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Family of 5 Indoor Couch Scene

Lesson 15 from: Children and Family Photography

Tamara Lackey

Family of 5 Indoor Couch Scene

Lesson 15 from: Children and Family Photography

Tamara Lackey

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Lesson Info

15. Family of 5 Indoor Couch Scene

Lessons

Class Trailer

Day 1

1

Simple Posing: Young Girl

18:36
2

Simple Posing:Young Boy

18:30
3

Group Posing: Two Girls

17:59
4

Backlit Shots: One Girl

08:58
5

Shooting in the Shade

08:24
6

Using the Rule of Thirds

03:35
7

Review of Selected Images

07:20
8

Working with Self Consciousness

09:20
9

Training to Photograph Authentically

19:06
10

Talking Through Self Consciousness with Subject

18:06
11

ProFoto Strobes: 2 Light Sources with Pre-Teen Model

09:55
12

Stylize and Prep for a Shoot

16:27
13

Simple Family Poses

06:01
14

Use Props and Backdrops During Family Posing

08:48
15

Family of 5 Indoor Couch Scene

26:32
16

Natural Light and Strobes

24:49
17

Image Review of Family Photos

07:25
18

Use the Right Light for the Right Occasion

16:04
19

Ice Light Demo

08:01
20

Constant Lights Demo

08:38
21

Speedlight Demo

07:18
22

TTL Demo

09:20
23

Reflector Demo

05:24

Day 2

24

Pose Children in a field

16:58
25

Build on your shots

18:41
26

Capture Motion in a Wide Open Field

19:42
27

Capture Splashing in a Lake

20:20
28

Photograph Movement with Fast Moving Subjects

08:13
29

Top Tips: #1 Simplify The Shot

22:05
30

Top Tips: #2 Small Posing Shifts for Maximum Effects

17:01
31

Top Tips: #3 Direct The Feel & Energy

05:47
32

Top Tips: #4 Be the Destination

06:12
33

Top Tips: #5 Mix it Up. Vary Everything

05:22
34

Top Tips Q&A

03:50
35

Family poses in a field

22:03
36

Posing: Family of 5

25:32
37

Dads and Daughter Family Shoot in Field

18:08
38

Posing: Parent/Child Pairings

17:14
39

Why Tamara Was Drawn to Family Photography: Beautiful Together

19:17
40

Adoption Interview with Vicki Taufer

21:16
41

Lackey Family Adoption Experience: FAQs

36:16

Day 3

42

Tamara's Gear: Cameras

08:43
43

Tamara's Gear: Lenses

17:06
44

Tamara's Gear: Accessories

08:26
45

Mylio Demo

26:27
46

Digital Album Design

12:21
47

Sales Prep Process

24:30
48

Photo Review With Client

37:30
49

Selected Images and how to sell them

07:08
50

Closing out the Sale

04:56
51

Professional Photography Pricing

19:23
52

Start Your Business

28:39
53

How to Market Yourself

24:33
54

How to Stay Inspired

02:06
55

Photoshoot Recap

12:31
56

Tamara's Top Tips Recap

12:56
57

Tamara's Tools Recap

19:30
58

The Importance of Family Photography

04:51

Lesson Info

Family of 5 Indoor Couch Scene

Hi. Ready? We're gonna come all over here. I'm gonna move the lights that's. Ok? And you have to introduce yourself. And you have to bring the energy because it's sweaty you're not going to dropping right? Good. Good. I've got a good idea around here. So you guys want tio? Introduce yourself, introduces you to get your copy tomorrow. Hi, chris. So, buffy and chris, lizzie cameron cougar. All right. And then, buffy, you were saying earlier that you guys have never done a shoot. Okay? And in terms of this experience, this is quite a lot going on for your first year. Do you have any questions before we begin? No. All right, so I'm going to tell you the thought here is a couple things. One we want to let the kids just begins. Let them do whatever they want. For the most part, for this, I'm sure about this and in the break doesn't belong to me anyway. It's fine, eh? So you guys were pretty free and then into looking like that music. And then in terms of being photographed, do you have any c...

oncerns? Were talking earlier about how so many clients are self conscious, like you'd like to be hidden behind children as much as you can. And that is because you know less of me less of you left with me on camera the better you like what I'm so used to being the one taking the pictures at home that you know, not always my favorite thing ok? So but he's saying that she's so used to being the one who takes the photographs at home it's not her thing she'd rather not be in the photographs or you're just not used to being in the photographs you know I want to be in a photograph you want tio you're just not used to it wait show them show them that again, she says we try to take pictures of her but she's always like this like that yeah, so ah lot and I think that's actually a very common thing one of things that we were talking about earlier it when it comes to these kinds of experiences that you're going to get a lot of resistance from people and one of the resistance points is yes, I want the photographs but I don't want to actually be there while you photograph me. I don't want the experience because I'm not used to writer I'm uncomfortable or whatever the case may be and I really suggest that people kind of push a little further when they're with their clients and ask why like why? Because or even just say, well, tell me more because just so you can kind of get the root of it so you're saying you feel like you're just not used to its you're not comfortable with that? I just don't always like the way photograph, so I'm sure you'll do a great job, you know, like the way you always photograph but you think you do a great job kids take a photo of me, but yes, I know that feeling don't love the iphone photos yeah, my kids do it like right here like right now I'm like my best thing thank you a lot like a family sandwich over here? Uh huh. So what? What a couple of the things that I want to talk about these kids have no problem being photographed I can tell they're going to find, you know, yeah let's go way made a pact solemn agreement um it is not unusual during a experience like this where you tell the kids they could do whatever they want and the parents watch the kids do what they want and they see stop it because that's being a good parent, right that's what we do, I do that too, but then the easy thing to say is just like, so on and then you can get a big you asked for it and we're just letem do it see we're fine so in this case as it relates to you guys how do you feel about the family photograph having that that one having not done well she's always taking pictures of me with them so I'm used to so it's nothing you're good did you want to come here and you want to like play golf you wanted to play it off all right? So let's go ahead and set something up and uh you're breaking out of you're here you're gonna be in it your e I love it he's in it to win it he's in a tauron it all right so you're gonna start out right here I'm going to make things easy for you which is to say we're going to start out with you very, very comfortable and so all you have to do no no you have to be in the photograph we're gonna have you with a pillow here and you're just gonna lay back and look up in the feeling you don't do anything just get comfortable and we're goingto have a child with you and that's all we're gonna dio so not literally laid back but lean up against him and looked that way for now because this man ok? So we're gonna do this okay do you come here? You guys seem to be very brutal we're gonna have that all right and then you're going to just kind of lean up so to show you exactly what I mean excuse me? It'll be like this but like this way and then I'll just do a little bit, okay? Excuse me, it's not that kind of shoot. All right? We're gonna go here yet and then legs up you're out the cats right now, buddy, I know what you remind me your name again could her all right, cooper so good. And then just kind of relax writing here and then I'm gonna just yet, but we're just gonna get started. They could do no wrong. Cooper, can I pick you up? Yes. Area kid number one good excellence. Oh, I actually like what you guys are doing over here. That's really styling. You come around here real quick. Your name was roger. Gary close, all right. And you put your legs on top of him. Roger likes it. Roger's gonna put roger she's in a pair of legs that have you but he's going to release a couple rogers? Yeah, good and that's. Nice and comfy. Yes. Good job, roger that's excellent. I kind of like what you got going on and you just bring it down. They breed out good, good. No, no that's too much that's awesome, and I would love the twenty four seventy two eight lens and then exactly as you are but you're gonna put your weight on your left hip so you're going to kind of flipped a little bit so exactly as you are but instead of laying like you're gonna be a little bit more like this you're still not having to be here yeah yeah good perfect and awesome I think you may get to jump in a little bit get your knees up a hint you may get to jump a little bit and you cross the legs and then you need europe ready you're gonna be here and I think when I say go all you have to do a job that's your whole job we've got the lights in hey, I'm going to see because of the nature of how we've got this set up I'm going to have to use this tow light they see skim across the family and manage the shadows that you show up in the back wall all right? Would you be comfortable with your arm back here? You see what I'm doing with buffy and slow? I told her she wouldn't have to do anything and I'm slowly making her do thanks so it's kind of like when you throw up the frog into boiling water it'll jump right out but when you like just let it in, the water is boiling suddenly you're like wait a minute, you're actually making me do this okay are you ready? You're ready to job okay um this's actually going to go here were to skim across the back he lives here and I pulled the light right there is that okay? Do you think they'll skin right across and that'll just manage the shadowing what you hear me all right so you just gonna sit up a little bit more so set up just a little bit more yet it's huge back there yes you are loving it and then you're gonna turn just a little bit towards me yeah good way like it okay you ready? Job no, we're not going to be awesome and then I'm thinking even though they're really spread out and I'm gonna have a depth of field that allows for a more extended field focus I'm going to make sure that they're playing their faces are all kind of on the same plane of focus so if I were to put like a curtain down right here they don't be hitting it at the same time in terms of where they their faces a line because it's exact same shot because they're so spread apart could be really problematic if somebody was dramatically forward or dramatically back okay so good so then you are going to be like that and you're going to rest like they're a little bit yet drop risk totally relax I got your clothing for you and it looks beautiful okay you're still wishing you're playing golf but it's over you're in all right already I'm gonna move this and then that's gonna be your job is to jump and that's gonna be a picture yeah just like that uh daniel, can we swing this hour that thank you all right we still have a little more shadow and then I would love but we're not gonna worry terribly about it right now on the horizontal will help it's nice cooler and know that I was that's nice you guys missed it before it was like oh yeah this is feeling nice so we're just gonna do a little test shot before anybody does anything um because I'm gonna make sure that oh my goodness we've got some blue tones in here we'll fix that real quick okay? We're getting bright lights we're getting lots of blue with the white balance and that is a nice simple fix what? I'm an automotive just going to switch to more of an amber you see that warms it up if not but I'll move more into a different line all that is getting there okay do you guys see that let you guys beautiful that is getting more and more into our natural skin tones which we want and then um the other thing I can do right here is switched to more of a flash mode are you ready to jump? All right, good so you guys able to see the difference of light lighting from that first frame to where I am now in terms of just the color balance? Yeah, it's huge, right? So the first one is just auto, my balance let's see what we get? Um, by the way, I never put a monitoring from the families don't look at it, you're not allowed to look at it, you're with me on, but we do a silver, the bounce, the color balance was just a matter of the main difference there is I started out with auto white balance, it was reading the room and the lighting all wrong, which is not unusual when you've got this many lighting source is coming in to correct for that, I could make it warmer and warmer, right? Switch to the flash mode so you see the flash white balance option and that always automatically managed it. Some people will say, but why do you care? Because you're shooting and wrong and you can change it later I care because I want to make sure I'm aligned the whole way through and I don't have to do, but you work later and because I do make a lot of different setup changes, I'm gonna have to change a lot of times it's not like I do want you and everything is the exact color balance and it's just one quick shift because it's not okay yeah we're mostly going when you're looking at this frame we're going to mostly make sure bouncing some lovely light here but you're gonna have to do it from far back to you steve yeah, you see it just remember slow so when you're trying to find the sweet spot from reflector you just the slower you go the better opportunity you have to see it you know, to actually see it moving across the sky and this guy being the wall let me know if you need a little extra help ok are you ready? Is it? I'm gonna make you do I'm gonna kick up my aissa kick up my shutter speed jump back a little bit so I can drop my aperture and then you're going to show me how much you jump on three ready biggest jump you have and you guys are going to help support that was not three who didn't even go toe one three thank you. Okay, you guys giving them give us some support giving love one teo that was good. We're gonna put a little more light on the situation when I talked about how easy it is the life I mean literally I could just do this I'm gonna create a little more shadowing there but I don't have another light in my studio I have six lights and I would just drag it that way but we're not gonna worry too much about right now okay you ready to do it again and I'm gonna make a burst mode listen to this that's the highest jump you khun dio arms up legs up you guys so you burn it I want to be oh that was nice I loved it are you guys doing to all right jump up you guys do too you have gotta yeah you set up to be a little capital procured a doctor and yeah you want to do it you know it probably dio have you to come in the middle of a catch so right on the edge and all you're going to dio is turned towards each other and you three could take stake out the whole couch and just do your magic you're on the edge yet living on the edge you're facing each other and you're just pretending that somebody's in charge here what that can you jump and then sit down yeah you can do that don't you want tio just so sure you're right and I'm going to go a little bit of a lower angle to get them jumping so you're gonna lean towards me a little more than you think you would yeah there we go okay ready one teo georgie yeah ready I don't want to go wait each other we're going to go like close already here you go this moves with you all right here we go let's get ready one I'm just trying trying really hard to ignore that shadow there that's count on me all right here we go what it'll be like four of you were dropping one teo I want the highest like there let there ready aren't you to lean forward like you're just about to kiss just you're just dickman that's right you're on camera make out one to go at the same time all right let's do it again come on you're fine let's do it good yeah because of me just turn me down to me try to hit he's going come on you can't reach me that was nice though is a good one that last one was funny all right all right, here we go. This is it you guys are going to go almost nose to nose and you could say to yourself is this self consciousness really, really last class closer say what was my chicago bear you can tell that's how they talk all the time okay ready and then I'm gonna move this over because this front lighting skill ende we're gonna go this way okay let's just let you jump in I think the letter next one to go how do you know where you went can we do they will pull that one out I'm gonna I'm gonna fix the lighting issue the shadow and because on a shoot there this kind of shadowing I love you guys jumping you're fantastic with this kind of shadow the problem is we're right up against the wall and so in ah home situation when you're pulling a chair around if you look at a lot of the photographs on my website they're all pretty moved out I'm gonna move out chair I'm gonna move out of bench I'm gonna move out a couch I'm trying to light around it but it's just too too much compact competition with lighting so do me a favor help me move this out because jump up for just a second and then an easy rule of thumb is tio back the couch up about as tall as the person is causing the shadow so lay on the ground let's see how tall you are oh wow we actually did it okay great. So we're back up a little bit and that should do it because he's this tall all right good let's try it and then we're gonna reset the lighting right dio on my time he's talked what everything's good all right let's do the silver over here and we can bounce it on this guy you know because that's concrete all right hey kids, I love your behavior jeff are you all right? Your jumping is so beautiful okay I don't suppose we could move that big that that just a hint towards the wall would that be possible that we would solve that problem perfectly yeah yeah okay we're going to practice how to do it all the same time what do you think it is? Okay let's practice gogo sitting all right here's the trick though you need to jump in word you know what? Yeah. You know why you drop that and just hang behind the couch all right? So it's a little issue but now wait pause okay? It's a little issue but now that we have moved the couch out we've got the floor behind them and so it's the same thing at home on a harvard for something I'll ask my assistant to just hang back there as much as you want get the cool shots it's never worth risking fall okay let's see how we're feeling everybody looks like they're feeling good yeah you're gonna be able to time it that well all right, let's do it danielle have all three arms ready, okay? Oh, you're gonna dio you know what do they do? The nose things let's get what to go well, the thing is you've got longer legs you've got a bigger jump but I love that that was also going to do one more like that and then we're gonna take a break one more and then we'll take a break way back way up and this will allow me to increase my shall adopt more shallow depth of field here we got ready one two all right there is the oh get up and say it's good you their day yeah we've lost cooper completely gorgeous all right that's good that's good take a nap for good she needs a lunch break let's get a calming beverage of water and they were gonna d'oh where dio quick hyun a break and then we're gonna do one more set up this family petard everything isn't easy do you find so not it's the hardest of all those sheets of you I was just going to say do you find that families are harder than kids alone orchids yes absolutely on dh it's funny we were going to show you a couple shots later way had a chance to put a bunch of puppies in baltimore recently and one of the cool things I found was the goal was to put sixteen puppies together and get one of all of them together and I was doing this first nations photo lab and teaching the executives how to shoot and the question came in is this harder or families harder michael families are harder children are easier yeah these are good it's good to see just to know that right just see that everyone's shaking the head okay let's get some questions in so this one is from rebecca who said I've had parents who literally screamed at their kids to smile this does not produce natural smiles the kids end up upset I have to work extra hard to get them tow laugh and be happy again what do you say? How do you coach parents who are trying to control the situation right? So what we did with both families are not the first one here but uh upstairs that's true, I didn't have a conversation down here did I did I talk about how I want the kids will do what they want okay, so we had that conversation right before walk on, which is what I do it right before the shoot happens just have the conversation that this can you just let the kids be kids do whatever they want their free reign and then usually parents will say something along the lines of like, it's your you want it, you asked for it on dh and then after you've got that initial by and you just constantly remind so I'm constant reminding because parents will constantly want to stop the child and say, you know, don't do that or do that or that, you know, and we did that twice here with him to say, you know, because all right, because it's really natural for the parents to start whistling a little bit because the kids were like it feels like the kids are doing that on purpose, like they're actually being extra rude on purpose, you know? And that could be really upsetting to a parent, and yet that's, the last thing we want, the shoot, we wanted things to go and after a few reminders of parents do let go, but it's a little bit of a practice that you actually have to help them practice it, and I feel like that's, what you see and just so much portrait photography is that you have to be constantly directing, and we're seeing you do that as well, right on dh, whether that's, the parents or the posing or what have you, I'm constant explaining to you what I'm doing, I don't do that on the shoot right on a shoot. I'm just it's just that that first fifteen minutes is set up when on apple boxes while the kids were melting like that the first fifteen minutes, that's thirty six seconds go engaging them the whole time so I don't have that experience of them melting away because I'm not explaining it off. Great. Okay, so from l one tell us again when you have a group where he focusing when I have a group where my focusing so I'm making sure I extend my feel the focus enough to get the whole group and if I um and for the most part like in this family shot I want to make sure my feel the focus is stand a little bit more I can step back and get some focus just right in the middle of mom and dad are and so usually it's towards the middle around the eyes is the focus and then something like this I might switch to a continuous mode focus versus a single shot just because there's so much going on but the more I want to be able to bring more light into the situation this was a dark scene for fast movement this was a really dark scene for fast movement I wouldn't normally do this with two lights I'd have four lights and constant lights already set up and I just put them around or a power of the strobes which is the next thing we can try we actually show the comparison stroke you're going to have more power but in that regard I need to then make sure my depth the field is more open, more shallow depth of field and I have to keep backing up to keep the focus star charlie right? I don't know if everyone can really grasp how dark it is in here I know because it probably is that why you were up at what, thirty, two hundred? Somebody was saying, so, yeah, I gotta work with what you have, right? And based on the camera you can get great noise management at at a level like that, I would only go higher than that. And can you tell us again what, um, what kinds of lights then are some people weren't sure what even constant lights are, and so what is it that you're using? So the constant lights, these on the west fat td, spider light, sixes tt sixes and basically what that means is there's six bulbs in there, and you can turn something on and off with three switches in the back that allows you really simple control over the lighting and the difference being constant lights and strobes is that constant lights or just on and they're going, and we'll talk about that more in our last segment, but it's basically turning on a light in a room, but you can direct it versus strobes there like a flash, and they're going to go off when you click and they need a recycle time, but they can usually generate more power.

Class Materials

Free Downloads

Children and Family Photography Syllabus
Adoption Myths and FAQs
Tamara Lackey Photographing Eyes in Portraits

Ratings and Reviews

a Creativelive Student
 

Thank yo Tamara Lackey and Creative Live for such an amazing course. Every tool that is needed to maintain a successful business is in this course. Tamara's appreciation for love and family are so apparent in her style of interaction with people and methods of photographing them. In this class she shares everything from the basics of connecting with your clients to the importance of in person sales sessions and how to do them without being uncomfortable. I love Tamara's energy and sense of humor. She really emphasizes how important it is to be self confident and love what you do. This class is amazing. I can barely sit still through a movie these days, but I was entranced through 3 consecutive days of highly valuable information. I am thankful to have this class in my CL library. I am sure I will refer to it often.

Abbeylynne
 

Thank you! Thank you for bringing Tamara back to Creative Live! She is one of my favorite teachers! She has a bubbly effervescence as she teaches. I like her teaching style and never tire of her message in photography. Tamara has a way of working with her models/ clients that makes you want to just jump through the screen to participate in the process! Her portrait stories share her zest for life. She has great business ideas as well as for life and family. A truly balanced instructor for the beginning photog as well as a seasoned professional. Refreshing concepts about how to deal with challenging situations with lighting, posing, and interaction with her families. It's hard to pick a favorite section - the entire class was just great! A wonderful resource for your library to refer back to time and again. Keep up the great work Tamara. You inspire me to get out and shoot!

user-6a96fc
 

What can I say- it's Tamara Lackey, so of course it was AMAZING! I learned so much, about relationships, self awareness, lighting, portraiture, posing, gear, marketing, products, I could just go on and on. Tamara has an incredible ability to truly connect with her clients (and her students)- and she taught us how to do it! I admire Tamara on so many levels and I appreciate how much of herself and her own business practices she was willing to share. Her new organization Beautiful Together is inspiring. I will be watching this course over and over. Thank you Tamara Lackey and thank you CreativeLive.

Student Work

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