Bitsy Bouquet
Leaving the park she sat on the cement ledge in the parking lot, gazing out searching for her sister. I looked down and saw the sweet bouquet of flowers clutch...
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Leaving the park she sat on the cement ledge in the parking lot, gazing out searching for her sister. I looked down and saw the sweet bouquet of flowers clutched in her hands. And in that instant she held the bouquet and grabbed my heart.
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Dec, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This image was 100% impromptu. My daughters were at the city park with me so I could take some test shots for an upcoming shoot there in a week. Tired and hungry, my youngest was more than ready to head home for dinner She was standing next to me at our car in the parking lot. But then, in exhaustion, she plopped down on a cement block meant to be a parking guide for cars and looked out over the park searching for her older sister so we could leave. I could hear her sighing. I looked down at her, took in her dirty knees, and saw her grubby hands clutching the tiny bouquet of flowers she had picked for me. It just stopped everything for me. My camera was still around my neck and I brought it up and snapped this image.Time
This was taken near sunset, the light feeling very similar in hue and warmth to the golden daisies in her hands.Lighting
The warm, soft tones of the light from the sun were a striking compliment to the blues and grays in her dress and the cement.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 5D Mark II, 50mm prime lens, hand-held at iso 200 and a shutter speed of 1/500.Inspiration
The need to freeze a most prized moment of motherhood - your child holding flowers picked just for you - is what urged me to bring that camera up and snap.Editing
This image was first processed in Lightroom. Then I took it over to Photoshop to remove distractions from the pavement - for me Photoshop is more adept at this type of edit. I also applied a texture using blending modes with a very low opacity and brushed off of her to subtly enhance the pavement.In my camera bag
My "camera bag" is really my everyday purse. For my personal photography, I live for capturing the everyday. The dirt, the play, the quiet, the emotions, the fury, the love. So I pretty much want my camera with me everywhere I go. But I also want it to be protected and safe. So I have a purse specifically designed to be a camera purse. About 95% of the time it has my Canon 5D Mark II with my nifty 50, 1.4 lens attached to it. It makes it lighter and easier to quickly pull out - and the 50 is really a great overall lens, especially when you have no idea what moment might present itself next. If I go on a shoot, I have the 5D Mark II, a prime 50 and 35mm both 1.4, and the 70-200 which is 2.8. I often have my reflector and a white sheet with me too. Oh, and not in my bag but lugged along is my step stool since I am only 5 feet tall.Feedback
The key to capturing an image like this is to know your camera inside and out. Read your manual and take so many shots that dialing in settings comes second nature to you, and can be done in seconds while the camera is up to your eye. I had no idea how long she was going to sit like this, so I only have a moment to grab a shot like this. If it had taken me 30 seconds to fiddle with my camera and have to think too much about my settings, she would have moved and the shot would have been lost.
