As a photographer, it’s just a matter of time before you’ll be asked to take a photo that you’re also going to be a part of. Before you freak out and think, “Oh, that’s impossible!” I want to share a few tips I used recently when I was asked to photograph my husband’s side of the family while we were all together for Memorial Weekend.

The first thing I like to do when I’m faced with a new project is go to the web. I look for posing inspiration, interesting locations, clothing choices, etc. Then I begin to form a plan…

1 | Location, Location, Location

It all begins with where you’ll be shooting your photo, then you can build from there. For our family, I knew we would need some way of getting the 31 of us on different levels, whether we were standing, sitting, kneeling, etc. I started to brainstorm all the places I knew of with stairs that would accommodate a group this large. Then my husband had a genius idea… the University amphitheater! Perfection. I was able to place everyone at different levels, allowing me to create a unique composition!

2 | Sketch it out

Once I have my location in mind, I like to sketch out on a piece of paper where I’d like to place each family member. Granted, come the day of the shoot, it’s likely you won’t stick to the exact sketch, but at least it gives you a starting point. And when we’re talking about placing upwards of 17 small children with short attention spans, it’s best to have a plan!

3 | Gear

There are two things I highly recommend when you’re both IN the photo AND the photographer… a tripod, and this amazing little invention called a remote shutter. It’s a life changer! With this setup, I’m able to get my camera settings fine tuned, place everyone where I want them, make any last minute tweaks to composition, posing, etc, then take my place in the photo and fire off as many shots as I need. And if I don’t want the remote to show at all in the final image, I just swap the remote with someone else in the photo for a few shots, and with a little editing in Photoshop… poof, the remote is gone!

4 | Natural Smiles

I have a secret weapon for coaxing natural smiles out of the little ones… it’s called a Shutter Hugger (shown below), and these things are amazing! I have the monkey and it just slides right over my lens, making it completely hands free. So, for our family photo, I told my nieces and nephews that I had a special surprise in my bag. I pulled out Mr. Monkey and asked the kids, “What does the monkey say?” When the kids answered, “Eee, eee!” I was able to get genuine smiles on their sweet little faces!

Just be aware that if you’re using the remote shutter, make sure you attach the Shutter Hugger somewhere else on the tripod and not the lens, otherwise it covers up the remote sensor. I’m totally speaking from experience on this one, lesson learned.

So that’s it, there are my tips for how to be both in the photo and taking the photo. Are there things I would have done differently had I not been in the photo? Sure. With any shoot, while I’m behind the lens, there are always little things I notice that I can quickly change before firing off a few more shots. But when you’re not behind the camera, there are things you’ll miss. So I guess my last tip would be to just roll with it and enjoy the moment you’ve captured for your entire family. Because in the end, that’s all that matters.

So, the next time you’re asked to shoot your own family photo, take a deep breath and tell yourself, “You got this!”