5 Great Tips for Photographing Your Multicultural Family

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I love photography. And what parent doesn’t? You bring a tiny being into the world and 12 months later they are a walking, talking masterpiece. Of course you want to capture the amazing transformation on film!

Whether you have a simple point and shoot camera or a complicated DSLR, here are 5 great tips to help you shoot beautiful images of your multicultural family:

1. Turn off the flash! Harsh, directional light aimed straight at the face is not going to help your photos look their best. Turn off that flash and get creative with your lighting. If you are indoors, use the soft light of a table lamp, aimed at an angle. Experiment and be creative!
2. Take it outside! Nothing is more beautiful than natural sunlight. But not too much. Take your photos either early in the morning, or late in the afternoon, when the sun is gentle and soft. High noon sun makes for plenty of shadows on your subject’s face, and that isn’t cute. If you find yourself at an afternoon play date, and taking pictures in the middle of the day is your only option, try to find solid, “open shade”.  Shade will make your subject more comfortable and reduce shadow cast. An example of open shade would be the shadow from a building or other solid object, or even the shadow from a very full tree would work.
3. Play with the lightening! My multicultural family consists of a medium yellowish tone {me}, a dark reddish tone {my husband} and something in between {our baby girl}. I’ve learned that the trick, like most everything in photography, is in the lighting. Experiment with reflecting objects and see if you can softly direct light across a face. An umbrella {be careful with colorful ones though} overheard, a table reflecting light from below, even the asphalt in a parking lot can make for great reflectors! My husband’s skin has beautiful red undertones that photograph best with soft indirect light, or highlights. What this means is that, in addition to casting highlights, I compose the photo so that he is nearest to the light source, like a sunlit window. Take time to learn the beautiful array of tones and undertones in your family, and the lighting that best suits them.
4. Learn to use editing software! Play around with the levels of exposure, brightness and color. Sometimes a tweek in contrast makes a big difference for an otherwise flat photo. No need to buy expensive programs. Google’s Picasa and Picnik are two wonderful free tools available online that I use often to edit and customize my photos.
5. Know your camera! Most cameras have some ability to customize settings according to your shooting conditions. Many have a variety of settings modes to select from; like action, landscape, beach, etc. Check them out! A simple change to your setting can make a big difference, or give you a bit of creative control.

These tips are in no way meant to replace the work of professionals. Professional photographers are paid big bucks because they are experts at manipulating light and can produce incredible images under less than stellar conditions. And sure, its true that a fancy schmancy camera is going to make beautiful pictures because of its ability to counter low-light conditions.  But even a simple point-and-shoot camera can create beautiful images.  So don’t stress over composition or lighting and risk missing one of life’s most precious moments. When in doubt, always take the picture! No one will care if your photo is slightly overexposed, but they will care if you miss capturing those precious first steps taken by your sweet baby.

What I hope is that these simple tips will help you capture your multicultural family in their day to day life and in their most perfect light, because we all deserve fantastic images of our beautiful families.

© 2011, Multicultural Familia. All rights reserved.