Getting Started

The key to capturing those great moments is to be prepared. People are often unpredictable, especially when they are socializing. So always keep your camera accessible, charged and loaded with a memory card with plenty of room for images.
Use a good processing lab to avoid disappointing results.
Your lens choice is the next most important consideration. Picture-taking situations can vary greatly from close-quarter rooms to wide open parks, from low-light churches to bright sunny beaches, from fast action sports to long lazy strolls. All these situations have different demands, but today you don't need a slew of different lenses to handle them.
A D-SLR camera with a zoom lens is the ideal choice for excellent quality and versatility. Tamron's AF18-200mm is the perfect lens for almost any situation and will help you to get closer to your subject. This all-in-one zoom lens gives you the 35mm equivalent range of 28-300mm.

Family Portraits

 If you have willing subjects, you can try taking more formal pictures. Pose your subjects in a well planned group, rather than having them all stand in a line. Seat two or three people and have the others stand around them with their hands on the seated subjects' shoulders. Keep everyone close together to avoid open areas between them. If you have a large group have some people kneel in front. Avoid posing very tall people behind seated or kneeling subjects. Arrange the group like a pyramid, filling in the center with faces. When photographing a small family group, have the parents sit on the ground with their legs bent and facing towards the outside of the frame. Pose one child behind and between the parents while the other child sits in front of one parents legs. If you have more children to get into the photo, keep the pyramid rule in mind. 

 

Group Shots

The key to taking interesting and fun group shots is just that, make them interesting and fun. Avoid taking the same type of shots year after year (unless you intentionally duplicate the same photo each year to demonstrate the growth of your family). Look for different angles to capture your group. Try a group shot from across the lawn with a telephoto lens, or a close-up using a wide-angle lens.

Self Timer 

Some of the best photos can be taken using the self-timer feature. . . and you'll have lots of fun taking them. Pose your group and make sure you leave a spot for yourself. Mount your camera on a tripod or set it on a sturdy surface. You can use a large bean bag or a rolled up sweat shirt to prop-up your camera on your car, fence, rocks, etc. Set your camera to the self-timer mode, frame the picture, press the shutter and run to your spot. Tell everyone to jump up and down, make a silly face or engage in a group hug to make the photo fun. Using the self-timer will guarantee that you get into at least some of your own pictures

Holiday and Special Events

When shooting on holidays and special events, include items that identify the event. Place objects, such as a birthday cake, presents, wedding cake, etc. in the foreground. Use a wide angle setting (18mm or 28mm) and shoot with a small aperture (f/16 or f/22) to keep the objects and your subjects in sharp focus.

Try shooting from a higher angle. Stand on a chair and shoot while everyone opens their gifts. Include the pile of wrapping paper in the foreground and holiday decorations in the background.

Get below your subject to tell the story from a whole new angle. Have your friends stand above you while you shoot upward. Fill the sky or ceiling with party balloons, Christmas lights, hot air balloons, fire works, mountains, etc. A wide-angle lens setting works best for these situations. 

Capture emotions to make ordinary photos special. When your family and friends get together, take some candid shots as they greet each other. Capture their happy faces, the hugs and kisses and "high-fives". Capture that special look a father gives his daughter when he walks her down the aisle. Or the expression of someone opening a wonderful gift. Pay attention to what's going on around you and the main subject so that you don't miss any action.

Candid Portraits 

Every get-together is an ideal time to take pictures of those often camera-shy friends and relatives. Stand back from the crowd and use a long telephoto zoom lens like the 70-300mm or 55-200mm, or all-around 18-200mm zoom to get in tight on an unsuspecting face.

Flash and Lighting

Use a fast ISO such as 400 when you shoot in natural light. If you use a flash indoors, try bouncing the flash off a white ceiling to avoid harsh shadows. Colored ceilings will affect the color of the photo. If you are shooting more formal portraits, try using an off-camera flash technique. All you need is an extension cable that connects your camera's hot-shoe to your flash. Then you can hold the flash away from your camera (or mount it on an extended bracket) to obtain some professional-looking lighting. Moving the flash away from the camera will also help prevent red-eye. By adding a soft-light attachment or reflector card to the flash, you can soften the lighting for smoother, more flattering skin tones.

Try "sculpting" the light by positioning the off-camera flash at a severe side angle. One side of the face will be brightly lit while the other side will be in partial shadow. This is a good technique to use on male subjects because it creates a dramatic, rugged look.

Outdoor Shooting 

Sometimes when you shoot outdoors, your subject will have unflattering shadows from strong overhead sunlight, or from trees etc. These distracting shadows can be eliminated by using fill-flash. Fill-flash is a technique used by many pro's, but most of today's cameras make it very simple for anyone. Simply set the fill-flash mode and your camera does the rest. It automatically calculates the right amount of flash to eliminate shadows on your subject while still maintaining a well exposed background. It will also make the colors more vibrant and create a true sense of depth in your photos.

Adding Impact

When photographing people, shoot in a vertical format whenever you can. This way you can fill the frame better. Avoid cutting off your subjects right at the knees (or other joints).

When shooting pictures that involve water, like watering the lawn or washing the car, use high shutter speeds to freeze the action of the water droplets. Or you can try using a slow shutter speed, such as 1/60 sec., to blur the water . . . but make sure you hold your camera steady. If you are shooting at 1/30 sec. or less, you should use a tripod. You can also use a slow shutter speed to emphasize the motion of raking leaves or jumping in them.

Background and Props 

Be just as aware of your background as you are of your subject. Avoid objects such as trees or poles that seem to be "growing out" of your subjects head. If the background is very distracting, use a large f-stop (f/4 or f/2.8) to keep the background out of focus. Look for color or patterns to add interest to your group shots or candid portraits. Try using props such as funny hats, big scarves, and others to add some color and excitement to your shots. And don't forget to record your family and friends as they are engaged in their hobbies or leisure activities. Camping trips . . . bowling nights . . . craft making . . . Winter fun . . . swimming. Use your wide-angle setting to capture the overall scene, then zoom in for special detail shots.