tephiphotography
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oliveralexanderrees
January 19, 2016
Great creativity! Some great portraiture! I look forward to seeing more :)
joycealicesmith
January 23, 2016
Wonderful capture, and a truly happy feeling! Congratulations on your exceptional win!
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo at a conservation area in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. This was actually shot during a family photo shoot.Time
About 2 hours before sunset!Lighting
The lighting here wasn't planned at all. For me, taking interesting images is so important. I'm not a "stand there and say cheese for 10 similar images" kind of person. So I told Mom & Dad to let the kids play and their Dad helped the oldest girl ( seen in this image ) up into the tree. The expression on her face was so priceless and her excitement was so sweet that my cheeks were hurting from smiling. I did have a minute to compose the shot because Dad was holding her for a bit. The lighting is due to the time of day which was golden hour.Equipment
I used a Nikon D800 and a 70-200mm 2.8 vrii lens. Natural light, no reflectors.Inspiration
Capturing the joy and reality of being a kid is everything. What inspired me? This girl inspired me of course.Editing
I processed this in Photoshop. I had a pretty good image straight out of camera to work with so I enhanced the colours, dodge and burn, clean it up a bit and make the most important details pop again through dodge and burn and selective sharpening. I did smooth her skin slightly but it was very important for me to not lose detail in her beautiful freckles!In my camera bag
I mostly shoot weddings so I have 3 Nikon DSLRs , a pile of lenses, flashes, pocket wizards, reflectors and more. For my day to day life I like to use my smaller Epiphanie bag and pop 1 DSLR with my Sigma ARt 35mm and sneak the 85mm in on the side. A charged battery and a prepared memory card is useful as well!Feedback
Yes! My advice is to not be afraid to try your ideas. When shooting kids you really have to let them be themselves to get genuine expressions and real kind of photos from them. It's easy to get a cute photo of a kid looking at the camera because let's face it, all kids are cute. But step out of your comfort zone just a little bit, change your viewpoint, get really close or step very far back. Imagine the image you want and go for it. Be fearless in your creativity and composition and don't worry too much. Take the images you want and just do it. Don't hold back and make it happen. I know that sounds so simple but when I was first shooting professionally I was super nervous and would just stand and click. I never, ever shoot like that anymore unless it's family photos at a wedding. CREATE.