbpress/topic.php?id=1699232&replies=1#post-159841
Thank you!!! this was such a brilliant post!! Will try out everything you said!!