Family Photography How To

Beware of these popular (and rightfully awesome) compact camera features that can ruin your holiday pics. Here are some tips about outsmarting technology to improve your photos. 

Deleted images do not “go away.” Formatting a memory card does not “erase” the images. Never sell or loan a memory card unless you’re willing to share every image that’s ever been on it.

It all started with a conversation at a family holiday with my aunt and uncle about doing a summer hiking trip in Yosemite to stay at the High Sierra Camps. These camps are supported by daily mule trains that haul in supplies, including delicious meals and luggage, thus allowing visitors to carry a light daypack while getting to enjoy the experience of a backcountry trip.

A few years ago I was reorganizing a closet and discovered cardboard boxes tucked into a dark corner. Much to my surprise, I found dress boxes and shoeboxes filled with photographs from the 1940s and early ’50s. I had forgotten that when my father died I inherited his personal photographs. That afternoon and long into the night, I sat on the hallway floor looking at the pictures and reliving some of those moments. It was like discovering buried treasure, a forgotten family heirloom.

There are stories we tell to explain ourselves, to clarify who we are, and to account for why we are who we are. And no matter what the apparent subject of these stories, what they are always really about is the past. “The past is never dead,” William Faulkner said. “It’s not even past.”

Portrait photographers are responsible for a lot of happiness among a wide variety of people, because well-done family pictures grow more valuable yearly. They usually portray infants, seniors, friends, and relatives, though sometimes portraits are interpretations of unusual subjects. Thomas Balsamo knows this because he has 30 years of experience photographing families and children. His work has also led him to a personal project that originated when his good will and curiosity were extended toward individuals or groups who found their portrait sittings emotionally and psychologically unusual, as well as uplifting.

Lynne Eodice is an accomplished writer/photographer and a popular contributor to Photographic magazine.

Pets are often important members of the family, and it's not unusual for a portrait to include the family dog, cat or parrot. Most animals have a very brief attention span, so plan to shoot for 10 minutes at a time, with breaks in between. Like children, pets are...