Family portraits can either be a bunch of fun or a terrible experience. Consider these tips the next time you pull out your camera for family pictures.

Less Posing, More Interaction: Some of the most compelling and heart felt family portraits are those where you capture the family interaction. Some posing is necessary, but then let them interact. Let the kids act silly and let your teen roll their eyes because at the end its about true moments, not manufactured perfection.

Vary the Levels: While we have been used to lining people up from tallest to shortest or vise versa, a good rule is to vary the heights of the family members. This will be more pleasing to the eye and will make the image feel less posed.

Fill the Frame: At all possible times, I instruct people to fill the frame with the family or kids they are photographing. By simply stepping forward and filling the frame or display with our subjects, you will eliminate the clutter or visual distractions around the family that only serve to distract our eyes from the main subjects.

Avoid direct sunlight: When we think bright sunny days, people tend to think that those are idea picture weather. This is true late in the day when the sun is setting, but during the mid-day sun, this could add terrible shadows that will steal the details of the picture. If you are shooting around noon, there are two things you can do to guarantee getting some nice pictures. 1) Look for a nice shade and use that as a way to get even diffused light. This will make colors pop and eliminate shadows that could ruin your pictures. 2) Shoot with the light at your subjects back and use your flash to fill in shadows. This will create a nice rim light around them and the flash pop will give you the details hidden in the shadows.

Nap “n’ Snacks: Kids do their best when they are well fed and well rested. Trying to photograph them when they are not, will only give you heart ache and frustration. Plus their reluctance to smile or stay put will show in the images. The best thing a parent or photographer do is to make sure that the kids are at their feeling good. This session has to be about fun, otherwise it will be a terrible experience, which will become a common problem the next time you try to take family pictures again.

Consider Color, but Don't be Matchy: When considering color, it is not necessary that everyone where the same color or the same shirt or pants. The goal in considering color is to choose colors that work together. Same shade group is ok, same color, not so good. You could be creative by choosing vibrant and eclectic colors pop and help to tell a story.

Background work: The larger your party, the more likely you won’t be able to completely eliminate your background. In this case you can choose a solid color wall or a green belt that would serve to make the subject pop. You could also change the shooting angle, either shooting down at the subjects or up to contain the background a little more. Another thing to consider is texture as it can add a nice element of design to your images.