Hi, I am Andrea and I am a natural light photographer in the gorgeous mountains of WV. I have three beautiful children ages 10,7, and 10 months. I am a Nikon girl.
One of my favorite things to shoot is children/babies. When I first started shooting children I went out and bought a ton of props. I thought to be a good photographer you have to have as many props as you can fit in a session because that’s what a “pro” does. I would load up my car and lay out all these crazy things I had bought and start shooting. As I would look through my images the ones that stood out were not the images with all the props, but the images that were close up, the ones that were capturing their personalities. I decided to get rid of the props and just focus on the child. I wanted to be able to capture their little personality the way their parents see them!
When I get ready for a shoot, one of the things I do is discuss with the parent what their child likes. I tell them that I want to capture their true personalities. I also tell them that I prefer that they let me take over during the session. I ask parents to not call their child’s name or step in unless I ask first. So many of my favorite images are of the child just being themselves and NOT looking at the camera. If the parent is constantly calling their name and telling them to smile etc. It makes the child uncomfortable and not relaxed. In the image below for example, Mom loves to garden and Annie is always by her side “helping.” Annie loves veggies! Actually, right after I got this shot she took a huge bite out of the tomato!
Before the shoot I had the mom text me pictures of the garden. I had several cute outfits that I thought would work for this setting (I always keep outfits for all ages on hand). Make sure the outfit suits the location! This image was taken about 45 minutes before sunset. The sun actually set right behind the garden so it was perfect!!
I shot this session with a 85mm 1.4 lens (I shoot Nikon). I shot this with ISO at 320 (sun was still fairly bright) shutter speed 1/640 (I wanted to make sure if she moved I wouldn’t have blur) and aperture 2.5 (I wanted to have nice bokeh, but also make sure she and veggies were in focus). As you can see, the only props used were from the natural setting of a garden. To add a little more drama I added some fake sun (florabella actions) to enhance the light that was already there. If you decide to add fake sun or lighting make sure that you are adding it to the area where the sun truly is (or would be if it is cloudy).
One of my FAVORITE things do shoot is children with animals. I have found that animals (I ask parents ahead of time about allergies and fears) help a child relax and have fun during their shoot. Lets face it, Most children do not want to sit and smile at the camera. It is very hard for them and often creates a very tense situation where parents are frustrated because their child won’t corporate and child is frustrated because they have a hard time sitting still. I had a session booked with three year old twins. I called their mom and asked if I could bring beagle puppies. She was more then happy to have a distraction for her active toddlers!
In this case, I saw that a friend had beagle puppies for sale and I asked if I could borrow them for a session. I also do “animal casting calls” in exchange for a free session. I have never had any trouble finding an animal to use! Remember though, when shooting with a pet, the session is usually very active. I warn the parents that the session will be what I like to call “creative, controlled, chaos”. Another important thing to remember is that your shutter speed AND aperture need to be set higher than you would in a normal session without a animal.
You want to make sure but animal and child is in focus! And the shutter speed needs to be higher because no animal sits still very long! I shot this session with my 50mm 1.4 lens. My ISO was fairly high because it was dark in this location and the sun wasn’t shining through very well. It was at 640. My aperture was at F2 because I was fairly far back from subject so the pup and girl were both in focus! I wanted the image to look like the pup and girl were having their own private adventure. I told the girl to give the puppy an kiss on the nose. I did a happy dance when the puppy stood up on her and returned the kiss. I did the same thing with the twin sister. The results are different, but both adorable!
Another thing I enjoy doing is stylized sessions! These types of sessions take a little more planning, but the results are worth it! Again, minimize the props! You can still create a story with very minimal props. You still want the focus to be on the subject! For example: I did a Maleficent session as part of a 1.1 shooting class. I used my two daughters as models. I wanted to create the child portion of the shoot. I borrowed an awesome cape and bought the head piece for $20 off amazon for Maleficent.
For child Aurora, I found a gold dress on amazon and for baby Aurora I used a nightgown I had bought for another session. For the full creepy affect I used a fog machine. (our local state park has Pavilions with outlets) You can also buy fog in a can. That’s the only investment I had in the session. The total was like $60! Very minimal but the effect was still there!! I took these with my 85mm 1.4 lens! My Shutter speed was 1/200 aperture 2.0 and ISO 400.
For boys stylized sessions think ACTION! I offered Pirate mini sessions last year and they were a huge success! Again. Simple props. I bought a sword and eye patch that each child got to take home. I bought a pirate hat and spy scope. My total investment was $50. Finding the perfect location doesn’t have to be hard.
This was taken at a local lake that is very small! It had a few rocks, that at the right angle looked like a cliff! Your viewer only has to see what you want them to see! Angles while shooting are very important! Don’t forget that laying down or shooting in a aerial view can create a whole new look! I have so many people comment: This is where you take your pictures? In this image I shot with my 50mm 1.4 at 1/640 ISO 200 and at 3.5.
Don’t forget to capture YOUR kids! This is one of my favorites of my daughter! We were outside and the kids found a frog. My daughter was filthy and her curly hair was a wreck. It was almost dark. The frog was stuck to my daughter’s dress and I thought “I have to get my camera and capture this moment.” I ran inside and grabbed my camera.
My ISO was cranked to 1250, I had on my 85mm lens which I normally wouldn’t have chosen but I had no time to change it. I had my shutter speed at 1/200 and hoped the frog wouldn’t hop and blur my shot! The frog hopped to her arm and stayed. I am so glad I captured this moment. It is one of my favorite images! Remember! When shooting in low light embrace the grain! It is going to be there! Try turning the image into a black and white! It also adds emotion to the image.
Don’t forget to capture different angles! Capture every part of the session, even the bloopers! For example: This little cutie’s swim suit was a tad to big so I embraced it. I had her face away from me so I could show that cute little honey that kept peeking at us throughout the session.
Yes I could have had the mom keep pulling it up, But instead I thought it added a cute factor to the whole look! Capture the tears! Not every image has to show a happy face! When the baby is having a meltdown snap a few! Mom will thank you later!
50mm lens ISO 320, f4, 1/640
50mm, 1/200, F2, 1/640
