There’s been this pretty cool movement in photography to capture this unique time in our lives. You have probably seen images from “front porch” sessions floating around. And yes these are such a wonderful way to capture this time. However, if you are in an area with a shelter-in-place/stay at home order, photographers in your area should not be available. I have a had a lot of people ask if and when I will be offering these- since my area is in a stay at home order currently, I am not offering these at this time.  But I have great news! I’m including instructions on how to you take your own front porch picture! YOU can do this yourself – with your DSLR or your phone! It’s easier than you probably think!

how to take your own front porch picture

If you have been following me on Instagram or Facebook, you may have seen my DSLR video tutorials. Here are a few tools you can use to accomplish a family front porch portrait using a DSLR and a few extra features or tools: 

~Even older DSLRs have a self-timer mode! 
~Wifi capabilities on newer DSLRs allow you to utilize your camera manufacturer’s app to snap an image viewing the scene + taking the image on the app! 
~A remote for your camera (it’s about a $10 purchase) and makes this process super easy!

Using your iPhone

I’m going to walk you through how to do this with an iPhone since it’s the easiest to demonstrate this way- just reach out if you would like more detailed instructions of how to do this with a DSLR.

In your camera, click on the arrow at the top center of the screen

This will allow the menu to appear, including the timer function
Make sure the focus area (the yellow square below) is in the center of the screen to capture as much of your family as possible.

A few more tips:

• Of course, lighting plays an important role but so does the orientation of your front porch. Ours faces south so it gets a TON of light throughout the day so in my case, I’d do this before 10am and after 4pm when the lighting isn’t as harsh. 
• Make sure you have the phone at a good angle. I had a very high-tech system to make sure the phone was at eye-level for us- I just set up my phone on a step stool and supported it with a shoe box 😉
• We just wore everyday clothes, but it would be fun to get dressed up or down in pajamas
• For posing, forming a “pyramid” typically looks nice. For this shot, I had all three boys line up, then I was on my knees in the back

Pretty easy right?

 

I hope this encourages you to capture beautiful images of your family. Please reach out with any questions at all- I’m happy to help! And please be safe and well. I look forward to seeing you and photographing you soon when it is safe to do so. 

~Molly