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Welcome
Welcome to my blog! My name is Farrah Braniff and I am a portrait photographer in Houston, Texas. I specialize in contemporary portraits of babies and children. This blog is a place for me to feature my own personal imagery, images from my studio, my travels and the news and happenings of my family. I have two little boys (ages 5 and 6). You will see them a lot on this blog. They are my inspiration in so many ways. This is a great place to learn a little about me and my work. I hope you'll take a moment and look around. Use the navigation links at the top to find the entries by category, check out the FAQ, jump to my websites and so on. Thanks for stopping by! |
When I lived in San Francisco (many years ago) the Mission District was coming up as one of the cool new neighborhoods to live in. The neighborhood was much rougher then. Now it's a blend of the new wave of people moving in and the folks that have lived there forever. Don't get me wrong, it's not all fancy lofts and boutiques. In fact, it's much better. It has a tremendous amount of character, a unique blend of residents, good food and lots of amazing murals. You can read all about its history here. A few days ago, we met our new friends Gina, Jasmine, JJ, Stella and Bodie for a playdate in the Mission (they live in the neighborhood). We let the kids run wild at the playground for a while and treated them to frozen fruit popsicles.
Next to the park is a community garden. The kids hunted for and ate strawberries and goose berries and ate carrots straight from the ground. They watered plants and gathered limbs. Finnian and I watched the bees fly around the lavender.
After the garden they played more- their energy is astounding to me by the way because it simple never ends! Jasmine did manage a few minutes of quiet time on her Mom's lap though.
Next up was lunch and a walk. Finnian stopped me at one point and asked me to take his picture. His sweet face just melts me.
After more play at a second playground, Gina took us on a tour of Balmy Alley. It's one alley completely covered in amazing murals. Here's a virtual tour for you.
This next one is my favorite!
And, finally, our motley crew all together for a photo. I tried my best to get all 6 to look at me and smile but, of course, that would never happen. So, I did my next favorite thing. I got them all to scream for me. The other alley walkers got a big kick out of it I have to say.
Aric Hoek says:
OK. The image of the mother giving birth is a bit disturbing.
(07.26.10 @ 01:01 AM)
Isn't Heart's Desire the best name for a beach? Or almost anything for that matter? Heart's Desire is a little hidden away beach in the Tomales Bay State Park. It's perfect for kids because the water is a little bit warmer than the ocean water and there are no waves at all.
Finn declared it "the best beach ever!". This declaration was because on that day, on one end of the beach, there were a bunch of washed up jellyfish. After finding out that they didn't sting, the kids spent the rest of the day gathering them, throwing them around, digging holes and burying them. One child, NOT MINE, even put one on their head.
They took a few jellyfish breaks to hunt for cool rocks with barnacles, make sandcastles, bury themselves in the sand and so on but it was pretty much all about the jellyfish.
As for the adults, we supervised the jellyfish effort from afar (ew!), snacked, talked, read books and relaxed. I enjoyed the overcast skies and took pictures.
Alex says:
You guys should come to Newfoundland - there's Heart's Desire, Heart's Content, Heart's Delight... and of course, Dildo Run. hahaha. Beautiful pictures, Farrah. :)
(07.25.10 @ 11:20 AM)
Claudia Eubanks says:
Beautiful pictures!!!!!!! Wow. Makes me want to go.
(07.26.10 @ 10:06 PM)
Friday got away from me. My weekly fave shot entry is one of my favorite posts so I had to still share even if it is a day late. This is my lovely friend Jenny.
Photographed near by the Cliffhouse in San Francisco hours before she hopped a flight back to Houston.
What about you guys? Any favorite shots? Post links to your images in the comments section below or add them to my Favorite Shot Friday Pool on Flickr.
Photographed near by the Cliffhouse in San Francisco hours before she hopped a flight back to Houston.
What about you guys? Any favorite shots? Post links to your images in the comments section below or add them to my Favorite Shot Friday Pool on Flickr.
I love how my kids manage to bring the silliness out of me. They are masters of the silly. They can be silly as hell without even trying to be.They make me laugh like I never really laughed before. It's this laugh that comes from my heart. It's like half true love and half belly laugh.
Don't get me wrong, it's not all smiles all the time. No, they do a good job of making me crazy too and, in that moment, I am for sure not laughing. It's funny though how it always seems that they get me laughing at some of the most stressful times. It's like they know that I'm at the end of my rope and need a good laugh. This is exactly what happened the other day at lunch. It started with Finnian, my silliest child, letting me take crazy pictures of him.
And then, Sayer and his friend Joel lightened my day just by being 7 and loving (so completely) the milkshakes we bought them.
My previously dark and frustrated mood was washed away by a few of life's most simple pleasures, including my own chocolate malt. I'm glad I was willing to let my tension go and roll with the moment and embrace the silly.
Christopher Brown says:
Great pictures and a better message. Chocolate milkshakes and the ones you love help you to enjoy the moments happening right now. Thanks Farrah.
(07.23.10 @ 08:16 AM)
When I was in art school (mot sure if it was my art high school or art college years) but someone told me that for every roll of film you shot, you should be happy to get one awesome image from it. That stuck with me and I still hold to the idea that for every 24-36 shots I take I am hoping to get one really good one.
When I photograph children at my studio, I take anywhere between 100-200 shots on average. I may take more if the child is having a blast and doing really well or we do a lot of different set ups. I may take less, especially if the child is slow to warm up or a baby is fussy. Either way, I aim to cull that group down to 40 or less.
To give you a visual example of how I choose favorites, I have included three images from a studio session that I shot last year. We photographed him in normal clothing but, at the end, tried on his costume just for fun. Of the 15 or so shots of the costume, these 3 are my picks. This first one is the best looking at the camera shot of the group and I love his hands and the way he has them together.
Even though he is looking at us in the first picture and not in the next one, I actually like this next one a little better. I love the big puffy costume and his turned face. It has just a little bit more personality. I like how the costume looks puffier, the antennae are dropping and it's giving him a little belly. He's also looking over at his Mom, which is super sweet.
This next one is my favorite. There's just something a little bit more interesting about his expression than in the first one. I like the way the hood is around his face in an asymmetrical way. He never gave me the huge smile while he was dressed up, which would have been awesome of course, but I still love what we did get.
So, here are some thinks I consider in general when culling and editing for a client session:
1. An overall variety of poses and expressions.
2. Including all the outfits if that is a request (I usually try and limit changes to 2 or maybe 3).
3. I try to include close-ups, full body shots and 3/4.
4. If I am shooting for a particular product or item (for example: birth announcements), I make sure and include the things I might need for that.
5. Any special requests from the parents.
6. Images that really illustrate a milestone.
7. Images that really highlight the child's personality.
8. Technical issues: removing images that are not 100% sharp or not well exposed, etc.
9. I may take multiple images of a single set up trying to perfect the composition or the exposure. In that case, I would cull down to the best of the set.
If I am editing down a set of images for myself, I think most about:
1. Images that really show a sense of place (especially if I am traveling).
2. Images that show my children's personality.
3. Milestone images (quirky things specific to how old they are).
4. Anything that shows relationships.
5. Images that I know will help me remember what it felt like to be where I was or seeing what I was seeing.
6. Often when I am shooting, I will take several exposures of a given scenario- perfecting as I go. When I go back to edit down, I choose the best one from a series like that. The "best one" may be better technically (sharper, better exposure, better composition) or it may be better for the expression.
7. Images that tell a story either about the day or the people in the photograph.
I try to be pretty aggressive about my editing simply because I do shoot a lot and I have to be reasonable about disc space. I try and keep only the best. I can usually get my personal shots down from 100 to 40 no problem. Millions of images stored on my computer don't benefit any of us. I try to keep only the ones that really illustrate that moment in time.
I struggle a little bit more with client images because I want to make sure and give them them enough choices but use my own expertise in editing down to a reasonable number. With that in mind, if you are photographing for someone else, you need to make sure and include some for them to say no to. Allowing a viewer the freedom to pick their favorites without overwhelming them with far too many choices is a thin line to tread. That is something that comes with practice.
How about you? Any thoughts on editing down sets of images? Please share them in the comments section below!
JS says:
I always struggle when it comes to editing. Whilst at the moment, I mostly don't shoot for others, I have found that what you like, is not always what the other person would like. Even if it is not for them. But that's the journey of photography I suppose. Learning to create your own signature look and being thankful for what you have created. Thank You for the lesson.
(07.21.10 @ 10:58 PM)