Wednesday, June 19, 2013

A Budding New Photography Assistant

Finding good help is a challenge, especially a good photography assistant.  During a recent portrait session, the always delightful Eli explored a dual role of photography subject


















and photography assistant. 

He was quite adept at setting up the tripod,







as well as working the speedlight.











He also tried his hand at art direction for the shoot,

which led to a well deserved break for some playing.














I was able to convince Eli to spend a few moments in front of the camera with his brother Noah, and I'll share the results with you in another post.

Enjoy the day.
George



Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Isn't She Amazing?

Madelynn was in our studio for a portrait session and had a presence that was, honest, embracing, and remarkable.  We so loved getting to know her and her family and playing with her on the set.  Six months is such a great age for a portrait as it captures the transformation of a child from crawling to sitting by herself.  And along with that comes a new found confidence.

The first thing that we do is create an environment that is pleasing to the senses with music and soft lighting and allow the child to explore the studio so that they feel at home quickly.

We get down on their level.  Not only to capture the right angle, but to help create a playful environment so the child is at ease and having fun.


We start out with a "pose" and then let things happen, and capture the moment. Using a broad directional light source allows us to follow the child across the set. When Madelynn went to push herself up, she created a "classic pose."  You need to be quick on the trigger so that you don't miss anything.








As Madelynn started to get a little tired, we changed things up and she was very excited to get a change of clothes and play with a feather boa.














Children make such great portrait subjects as they are "who they are" and give you unrehearsed expressions aka "giving it up to the camera."  We can learn a lot from our children.

Madelynn and her family were great fun to work with. 

Enjoy the day,
George