January 9, 2013

• It’s all about a feeling..

  Sadly, the holidays are over at least until spring. I always hate going through the wonderful cards that I receive every year and deciding which ones have to go. I never throw out the picture cards from friends and family because I like to compare the kids year after year. Frankly, it’s good to compare the adults as well if they are in it! In my studio, I start photographing holiday cards in September. As a professional photographer, I am obliged to do what I call “parent pleasers”. These are the photographs that grandparents love. You know, the one grandmom takes to the hair salon. Everyone is posed perfectly. Perfect posture, perfect smiles, perfect children. But seriously, is that the photograph that makes you smile each and every time you look at it? So, after I photograph the obvious ones that parents have come to know, then I work my magic. I look for expression and feeling. Working with kids, I know that there is only a small time frame before everyone melts down. Frankly, sometimes that includes me! Make no mistake, photographing children is no easy task. I estimate about a twenty minute window where you have them in control. After that, everything else is a gift.

  So, a few pointers to photographing your kids: First, they must be well rested. I usually do children’s sessions in the early morning. Yes, I said early morning. As in 8:30 a.m! Secondly, you must know your equipment. There is no time to experiment photographing a child unless it is your own! Ha! If you are getting paid for the job, you better know your stuff. (That subject in and of itself is an entirely other blog subject.) Lastly, don’t be afraid to ask the kids to do something. Thats right. No, not hard labor. The photograph that is shown here is between two brothers ages 3 and 5. I have photographed them many times before and they were very excited to see me. So, in the first ten to fifteen minutes of my session, they were off the wall with talk, talk, talk. I tried and in fact did get some “parent pleasers”. Them sitting side by side smiling at me. One standing, one sitting, smiling. By then, I asked the younger boy to give a “soft” hug to his older brother. This image was a result of that hug. One shot got it. After that, the younger boy was past his twenty minute window and basically wanted to just lay down and the grass!

  

  The lens I used was an 85 mm 1.2
  F 5.6 @ 1/80 second (5.6 because these boys were all over the place!)
  Iso was 400

  I can only say that it doesn’t hurt to at least try for some emotion in your photography. Your shots will be more memorable.

  Oh, and lastly, if you have any questions, you can always shoot me an through my website @ www.lerephoto.com. Find more craziness on Facebook by “liking” my page (Donna Lere Photographer) or for follow me on Twitter @ donnalerephoto.

  What are you doing to remember today?

  • 10:47 am
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