Autumn is a wonderful time of year for family portraits, if the weather cooperates. Eve was my test subject as I tried out a few creative changes for my portable lighting kit. We were photographing in the shade and I used on of my lights to create the appearance of sunlight bursting into the frame. The golden light also emphasizes Eve’s naturally curly hair.
Is it possible to capture all of Eve’s personality in one photograph?
Every kid has a unique personality and if you can capture some of that personality in one photograph then your a genius children’s photographer. Eve has a lot of personality for someone so young. She is a hoot. If we had more time then I could really bring that personality out. We first must defeat the smile that parent’s drill into their children. Most kids don’t want to smile for a camera so we try tricks to get them to smile and often the smile looks more like a grimace. We have to work past that and get some natural reactions. Couple that with amazing light and some camera techniques and you get pure gold.
Eve has beautiful green and blue eyes
One secret is to have a “lifestyle shoot” where you pick an activity and you photograph the children doing that activity. This could be pottery, painting, bicycle rides, or more. The possibilities are endless. I’d wager those photos would be truly priceless in a few years.
Eve sits on a garden bench surrounded by autumn leaves
And then there are these posed photos which look awesome anyway.
Eve’s autumn portrait
