Lighting for a family portrait

[EspressoJunkie]

I'm going to be shooting a family portrait for my wife's workmate shortly. Its probably going to be done in their house somewhere.

Camera and lens is sorted (D700 and 50mm). What I'm not so sure about is lighting. Will one off camera flash shot from an umbrella behind me be enough?

 

[The23rdman]

Depends on the size of the family. Often in these situations it helps to fire another flash into the ceiling for fill and then use the umbrella for some definition.

 

[EspressoJunkie]

It's a family of 5. They want a white background, so I'll be using a paper roll type on a stand. I was thinking about using one flash at the front, and then firing another one from behind the backdrop. Or would I be better using 2 at the front? I'd like to avoid having a harsh shadow from the front flash.

I'm used to doing a lot of product photography in work, so I know how everything works in theory, but this is a completley different kettle of fish!