Outdoor Family Portraits - June 2010

I found the background for pictures in the backyard. Problematic were light spots in the background and the sunlight coming through the leaves. Problems that could not be fixed with flash, but the best compromise. The front yard was too complicated for the young children & older people.
 
I found the time and the help to move the bench in position for the sitting. I tested the exposure & used 2 flashes (camera right) for faster recyling, at ~¼ power, 35mm spread. D200 on Aperture Priority (didn’t have time for Manual, as I was arranging the group) f7.1 @ 1/60 ISO 200. 
 
The flashes were in the sun, and after a while they started to fire randomly, as they must have overheated. I should use more care on flash placement, or have a Plan B for covering the flashes' backsides with a white cloth. 
 
If I had to do it over again, I would use a huge background cloth to cover the sun-speckled background. That would have reduce post-processing work. Or move to to camera left (but the owner didn’t like that background, so that might not be a good area). I would also aim the second flash to the back row, which is darker than the front row. 

The 4-generation B/W portrait below is my favorite: