Envisioning Family

A photographer's guide to making meaningful portraits of the modern family.

Family. A small word with powerful meaning. Most of us trace the roots of our own personal identity back, in large part, to our experience as part of a family. The actual definition of what a family is can vary widely. Yet, interestingly, most family photography is anything but varied. We are used to the basic posing of a group brought together and smiling like they never do in real life. We all know that staid family image. It doesn't offer much impact, and most professional photographers aren't terribly interested in shooting it. Create an image that captures the spirit of a family--as well as the individualism of the members who make it one--and you start at a magical place: your clients now feel something when they view that photograph. In Tamara Lackey's Envisioning Family: A photographer's guide to making meaningful portraits of the modern family, Lackey reinvents the family photo for photographers. A top portrait photographer and sought-after speaker, Lackey reveals her techniques for getting each member of the family to feel at home in front of the camera whether they're in the studio, at home, or on destination. With this book, you'll also learn to light your images well, use fill light in a more effortless fashion, pose your subjects in a beautiful but natural way, nail your exposure, and create family photos that leave every member of the family feeling and looking their honest best.