Transcripts
1. Intro: Have you ever tried to
photograph siblings and wondered how on earth to get
them all in one frame, looking at least vaguely
like they belong together. Hi, I'm Paul Wilkinson, an award winning
portrait photographer, author, international
judge, and podcast host. In this class, we will
be diving into one of my favorite types of shoots,
photographing siblings. There's just something about
the chaos, the chemistry, and the completely
unpredictable nature of it all that makes
these sessions, well, so much fun. And occasionally, they're
just a little bit bonkers. It was a beautiful sunny
day here at the studio, perfect for easing into
things in the garden. The three siblings you're
gonna see are Ellie, Ryan, and the inimitable Olivia, a trio of personalities,
laughter, and the occasional
sarcastic eye roll. And honestly, well, that's
exactly what I love. When siblings arrive
at the studio, there's always this mix
of excitement, nerves, and the obvious why are we doing this again kind of energy. So we start gently, a little bit of chatting,
a bit of banter. And then when no one's
really paying attention, we start the process of
creating some photographs. The goal isn't to get the
perfect shot straight away. It's to help everyone feel comfortable enough
to be themselves. That's for me, at least when the magic
really happens when the walls come down and we
capture something real. Over the course of this video, I'll be walking you through
the full sibling session from understanding family
dynamics to posing, to lighting, and even a
few post production tips. I'll share what I've learned,
what to look out for, and a few things that well, hopefully might surprise
you along the way. So whether you're
just starting out or looking to sharpen
your portrait skills, grab a cupper, get comfy,
and let's get into it.
2. Chapter 1 - Why We Photograph Siblings: So why do we
photograph siblings? Well, aside from the fact
that it's often loads of fun, it's also one of the
most meaningful kinds of portraiture
that we get to do. Parents book these sessions
for all sorts of reasons, but they all come
back to one thing. Time is flying by. You'll notice in this hoot, we've got three siblings, Ellie, Ryan, and Olivia. At 12, 14 and 16, they're right in the middle
of a huge chapter of life, starting secondary school,
preparing for GCSEs, discovering, well, who they are. The teen years are packed with milestones, school
transitions, proms, turning 18, maybe even
heading off to university, leaving parents
as empty nesters. It's the season
of growth spurts, mood swings, braces,
first loves. All they hurt and
finding your voice. And while the kids might not always be thrilled about
having their photograph taken, parents usually are for them, these things aren't
just portraits, they're memories in the
making proof that yes, they were all under the
same roof at the same time, even if someone had to
be bribed with snacks to sit still for more
than 10 minutes. These shoots also
help families mark a moment before everything
shifts because one day, trust me, the house
gets quieter. The bedrooms get emptier and these images become a beautiful
reminder of that wild, wonderful, messy, funny in between stage where
everyone's growing up, but they're still together. So when you're
photographing siblings, you're not just taking pictures, you're creating a little
tiny time capsule a moment parents can come
back to again and again, long after the kids
have flown the nest.
3. Chapter 2 - Understanding Sibling Dynamics: Now, photographing
siblings isn't just about getting them in the
same place at the same time. It's about understanding
their dynamic. Every set of siblings
has their own rhythm, their own tick.
It's like a clock. Some are thick as thieves, finishing each
other's sentences and collapsing into giggles
over private jokes, others are more independent, happy to be
photographed together, but clearly used to
doing their own thing. And then, of course, you get the wonderfully
combative ones who can't go 2 minutes
without a bit of bonter or a poke in the ribs. And honestly, I love it all. Well, nearly all of it. I don't like it when
they're arguing. When I start a session, I'm not just watching
how they smile, I'm watching how they interact. Who's the leader, who
hangs back a bit, who rolls their eyes when the
others start being silly. This gives me a huge
amount of insight into how to approach the shoot, and it helps me
decide when to step in and when to just let them be. In this session, Ellie
is the youngest, cheerful, bright,
completely up for anything, and very sassy. Ryan, her older brother, had a look on his
face that makes him seem like he had no
idea what was going on. And that's throughout the shoot. Just confused and away with
the fairies most of the time, but a complete sweetheart. And then there's
Olivia, the eldest. Energetic, self assured, and keeps the others in
line without saying much. Trust me, she didn't need to, and it's wonderful to watch. So I let them interact. I talk to them. I
ask them questions. I tell, well, dad jokes and gently guide things
without forcing it. Some of my favorite images
are the ones that happen in between the real
shots, the real shots. The ones where someone's
cracking up, teasing Ryan, or someone else is giving their
sibling a look that says, seriously you're doing the squirrel face.
That's the gold. That's the stuff that
the parents will love. Of course, I'll also mix in
some more stylized poses, the ones you'd want to print big for the living room wall. But even those work
better when the kids are relaxed, connected, and natural. I think of these sessions as a conversation,
not a performance. It's about tuning in, tuning in to the personalities, the relationships to those
fleeting little moments that only happen when people feel safe enough to be themselves. And if you can get that balance, the real connection, and
just enough structure, you'll come away with
portraits that feel honest, they'll feel beautiful, and they really will
feel full of life. Is
4. Chapter 3 - Posing Siblings: E. Ah, posing. That magical
art of making people look completely natural while telling them exactly
where to stand, what to do with their hands,
and how not to blink. When it comes to siblings, posing is a little
bit of a dance. You want closeness,
but not awkwardness, structure, but not stiffness. So normally, I will start
by reading the room, or in this case, the garden. If the energy is
playful and loose, I'll begin with
candid groupings, sitting, chatting,
teasing each other. I might say stop looking so
miserable at each other, which usually gets a laugh
and breaks the tension. From there, I can
start shaping things, arms around shoulders,
leaning on each other, shifting weight,
adjusting angles. What I'm looking for is connection, physical
and emotional. When they touch or
lean in naturally, it tells a story of closeness
without saying a word. In this hot, we did a mix of candid and more styled poses. The garden shots are lighter, looser, lots of natural
light and movement. But once we moved
into the studio, I brought in some
more refined posing. Hey, we use the chaise longe. The setup gives us a
beautiful structure, a bit more elegance,
a bit more symmetry. And the siblings look
like they're sitting for a vanity fair cover
shoot. It's formal. Yep, I'll give you that. But it also gives them a
reason to get close. And as long as I frame it in
a sort of fashion context, the body language kind of
takes care of the rest. If I sense they're
feeling stiff or awkward, I'll give them small
prompts and lean your head just slightly towards your sister,
for instance. Can you rest your arm across the back without squashing her? Can you scooch back closer to Ryan without sitting on him? The idea is to give
direction but not take over. I want to shape the image without flattening
their personalities. Essentially, it's a
piece of theater. And sometimes the best pose is the one that happens in
the moment after I say, Okay, relax. I've got it. That's when you get the
little laugh, the breath out, the shifting posture,
that's just real. So don't be afraid
to guide them, but leave enough room for who
they are to come through.
5. Chapter 4 - Lighting the Tri: Lighting three
people, especially three siblings of
different heights, can be a bit of a puzzle. A fun puzzle, but a
puzzle, none the less. Let's start with the basics. When you've got
just one subject, you can chase the
perfect light all day. When there are three,
you've got to make some compromises and
you have to work smart. In the studio, I use a key
light with a huge soft box, a great big Ellen Crum
box on the front, and that gives me a wide soft
spread of light that covers all three faces without too much in the way
of harsh shadows. But with Ryan being quite a lot taller than
both his sisters, we had to think carefully about how to keep the
light consistent. So in this set of Bad
in stand in the middle, slightly back from the girls, that let me shake the light across the group
slightly more evenly, and it also helped
balance the composition. He becomes the central anchor and while the girls framing with their expressions and posture, it all kind of hangs
together pretty well. It's a small adjustment that
makes a big difference. We tweak the lights
quite a bit to avoid hotspots and deep shadows, especially important when
you've got three faces, three sets of cheek bones, and three different hairlines all catching the
light differently. And this is a key
point is if you change any bit of a
pose, change your light. Make sure that when you've
moved things around, the lighting is still
entirely what you want. Change the pose,
change the lighting. Now in the garden, of course,
we're dealing with the sun, which is beautiful as it is, can also be a bit of a
diva, just like Ellie. Dappled sunlight is
a particular menace. It might look lovely to the eye, but the camera sees every harsh patch of
light on the skin. So I'll often have to
reposition the group to get them into open
shade under a tree, beside a wall, wherever the
light is soft and even. Here, I got them to pose on a bench under a
little brick shelter. The light, however, was coming from behind me through a tree, so I had to look out dapple
patches of sun to make sure their faces avoided these strange and weird
little patches. And if that's not possible, I either wait for the clouds, but this weather usually
obliges eventually, or I use a scrim
to soften things. You don't need fancy gear. Even a sheet or a piece of clothing can make a
world of difference. One quick tip if
you're working with natural light and trying
to pose three people, watch the angles of their faces. If one person turns just
slightly the wrong way, you can lose the
light that's striking their face while the others
are still perfectly lit. So I'm always checking, are the cachlights
in the same place, catchlights in their eyes? Is the light consistent
across all three, as much as it can be when
you're working outside? Does the composition
still feel balanced. Lighting a trio isn't
about perfection. It's about harmony, making sure everyone feels
like they're part of the same moment
in the same world lit by the same soft,
flattering glow. It takes a little
finssing, but well, when you get it
right, the result is just beautiful and timeless.
6. Chapter 5 - Connection, Expression & Prompts: So let's talk a little bit about connection, expression,
and prompting. Now this is where the
fun really starts. The moment when you
stop just posing people and start
connecting with them. Getting great expressions
from siblings as it is with anyone isn't about asking
them to smile nicely. It's about drawing out
something genuine. And with teenagers,
let's just say, the more you ask for a smile, the less you're
likely to get one. So instead, play
a bit of a game. For instance, I might say, Okay, I want you all deadpan, serious, moody fashion
faces, no smiling. Within 3 seconds, of course, somebody snorts,
someone else laughs, and now we've got real
smiles, real reactions, and not the force kind of Same. That's the trick. Use
prompts, use language, use your body, use everything you have to flip expectations. Tell them not to do the
thing you actually want. Telling someone
not to smile will just make them smile.
Heard the old thing. Don't think of a pink elephant? Well, the same psychology. Don't smile almost
always causes a smile. You can always tell them
to stop looking so moody, and that usually results in
laughter and smiles, too. With siblings, you've also got this brilliant built in dynamic. They already know how
to wind each other up, so maybe, maybe I'll
say something like, tell me who's the
favorite child. Boom, off it goes, or
who's the messiest? That usually gets a
laugh from the parents. The favorite child thing usually doesn't get a laugh
from the parents. But the laughter, the teasing, and yes, the eye rolls. These in between moments
are where the real gold is. I also have my camera ready
for that exact second. Someone drops their
guard, forgets they're being photographed and
becomes themselves. Even when I'm aiming for a more serious stylized portrait, I'll often use humor as a reset. Get the giggles out, then ask them to still bring
the energy down. Eyes to camera, cool it. That's it, nice and moody. And of course, within 2 minutes, they've laughed again and
we're away and running. Their body language is soft. If they are relaxed,
everything just kind of works. Their seriousness feels
earned, not staged. It often results in a
certain light in their eyes, not from the softbox, but
from happiness and emotion. One of my favorite moments in this particular shoot
came just after I told them how moody they all looked completely dead pan. Ryan broke first, then
Ellie couldn't hold it in, and then Olivia gave
this wonderfully indulgent big sister smile, and I got that shot
that split second of shared silliness
right before they all composed themselves and went back to where we
were a second ago. So my best advice don't chase the smiles, Chase connection. Don't push for perfection, create space for play, give them just enough
direction to feel confident, and then let them surprise
you because that, well, that's where the
real portraits live. I
7. Chapter 6 - Post-Production Tips: So let's talk a little
about post production. So you've done the hoot,
captured the magic, and now you're sitting as you
always will be in front of a screen with a
memory card full of sibling chaos and
sibling brilliance. Time for the final piece of the puzzle, the post production. Now, I'm a big believer
in light touch editing. We're not trying to turn
teenagers into porcelain dolls. We're trying to
enhance and bring out the best of what's
already there. Think of it as polishing a gem, not replacing it
with cubic zirconia, for sibling portraits, I usually start with some
fairly basic cleanup. Flyaway hairs, tiny blemishes,
fluff on the clothes, nothing drastic, enough so the final image
feels tidy and intentional. I'll also remove the light if it creeps into the
edge of my photos, which for me, well,
it always does. It's my worst habit. I like the soft box close. I'll photoshop it out later. Color grading. Now, this
is where you set the mood. Warmer tones for sunny
garden shoot, softer, cooler palettes maybe for
elegant studio portraits. I try to keep the
colors true to life, but with just enough style
to elevate the image. I often either use colored desaturated or
black and white to really cut through
the clothing choices and get to the soul and
a life in the eyes. Then it's cropping
and the composition. Now, this is often
overlooked as a step, but it does make a
huge difference. I'll fine tune the framing to keep the energy in the
center of the image, balance out any awkward gaps, and make sure each sibling has
presence within the group. Now, here's something curious, and it's true in almost
every session I've done. The photos that I want to show, the photos that photographers pick are typically the serious, beautifully posed, more
grown up portraits. And if I wanted to put
something on the wall, that is where I'd be drawn. But the ones of laughter of
those kooky little moments, the things that possibly
a photographer would reject are the ones that
make the parents smile. They're the ones that the
parents see their kids. They see the life
in their children, and they're the ones that
typically they're gonna buy. They're the ones they'll
come back to year after year after year
for the laughing, the spontaneity, the
slight messiness of life. No matter how much you try to
predict the best pictures, at least in terms of your sales, it's not as easy as you think. So we always include a mix. You do need the showstoppers, the polished, elegant pieces. They're the bits that
anchor you as an artist. They're the ones that
possibly win awards, but don't underestimate
the value of a perfect little moment where someone's halfway
through a laugh or their arms flung around
a sibling mid squeeze. Those certainly to the parents
are the heartbeat shots, the ones that would raise their hairs on the back
of a loved one's neck. The edit is where you
bring it all together. Polish, yes, but keep
the personality, keep the soul in the image, keep the story intact. So think about it. When you
do a shoot with siblings, particularly when
it's for the parents to remember a moment in time, the memories you're creating in your studio with your camera, the experience you're giving, not just the siblings,
but the parents, too, those are the memories they're going to attach to the pictures you're
going to sell them. If you do that, that coupling creates something which is
truly magic, truly unique, and it's something
that no amount of AI and retouching and synthetic stuff that's going on around us at the
moment can substitute. Create that authenticity, create that memory, create
that experience, and it will live for
a very long time on someone's wall
and in their hearts.
8. THANK YOU and Outtro: So there we have it. We've talked about why
these sessions matter. We've talked about how to
work with sibling dynamics, the posing, the lighting, the connection, and even a few gentle post production tips. But more than
anything, I hope what we've covered and what
comes through is this. Photographing siblings
isn't about perfection. It's all about presence. It's about capturing a
chapter in a family story, one that passes quicker
than you think. If you could hold that space
with care, with humor, and with a little
creative flair, you'll give families
something they'll treasure for the
rest of their lives. So now it's your turn. For the class portion
of this video, I'd really love you
to have a go at cabjck the magic
between siblings, whatever age they are. And when you're done, upload your results to the
project gallery below and tell us about your shoot and hopefully the fun
you had doing it. If you've enjoyed this video, please do head on over to mastering
portraitphotography.com, which is a website
dedicated to the life, the love, and the business
of portrait photography. It's also the home
of the Mastering portrait photography podcast. And so, whatever else you do, be kind to yourself. Take care. Oh, you're gonna have to tell
me if my pits get sweaty, right? Oh, mm. Posing. I was about to do an eye roll.
Maybe I'll do it anyway. Whoa. Finished? Okay. You fancy
selling your kidney? You can sell your kidney.
I can have veneers. My teleprompters just like Co, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, p, p, cut, cut, cut, go. Ah. You love that. That's great. Brilliant. Thank you.
Thank you. We're done. No smiling. You don't want any of that. I'm laughing. You laugh. You're useless. I
can I can feel it. It's a laughter in the
room, and it's just Shush. Stop now. It's you, Olivia, and you,
Claire. It's you. But over there. Alright,
you stay over there. Bye bye. Bye bye now. Bye bye. Bye Bye now. Bye bye.
Paul Wilkinson, Portrait Photographer
