Miner Family Portraits at DeKoevend Park

When I arrived at DeKoevend Park for this family portrait session the temperature was 50 degrees, it was bright and sunny (and warm) I even took my coat off during the first half of the shoot.  But something happened while we were there and the temperature dropped almost 20 degrees - when I left my car said it was 32 degrees outside!!!  Poor miss Charlotte got mighty cold by the time we finished.

We also photographed her 4 - legged friends:

Family Portrait At Red Rocks Park In Morrison, Colorado

On the day of this family portrait session I woke up and thought that there must be a fire in the mountains because their was a thick haze covering the mountains.  I was really worried about the whole situation and as I drove from Highlands Ranch to Red Rocks I actively listened to the radio to figure out if something was going on.  When I got there the answer was "Fall Fog" and it really put my normally bright red rocks colors into a bit of a haze.

This was an original image from the shoot before any adjustments were made to the color:

 

This is an image in the same series after the reds were brightened to bring out the rock color

Lynch Family Portraits at DeKoevend Park

DeKoevend Park is my go to park, when all else fails - DeKoevend is there to save me.  The park is located on University drive just north of Arapahoe and the park is huge! So with that said, come shoot here! You will LOVE it just like me.

These were done Late Late Late fall - in fact I didn't expect the park to have any leaves left.  Just like always DeKoevend came through for me.  In the spring this area of the park is not accessible because its the creek bed and it has water in it or mud,  In the fall & winter its just sandy and full of leaves (yellow ones).

Lucy & Linus joined us for the shoot and I have to say if you bring your dogs just be ready for even more fun and excitement.  I am definitely a dog person so I love working with them, so seriously bring them =)

5 Quick DIY Tips for Photographing Families!

How to take professional looking pictures - DIY Photo Tips

I absolutely love taking photos of families, maybe its the challenge, the craziness or the fun. I think its actually all of the above. I've put together a quick list of things that will help make your family photos better & hopefully less stressful for all!

1) Make the photo fun - a 2 yr old is definitely going to rebel if mom is forcing her to stand still look at the camera and smile - instead try to get the 2 yr old to interact with her family members first (hug, kiss, tickles, whatever it is) then ask for her to look and smile - my favorite images are the candid ones anyways =) 

For a serious photographer - the instant you arrive on the shoot, start getting shots of the kiddos, these can be some of my favorite shots from the whole shoot - just because the kiddos are in the stage of who are you and what are you doing. (Caroline on Left - first shot of the shoot, before heading outdoors)

2) Shoot outdoors - I LOVE THE OUTDOORS, I live in Colorado so I should love them. Look for shade. Make sure EVERYONE is fully in the shade, even if you know nothing about lighting you will still come up with stellar images in the shade. Make sure your background is in the shade too.

Try fun things - bring a chair into the middle of a field - Khloe on Right - at Mid-day usually not the best lighting conditions, but I pulled it off here using a reflector.

3) Remember the camera has absolutely no idea what you are taking photos of so its going to try and decide what it thinks the exposure is. The camera determines its exposure from averaging all the color values into a drab gray color (like an overcast sky) so when photographing just look at the scene if you have only really bright whites the camera is going to take that white and make it gray (so it will be slightly under exposed) same with a really black scene - the camera will also make that gray. Just try to find a background with a variety of shades of color then you will have the most success.

4) Take more than just one shot - families have expressions, take a decent quantity unless you are sure that one came out. I take at least 2 of every shot because of expressions. If someone is a blinker, I usually have to take a few more. 

5) Hire me, haha or someone else to take your family photos - sometimes kids just react better to someone else doing the shots instead of a family member they are used to.

Thanks for reading! Leave a comment.

Sharon