I recently shot family reunion photographs at Chautauqua in Boulder. The park provides a great backdrop for portraits, including deep shade, plenty of foliage for backdrops, and a view of the Flatirons. I shot both full group shots with over 20 people and smaller group shots of individual families. Organizing a large photo shot can be challenging. Many issues can derail a photo shoot of this size, including grumpy kids and tricky lighting. Family portraits involving 10 children is also challenging. Most importantly, the subjects aren’t professional models so getting people into proper poses has to be done quickly.
Given that I was using heavy shade for most of my poses, I used my Dynamite Baja B4 lights to open up the shadows. These work well since they are battery-operated. I didn’t use other light modifiers to keep things simple. All-in-all, the portrait shoot was a success and the people who had come from out-of-state enjoyed the scenery of the park.
