Having family portraits taken has been a practice that’s been around for a number of centuries now. What was once a privilege of the aristocratic families in the past, is now a tradition for countless families all over the world. It doesn’t matter if you’re part of a big brood or just a small family of three. Family portraits make the perfect memento to keep through the years.

Although taking the family photo may seem like an easy task, you’ll be amazed by the number of different factors that come into play just to be able to create the perfect shot. If you think family photography is easy, you might want to think again. Here are just some of the challenges that family portrait photographers have to deal with when taking family photos.

Composition
One of the challenges of taking good family photos is figuring out the right composition of your family photo. You need to compose the shot in a manner that will not only engage the viewer, but look aesthetically balanced as well. One foolproof technique that many photographers use is to position family members in an imaginary triangle to naturally draw the viewers’ eyes into the photo.

Poses
Another challenge that many photographers face when taking good family photography is finding the right pose. Sometimes it can be quite difficult to get people to pose in a way that doesn’t look stiff or staged. Don’t be afraid to play around with creative poses and you might just get a winning shot.

Cooperation from everyone
Lastly, there’s also the issue of getting everyone to cooperate, especially when there are young children involved in the shoot. Let’s face it, it can be quite stressful having to deal with young children in a photo shoot as it takes a special kind of photographer to get them to smile and laugh with everyone in the photo. The only way that you can get through this challenge is be patient and maybe have a few tricks under your sleeve. Go out of your way to make your subjects feel more comfortable during the photo shoot and cooperation is sure to follow.

Trying to capture the perfect family moment can have some very interesting turns, but once you see the final product, you’ll then realize that all that hard work was worth it. Look up helpful hints from professional photographers to learn more on how different photography styles. With enough practice and a bit of creative thinking, you’ll be shooting family photography like a pro in no time.