Family holidays and Photography...

I think I'm following the same pattern as most people here - I have a lightweight set up so I'm not burdened (Olympus E-M10 14-42mm, 17mm, 25mm, 45mm, 40-150mm if I think I need it) .
I take a lot of pictures of the family in the places we visit, but try not to become a "portrait photographer" - just a Dad with a camera.
I'm trying to get really great shots of the family so we can relive the memories with my parents and with each other and because they grow so fast.

If I spot something I really want to capture a bit more artistically then I hang back and dash to catch up.
You have to learn to work fast and accept you won't always get the exact shot you want - a loose frame so I can crop and level later make up for not having a tripod and half an hour to faff.
I've been surprised by some grabbed shots when I've got home and played with them.

I shoot JPG+RAW and back up the pictures each night and as I can bung a couple onto facebook while we're brushing teeth etc. which is popular with my daughter and partner and our friends and family.

I know that taking pictures sometimes gets on my family's nerves but I also know that they both appreciate the pictures I've taken when they roll past on the TV at home and remind us all of our trips to New York, Seattle, San Sebastian, Paris, Brussels....

I leave the camera in P and only choose S or A if I have a specific need or a bit more time to set up.

Learn to take a quick but flattering situational portrait (snapshot) and take your other pictures quickly too.



ABTog said:
I did take some photos of the kids there, I just chose not to put them on Flickr.
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Likewise - I have lots of great pictures of my kid - they go on Facebook with sensible privacy settings. I don't post them on forums or Flickr.
 
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On our last trip in May to Disney and then South Carolina, I took just the X100T - as it is pocket sized as well as being a great camera. It took a lot of thought to leave the Nikon and lenses at home but you know what I didn't really miss it. Sure, at some things like the character meals it would have been nice to go wider, but overall the 35mm length was about right, especially with a little cropping.

I got hundreds of great pics that holiday but did miss out a bit when in Sth Carolina - got a few pictures there but wish I had stopped on the drive up as there was some great countryside and views just outside Charleston bit it was getting dark, we had travelled 400 miles and were hungry! Same too with a couple of the other 'sights' we missed out on. When we went to NY earlier (no kids) it was much easier to stop and focus on grabbing some pictures but different sort of trip.
 
I have been having the same dilemma as off on holiday next week. Tempted to pack the nice camera for a few nice shots but my photos will probably 95% only be going on Facebook so have to decided just to take the trusty compact, which is a Olympus Tough model so picture quality is more than enough, also got the advantage it's weather proof.

I can't really see myself having time to spend taking "nice" images rather just relax, spend time with the other half and kids and enjoy the all inclusive far too much!

When I go away with the other half only I can get away with taking the nice camera and spending a little more time capturing some better images.

Rather enjoy the moment for what it is than be stuck behind a view finder worrying about blown out highlights or histograms.
 
So just to be clear - I did get a lot of photos of my family (I took well over 800 images, the majority of which were barely composed beyond trying to get the kids looking in the same direction!), but as had been mentioned by others, I'm not going to share those because they are for me and my family to enjoy. They have very little photographic merit beyond being a fantastic reminder of a great time, for us. I absolutely wasn't solely focussed on trying to be a landscape legend but I guess my point was more that there is an element of me that also wants to capture the beauty of the location and do it justice, because I may not get to go there again.

@furq - great article, definitely food for thought - thanks for sharing.
 
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