We’re so excited for Gary and Beverley, the beautiful couple who won our ‘An Enchanting Pre-Wedding Giveaway!’ As a couple, Gary and Beverley radiate joy and love, and their heartfelt story was beautifully captured on photos and in video. This giveaway was made possible by our photography and videography team from Stories, in collaboration with the following vendors:
The Majestic Hotel’s orchid conservatory is one of the most beautiful indoor spaces in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! Imagine being surrounded by hundreds of orchids! As orchids require a certain cooling temperature to blossom, you and your guests can enjoy the fresh and cooling breeze as well. Adrian & Tracy didn’t want a huge glamorous wedding with hundreds of guests so the orchid room was perfect for them. We absolutely love how the photos turn out! Orchids seen in every photo :)
If you’ve ever been involved in coordinating a family photoshoot, you’d understand the challenges that comes with it. The larger the number, the more stressful it gets! As photographers who have photographed large families up to 40 people, it’s daunting for us as well. Posing large families and ensuring everyone looks their best requires experience and skills. In Malaysia, there are many festive seasons where a family portrait session becomes necessary. If you are trying to DIY a large family portrait at home, these tips will help you master the art of photographing large families!
1. Start with a plan
Before the photoshoot, communicate with the family to discuss their vision, preferences, and any specific poses they have in mind. Consider factors such as location, wardrobe choices, and the overall style of the portraits. Having a clear plan in place will streamline the process and ensure everyone is prepared.
2. Choose a location
Selecting a suitable location is essential for large family portraits. Outdoor settings with ample natural light, such as parks, gardens, or beaches, provide a beautiful backdrop and ample space for posing. However, it can be pretty humid and chaotic when you bring so many people outdoors, so make sure you set everyone’s expectations prior to the shoot. Alternatively, if shooting indoors, opt for areas with neutral backgrounds to avoid distractions.
3. Appoint a leader
A leader is tasked in coordinating and organizing the entire shoot from the start till the end, as well as communicating with all the family members and photographer to ensure a smooth session. Create a chat group so that everyone involved receives the same message and information about the photoshoot.
4. Arranging and Posing
When posing large families, it’s helpful to establish a hierarchy to ensure everyone is positioned appropriately. Start by placing the parents or grandparents at the centre of the group, with smaller family units positioned around them. This arrangement helps to identify the family’s structure more clearly. Instead of lining everyone up in a straight row, arrange family members in layers to add depth and dimension to the photograph. This technique creates visual interest and prevents the image from appearing too flat. You can place taller individuals towards the back and shorter ones towards the front to avoid blocking faces. Utilize props or natural elements like stairs or benches to add dimension to the scene.
5. Pay attention to details
Try to take the time to pay attention to details such as wardrobe coordination, hair and hand placement. Besides that, notice for any distracting elements in the background and make adjustments as necessary. Additionally, be mindful of facial expressions, body language, and posture to convey warmth and unity within the family. Avoid stiff, unnatural poses by encouraging relaxed and comfortable stances. Guide family members to lean towards each other slightly or make physical contact to convey closeness and affection.
6. Experiment with different angles
If you have a really large family like the one below, and find it really hard to get a location to fit everyone, you can try to take a top angle shot! Everyone can be standing on the same level, but as long as they can see the camera, their faces will be seen.
If you’ve ever wondered why photographers can’t send your photos instantly right after the shoot, this is because the photos need to go through a few processes before reaching their final result! When we shoot, we shoot in a format called RAW, which is not suitable for general use. So first, after the photo shoot is completed, our photographer will transfer the photos to the computer and select the best ones. Next, it gets transferred to an editing software, where our editor would do a basic colour correction on every photo and then export it in JPEG format. We often have clients ask, What do we mean by basic colour correction? Does it include removing pimples, wrinkles, eyebags, etc… Unfortunately, these requests fall under extra editing requests, as they require a longer time and effort to edit. If we do this for every photo, you may not receive your photos within the promised timeline!
Basic Colour Correction
Colours in RAW format are usually lifeless-looking, but it is still the best format to further process in post production. So it’s absolutely a must that we bring some life to the photos! A basic colour correction is essentially adding and balancing out the brightness, colours (saturation), colour temperature, highlights, and shadows of the photos as well as cropping out excessive backgrounds to make the images look more centred. A few toggles here and there will instantly make your photos look more vibrant and captivating!
Have a look at the before (left) and after (right) samples here!
Extra Editing
We do offer extra editing services for those who wish to have a “picture-perfect” photograph. This service usually comes FOC when you order framed prints and albums with us. Alternatively, you can add on this service for your favourite selection of images at a minimal additional fee.
Extra editing includes:
Skin smoothening
Removing skin blemishes
Minimizing eyebags/dark circles
Minimizing wrinkles
Removing flyaway hair
Removing any background distractions
Removing any scars/wounds
Face/Body slimming
Minimizing double chins
Whitening teeth
Make-up retouch (add blush, lipstick, etc)
Minimizing creases on clothes
We hope this helps to clarify our editing services. Feel free to reach out to us if you have any more questions!
The Perdana Botanical Garden is quickly becoming the go-to-park for our clients! It’s situated in KL City with quite a few of parking spaces available which makes it convenient. It is a really beautiful and family-friendly park that’s perfect for cycling, running, exploring and simply just enjoying the surrounding nature. We have been here hundreds of times, and we never get tired of this beautiful park! There’s also plenty of other parks around the Klang Valley that we have photographed, in case you’re looking for a park that’s closest to where you live.
Josiah chose this park for his family photo shoot. After all, being a three-time Olympian cyclist, he loves being outdoors and doing fun, active things with his family. I had such a fun time with Josiah and Nattha. I am so glad that they love candid shots focusing on play. When you remove expectations for a family portrait to be so posed, perfect, and flawless, you’ll get more natural images that are filled with warmth and connection.
1. Start with a plan
2. Choose a location
3. Appoint a leader
We hope this helps to clarify our editing services. Feel free to 
