Objective: to approach photography with one thing in mind- the hunt for spirit.
There are a lot of reasons why we photograph our children. You want to document their milestones, the progress and the growth. You want to remember what they looked like and the places you went to. You want to capture the birthday parties and the graduations- in essence, the history of it all. More than that though, I think we are trying to capture their spirit. We want to remember what they sounded like when they laughed, how they made that one amazing expression, how their eyes looked, what they felt like...THAT is all much harder to capture.
When I was in art school, I remember someone telling me that when you shot a roll of film, you should be happy if there was a single ONE magical shot per roll. The idea was that photography was a bit of a chase and that every shot was not going to be "the one". It is still like that today. I may shoot a hundred images during a session. I'll cull that down to 30-40 that I really, really like and show that to my client. Out of that 30-40 there may be 1 or 2 or maybe even 2-3 that I love. I will like a lot of them and a lot of them will be good but there will be a smaller percentage that I really connect to.
That smaller set of images are the soul and spirit images. For me that means that I captured what I experienced as the heart of that small moment with my subject. Who they were to me during that photo session. I love those images. It is why I do what I do.
Here's a few from a session last week. I love these because this was exactly how these two siblings were.
There were about 4 images in front of this one and behind it but this one just caught a certain something in their eyes and their bodies that makes it special.
Mom loved both of these. That is always a big validation for me too. And, of course, you have to have one like this...
Forget the "cheese!" and the perfect pose...go try and catch the spirit! It's the image that you will cherish most of all.
Objective- learning to think outside the box when it comes to photographing kids and find new ways to make them smile.
The best way to get a great picture of a child is to make them laugh. I've talked about it before, kids can't fake a smile. It just looks terrible. When a new child comes to my studio I am always trying to figure out what makes that kid (at that moment) smile. Parents know that "that thing" is often something you stumble upon. It may be weird, gross, silly or just plain out there. I've seen the weirdest things work. The other day, I had a little girl in my studio (who I have photographed a handful of times) and I could not make her smile. She was busy too and did not want to sit still. I tried all my tricks to no avail. Then, when it looked grim, Dad moo'ed like a cow and she fell out laughing. Who'd have thought?! Mooing? That's exactly how it goes.
So, what's the thing that gets your kids/subjects going? Sometimes it is a game of peek-a-boo...
Sometimes it is just giving them something to play with
Parents are the best asset in a session. They tend to know the little idosynchratic noises and gestures that get their kids laughing but sometimes even they are powerless. One of my little tricks that works a LOT is my ladder. On a side note, I really like old ladders. I know, it's sort of a weird thing to like but I really do like them. If I thought Steven (my husband) wouldn't freak out, I'd collect them. So, when a friend of mine called me and said "I found the coolest old ladder! Do you want me to buy it for you? It's the small kind that you were looking for!" I jumped at it. I thought it might be a cool thing to have at the studio and I was right! It's perfect for the busy kid who can climb but can't sit still. Sometimes it is the only thing that will get a kid to stay in one place. It's a wonderful thing.
A week or so ago, a little girl came to my studio. I had never met her and she was a little bit shy. She only wanted to be on Mom's lap. I tried everything...every puppet, every noise, every goofy trick up my sleeve! Nothing worked! We got close with the bubbles...
When it seemed like all hope was lost, I thought about the ladder. Truth be told, I had thought about it earlier in the session but I thought she might be too young and that it would be too dangerous. It's not a big ladder mind you but it is a ladder after all.
interject ladder safety tip: keep parent close by! I have the parent stand right next to the ladder if it a younger climber and tell them to be watching. I also have a carpet under the ladder. My ladder is also only about waist high.
So, back to the story, what happened you say? It worked! She took to it right away.
The trick with the ladder is that when they get to the top, you have to be all excited, clap and cheer! "You did it!" and "Look how high you are!" and so on. It's so cute to see them beaming at their daring accomplishment. It looks like this:
We all love a big smile. It's wonderful for sure and I always to try and get great smiling shots. But wait! the smile is only half the picture (so to speak). When we photograph children, we should be trying to photograph them, the real "them". Sometimes, as was true for this little one, they are a little shy. Maybe the big smile is not always so true to their personality? If your child or subject is a shy, reserved child then maybe what is more accurate is something like this:
This little girl was beautiful with and without a big smile. Meet your child where they are and you will get better pictures. So, if they need something crazy to make them laugh then do your best to deliver. If they would rather be quiet and look at you with their big baby blues then maybe that is your more accurate shot. When we put aside our preconceived notions of what we think our children's pictures should be like (what we want them to be like), let go of the idea of the perfect shot, look at who they really are and try and capture that, we become much better photographers.
So, go out there camera in hand and make some ridicuous noises, let them climb and be crazy! They will usually reward you with a big smile!
Objective: learning about using slow shutter speeds along with your flash to create some cool effects.
When you photograph at night or at parties where it is dark and you use a flash, the background will sometimes turn almost black. The flash illuminates the subject well but makes the background look like a dark cave. The way to get around this is to do something called dragging the shutter. It's a technique used a lot by wedding photographers. It creates some very cool motion blur while also freezing the main subject. Here's how it works...
Normally when you use your flash, your shutter speed is around 1/60 second or maybe 1/125th of a second. Your camera will have a set shutter speed that it uses when you use the flash. It is called the sync speed. If you have a camera that allows you to use shutter speed priority mode or manual mode, you can set your shutter speed lower than 1/60th. When you do this, the camera is able to pick up more ambient light from the background. This gives you a warmer look with bonus detail in the background.
Normally if you have a slow shutter speed you get motion blur all over the image. However, when you use the flash, that quick burst of light will light up and freeze the motion of the primary subject. This is a great technique for active party shots. I love to shoot this way when everyone is out dancing!
Many of the newer cameras have a special feature called "rear curtain sync" (flash fires at the end of the exposure). If you have yet to experiment with it, look it up in your manual and try it out. There is also the "front curtain sync" (flash fires at the beginning of the exposure). Each one has its own look so try them out and see which one you like.
You can also drag your shutter without using your flash. This is trickier because you don't have the flash to freeze the motion. Generally speaking, going below 1/60th of a second will start giving you some sort of motion blur depending on your movements and your subject's movements and whether or not you are using a tripod. You can pan while shooting to maximize the blur and produce some really cool effects. Panning the camera across a scene, while using a slow shutter speed, takes any light source (bulb, window, candle, etc.) and turns it into streaks of light. You can also twist the camera or move it in a circular motion or zoom in and out while the shutter is open. All of these methods will create various light streaks and motion blurs. The key here is lots of play and experimentation.
Hey, Halloween is coming up! Lots of chances to take streaky, motion blurred and spooky images! I would love to see what you come up with while playing around. In the meantime, here are some shots from a wedding that I shot last fall. These were shot with a 28mm lens at about F 2.8 and 1/20th of a second. When I do this, I usually start dragging around 1/45th and see how that looks and go lower from there depending on how much blur I want.
In this image, she was still so there isn't any real motion blur but, as you can see, the background has a nice warm, open feel vs. the black cave look.
What I really love about this technique is that it gives the images a more lively feel. You can see the movement instead of people looking frozen and static.
So, what's your assignment? The next time you are shooting at night or at a party, try dragging the shutter! Before you do it, grab your camera manual and see if you have the rear curtain setting and how to use it. Everyone's camera has its own little quirks and settings. On mine, I just set it at shutter speed priority. I then use my flash in ETTL mode and play around with my shutter by moving it faster and slower depending on what I am trying to get.
I hope that you will post links to your images in the comments! Happy Monday everyone!