Beach Portraits: The Whole Family

My hubby's family is a big one! He has four sisters all of whom are married with children. Add in Nana and Papa and that makes twenty-two family members. We are rarely in one place at one time, so a recent family vacation was the perfect opportunity for family pictures. I was very nervous about how these would turn out. After all, any photo attempt that includes ten children is trouble waiting to happen. As it turned out, everyone was very cooperative.

So here is our favorite of the group shots:


I can't just let the photo go. I'm addicted to playing with photoshop. Just for fun, I changed all but the water and sky to black and white. It's not something I'd hang on the wall, but its a fun picture.


And because I just had to play some more, this one is converted to black and white with reduced opacity. Just a touch of the color is coming through the black and white.

I don't pretend to know what I'm doing, but I sure do have fun taking pictures. Here are some of the tips I learned (with the help of my friend, Lynn) for taking portraits on the beach:

*Evening shots are the best.
*Use your tripod for best results.
*Put the sun behind you with soft, setting sunlight on the faces of your subjects.
*Don't use flash.
*Watch for unwanted shadows on faces.

*Before sun sets but still low in the sky, use Fstop between 3.5 and 4.5; ISO 100-200. This will make sharp and clear photos.

*As the sun sets, change Fstop to between 2.8 and 3.5; ISO 200-400. This makes a softer photo.

*After sun sets, use the lowest Fstop on the camera; ISO 400-800. These photos will have soft edges.