When it comes to family portraits, I always imagine the the awkward posing in front of the camera, the need to wear what and pose would seem the most picture perfect in that moment to capture the most ‘perfect’ looking family.
The modern day famous family portraits tend to be of celebrity families such as the Kardashians, which have recently gotten a massive spread in Cosmo magazine. They are famous for, honestly, nothing very substantial except for being dysfunctional and rich.
I guess nothing much has changed from the past as most famous family portraits are commissioned by rich patrons as in the past, in order to commission such pieces, I believe, cost a lot of money considering the amount of skill required to capture such detail.
If I were to take a family portrait now, considering it is much cheaper to do so, I think it would be fun to try to emulate portraits of the past in modern day settings. At the same time, I think it would be rather interesting to have what you would call a modern day family portrait, but have it painted in a classical style. I think that would be pretty cool. 
I mean, can you imagine sitting like this for hours on end to be painted? I think that would be pretty funny but also very antagonising. 8)
haha, it s funny to see you use the Kardashians family as an example, that s what attracts me to click in.
Well, all family portraits show the family culture. I guess their family members all like the big “s” body shape. But considering it as a family portrait, it is not that suitable, because they all stand far apart, it would be more comfortable for me to see a normal family portrait that all family members hug each other, even they are in normal clothes and awkward smile.
Yeah! I totally agree. I feel like its more like a publicity shot for a cast of a TV show than a family portrait, but I guess to them its the same. I prefer something much closer and tighter to make it more like a family portrait. I guess its interesting how the idea of family portraits have been warped over the years.