How to Take a Family Photo With a Camera's Time Delay Feature

Have you ever wanted to take your own family photo--with yourself in it, of course--but didn't know how? It's really not that difficult to do with the proper equipment, a little advance planning, a patient family and perhaps a few attempts taking a trial and error approach. In about an hour you can prepare, take the picture and even download it to your computer for printing without ever loading the family into the car.

Things You'll Need

• Camera with a self-timer
• Tripod
• Mirror
• Neutral background or suitable setting
• Chairs or stools of various heights (optional)
• Coordinating clothing for all family members

Instructions

1. Study your camera's instruction manual and your camera to be sure your camera has a self-timer feature and determine how to turn it on and off. Many cameras have options for a shorter delay and a longer delay. For instance, there may be a choice of a 2-second delay and a 10-second delay. Turning on the self-timer delay option of your choice is usually as simple as turning the camera on and then toggling the delay on or off with a special button on the camera or by choosing buttons from the menu.

2. Decide where you would like to take your family portrait. If you are taking an indoor portrait, select a location that is clutter free. You can set up a neutral background by hanging a solid colored sheet or blanket on a wall, or you may simply wish to use a solid painted wall as your background. Be sure the area is well lit, preferably from a large window directly across the room as long as the sun is not coming in directly so that it will shine in your family's eyes when you pose them for the picture. Hanging another white sheet on that window or closing a sheer curtain on that window will diffuse the light nicely.If you would like to take an outdoor portrait, find a shady location where the light is not dappled through trees, which could cause spots on your family's faces. Again, be sure the way you plan to pose your family will not have them looking into--and squinting into--the sun.

3. Select coordinating clothing for you and your family members consistent with the kind of portrait you want to take. For a casual portrait, blue jeans for all family members with matching shirts or shirts in coordinating colors looks nice. You could opt to have everyone in different shades of denim or blue. Khaki pants or shorts and white shirts are also a nice casual look. For a more formal portrait, you could have the men or boys in black suits or black pants and a dress shirt with the women and girls in black pants and coordinating sweaters or coordinating dresses. Make sure everyone's clothing is clean, neat and ready to put on.

4. Assemble posing stools if you will use them. For an indoor portrait, you may want to gather stools of various heights, one for each family member. For an outdoor portrait, you may wish to simply pose all the family members casually on the grass in various sitting or kneeling positions.

5. Study family portraits you like--either online or in books or magazines--to see what kind of posing would be most attractive for the kind of portrait you would like to create (formal or casual) and the number of people in your family. Consider the age and size of children, whether some children will be held or sit on a lap and each person's height. Often a triangular type arrangement of heads creates an attractive composition. If you will be using stools, position them now to achieve the effect you desire.

6. Set up your tripod in front of the area where your family will be posed and mount the camera to the tripod. Place the mirror in the posing area.

7. Get all family members dressed and groomed for the portrait so everyone is clean and ready to be photographed.

8. Assemble all family members in the posing area and put them into their approximate positions, yourself included. Using a mirror, look at the reflection of your family grouping and adjust each person's position so that it is visually pleasing to you, achieves the overall effect you desire and ensures everyone's face is clearly visible from the camera area. Tell all the other family members to hold their positions while you slip out of your spot to adjust the camera.

9. Turn on the camera and focus the lens on your family grouping, ensuring it is centered, you can see everyone's faces, no undesirable clutter is infringing on your composition and you have the camera zoomed in or out appropriately. You may wish to use the portrait mode on your camera to soften the background a bit.

10. Set the camera's self-timer for the longest available delay, for instance, the 10-second delay.

11. Double check to be sure your family is ready for the photo to be taken as soon as you can get into position. Press the shutter button. A self-timer lamp will illuminate on most cameras to let you know it is ready to go and beep sounds will usually emit from the camera until the shutter operates, taking the picture. Start counting down the seconds (and the beeps aloud) so everyone will be prepared and smiling when the shutter clicks. It may be helpful to count down backwards.

12. Quickly situate yourself into the family grouping in the location you previously occupied when you were setting up the composition and in the same pose you liked when you looked in the mirror. Smile, look at the camera and prepare for the shutter to click.

13. Return to the camera after the shutter clicks and takes the photo. If you have a digital camera, view the photo on the LCD screen to see if you are pleased with the result.

14. Repeat Steps 10 through 13 as needed until you have a photo that pleases you and your family. If you are using a film camera, you will want to take at least 6 to 12 shots to ensure you have one photo that turns out well with all family members smiling, looking at the camera and having their eyes open.

15. Get the memory card or film in for photo printing and processing. Your family portrait is now ready to be framed and hung, used for your family's Christmas card or shared via email with friends and family.

Tips & Warnings

• Using a digital camera is the easiest, most effective way to take a family portrait using the self-timer feature, since you can immediately review the results to see if the photo turned out.

• Never leave small children on a stool unattended. Have another family member or friend standing by so the child cannot fall while you are setting up the camera.