A relative has just returned from overseas for the summer holidays. Wanting to have a home family photography session, she had asked me to photograph her family; brothers, sisters, parents and their extended families. The last time this was done had been many years ago, so it was about time this happens.
I was initially told perhaps an outdoor session just outside the house could be done after the indoor shoot is completed. However, the hot and humid tropical heat kept us inside the entire time.
The house was cavernous with really high ceilings and a central feature of a stair case winding its way up to the next floor. Lighting this would be a challenge. Even though I wasn’t told specifically, I was made to understand that it was best to capture some features of the house as well.
I used three monoblocs for this shoot. In all the shots, I generally had one strobe with large soft box on the second floor aimed toward the entire staircase below. This light lifted the scene in that area considerably as seen in the picture immediately above. The central area of the stairway was well lit and the light falls off gently into the distance (upper floor). The strobe was situated on the upper right most corner.
A second bare strobe was bounced onto a nearby wall for my general fill while a final strobe with soft box was used as my key light. I had a number of other simple shots taken at the living room too. But I have to say those at the staircase were more interesting.
Finally, a shot of the little girl just outside the house.
Normally when there are kids or the elderly involved in a shoot; more of the latter than the former, I’d be requested to do a home family photography session. I would often go in with lots of ideas and am always eager to stir things up a bit according to my creative whim. However, as I should have expected it, sometimes your client may not be exactly up to it. You just got to go with the flow and settle with whatever makes them happy.
I’m glad they were happy with the shots. After all, it was the “family time” of togetherness that mattered. Being able to get everyone at the same place and time as people live and work globally with their own commitments was good enough. The resulting photographs of “my family, our family” are indeed a bonus to mark this occasion. And for that, I’m glad to be able to realise that for my clients.