Awesome Pair: Sibling Portrait Session

It's cool when I have a chance to work with teens (or near teens) because I love that age! After teaching junior high for 4 years, I appreciate the not-quite-a-kid but not-quite-a-grown-up mentality. It's a tough position to be in! The trick is to treat them as adults; let them know what's going on and why, and let them make decisions where they can. I was impressed by their ability to follow directions and follow my lead (especially when tromping through muddy paths up to the Roswell Mill Dam).

There's so much I love about these set of photos: their individual portraits--so gorgeous and contemplative, the back-lighting on the shots together, the lens flare on the bottom frame, and the sister's surprised smile on the brother-over-the-shoulder shot. Thanks, guys. You were awesome!

A little update:

My client sent a wonderful note about this shoot shortly after choosing photos from their online gallery: "Wow, the photos are fantastic! . . . The ringing endorsement is that [my daughter] loved the shots of her – unheard of from a 13 year old."

That made me smile big!

Swingin' and Readin'

A fellow blogger and photo enthusiast volunteered her kids to model for my Kids and Teens Project this week. We did a few photos in her backyard and then headed out to their subdivision's private park for a few more. I love Alpharetta! There's the greenway, beautiful parks, amazing trees, and wonderful hidden treasures like private community parks and ponds. Discovering these "secret gardens" is one of the highlights of being a photographer.

Big sister loves the monkey bars. She uses a mixture of sand and clay (fifth photo) to help her hands grip the bars more easily. And quite a grip she has! She hung on those monkey bars while mom put the two twin girls in a row. Then, they all held long enough for me to get several pictures of the siblings. I love how big brother is framed by the playground equipment.

Big brother prefers reading. He can read a thick book like Inkspell in two days. We got to talking books before we went to the park and found out we have a common interest in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I had no idea there were three more sequels to The Lightning Thief, and my reader dashed upstairs to get me the second book to borrow! I'm halfway through it already.

Lately I've been working on my posing techniques. It's something I think most parents want: a nice posed picture of all the kids looking and smiling at the camera. But it's not so easy to achieve. Mom and I posed the kids and even persuaded them to take off their shoes for the photo. Then, I told the two oldest to just look and smile for the camera while I worked on getting the two youngest to smile. (Older kids are great this way. They will usually go along with a plan, as long as they know the purpose.) Well, it turned out pretty well! I had the two youngest close their eyes and then on "3," look and smile at the camera. Snap, snap, snap! And we have all four of them looking and smiling. Great job, kids!

Do you have school-age kids who would like to model for me? You will get wonderful candid photos of your kids doing what they like best, and your kids will get some fun experience modeling. Please contact us to sign up for my Kids and Teens Photo Project which I've extended until the end of August.

Popsicles

"Summer isn't summer without Popsicles," mom remarked after our photo shoot ended with 4 kids enjoying their treat. I took a different approach with this shoot since I've wanted more practice shooting groups, so I really focused on getting some nice shots of all 4 of them together. Of course, I had to post some individual shots too. Don't you love the one of the boy jamming on his guitar? He really let loose on that thing.

I'm very encouraged by the amount of traffic we're receiving on the website. We're not only getting hits from people interested in our photography services, but also from people looking up information on spot color photography, mom and baby models, candids, and clothing choices. In fact, I did a Google search the other day for "what to wear to a family photo shoot," and we appeared 5th on the list! Check out our page on What to Wear to Your Photo Shoot.

I just looked at my calendar of upcoming shoots, and I am out of models for my Kids and Teens Project! This project runs through July and I'd really like to get some more shoots in before I have to take a hiatus for a small surgery. So, if you have school-age kids who would like to model for my project at no cost(!), please contact us.

Little Scientists

My Kids and Teens Project continues. These two brothers were so excited to show off their research skills. The oldest was all business: "I'm gathering specimens," he remarked while peeling off a bit of tree bark. His sampling gear? A magnifying glass, a bug container, a plastic bag, and a wrench. I was amused by the wrench, but he demonstrated that it was the perfect equipment for holding a piece of grass in place while ripping off a sample. The youngest (at the microscope) examined leaves, bugs, and yes, the plastic lid of the container they were using to collect specimens. Future prize-winning biologists? Maybe. They've certainly got a good start on the science of discovery.

Practice, Practice, Practice

There's an old saying I often think about: "Repetition is the mother of all knowledge." That definitely holds true for sports photography. These shots (especially the action ones) took some repetition before I got it right. Thanks go to my 12-year-old model for letting me take a second set of jump-shot, lay-up, and dribbling shots. (It was hot out too!) By the way, I love the 5th image, his "game face." He looks like a model for a sports drink ad.

While I'm giving out praise, I should also tell you what an amazing job Jacob did with the spot color on the first image. (Make sure you click on the image to see a larger version of the photo. ) In general, I am an "in-camera" photographer. I do very little retouching to photos and really try to get it right at the shoot so no editing is necessary. However, some images can't be created in camera, and it takes a real artist to transform a nice photo into something spectacular like this. Jacob did another spot color photo I love. Check it out: Special Edit: Spot Color.

Do you have school-age kids who would like to model for me? You will get awesome photos of your kids doing what they do best, and your kids will get some fun experience modeling for me like this young man and his sister. I'm especially looking to practice more action and sports photography. So, if your kid does soccer, T-ball, baseball, dance, gymnastics, or other action-packed activity, please contact us to sign up for my Kids and Teens Photo Project.

Climber

Sometimes the world looks better upside down or from the limb of a tree branch. And sometimes our kids look better that way too! Last week, I photographed this great model and her older brother for my Kids and Teens Project . (Don't worry big brother; I'll post about you next!)

My model was full of enthusiasm and energy (nice when I wanted help with my photo gear), and followed directions very well. I've noticed that these shoots take a little longer than usual. That's because I take time before we start shooting to explain some of the nuts and bolts of photography to the kids. But it's worth it. Kids are much more cooperative when they know the reason behind what you ask them to do. That's a trick I learned as a school teacher, and I've found it's pretty applicable across the board.

I could use more models for my Kids and Teens project. I have openings on June 26th and 27th. Contact us for more information.

Second Try

Thanks to willing parents and great 9-year-old model, I made a second attempt at karate shots this past week. At the previous shoot, I wasn't satisfied with the amount of blur I was getting. So, this time, I upped the shutter speed and ISO to accommodate for the fast movement.

Before shooting, the model and I and sat down for about 15 minutes and discussed poses and camera mechanics, not to mention the ins and outs of karate belt advancements. During the shoot, he imparted a wealth of information (as most 9-year-olds do), and I had to make sure I got a shot of that too! After taking some time outside, I decided to experiment with silhouettes inside his house. I'm really pleased with the results.

His mom and dad both have blogs (Stop the Insanity and Who Did What to Who?), so I'm including low resolution versions of the photos on the CD I'll be giving them soon. That way, they can post additional photos from my shoots on their own blogs. I love seeing my work on my clients' sites. One model and her son used my photo in their blog header. Check out Roman's Big Heart.

Do you have school-age kids who would like to model for my Kids and Teens project? It's free (yes, free!) and you can find out all the details here.