Photographing more than 1 person (Help!!)

I have mostly taken location portraits of 1 person. I am being asked

to take pictures of a family at their home (outside on the porch). I

plan to do this with a digital camera, Canon D10, and a Tamron lens,

18 - 105mm. The largest fstop is 2.8.

Any suggestions on how to approach this for maximum sharpness and

adequate contrast? This will be a Father, Mother and son. What should

be the object of focus? What focusing parameters should I use?

I am a beginner in terms of portraiture, and need some mentoring.

Thanks a bunch.

Carolyn

You want to shoot at f11 (or something other than wide open, i.e. 2.8)

and take eight to ten frames. If the 'smallest' person is a squirmer, you may have to shoot a few more images. You may need fill flash to lighten the shadows. Good luck.

Gerald....thanks. How quickly we forget. The smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field. How quickly we forget the basic principles. Thanks for the reminder. And, the need to shoot and shoot and re-shoot.

Carolyn

manual mode, f/8, 1/60s, bracket the flash exposure compensation (likely it'll be

best to dial in -1/3). Your 10D is a smart camera. You could get a decent result on P

mode if lighting is good enough to stop the aperture down.

otherwise, I'd ditch the flash. Pay more attention to where the shadows are; eliminate

any areas of deep shadow by moving the subjects around, or get something to reflect

some light onto them to provide some soft, natural fill. Direct flash can be harsh.

Foamcore is cheap, but so is tin foil or sunshades for cars. Set it off to the side, say

@ 45 degrees & reflecting up if sunlight permits.

otherwise, an overcast day is perfect for soft outdoor lighting. Just meter off their

faces.

focus on the mother's eyes, but if you have enough depth of field (f/8 is plenty), this

shouldn't be a big deal.

remember the rule of digital: expose for the highlights. You can extract shadow

detail later.

good luck!