Max & Cooper
Jan, 2016Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
I took this picture in my hallway of my house with the assistance of my mom and my sister.Time
Late evening. I told my sister to bring over my nephew, Cooper, when they were ready. We turned off the hallway lights, plugged in the Christmas lights, set up the dog, placed the kid, and took some pictures.Lighting
These particular photos are not as easy as I thought they were going to be, especially with 2 moving objects in the dark. Getting the Christmas lights just right proved to be another hassle as Cooper kept trying to eat them. You also have to place them just right, as they were my only light source. No light other than what was coming from the Christmas lights was used.Equipment
This was shot with my D7100 with my 18-55 mm Kit lens, which has became my favorite go to lens recently. I had my tripod out but I ended up putting it aside and placed my camera on the floor. No other equipment was used.Inspiration
I had been seeing the "Christmas light baby pictures" all over the internet so I thought "why not?" I attempted to try the lights with my cat first (just for fun) but then I had flashbacks from the movie "Christmas Vacation" where the cat ran off with the lights and got electrocuted under the chair. Although I was sure it wouldn't happen, there was a chance it could have. I quickly switched to our dog, Max, for two reasons. 1 - he's way cuter and 2 - he listens. I put some reindeer antlers on him, draped the lights over him, and snapped away. I took as many as he would let me before the rolled over and wanted belly scratches. Once I showed my sister, we agreed Cooper had to be in those shots. They came over the next night. My husband had purchased the gigantic basket in the background for $5 at a local rummage sale. We used that in the beginning with just Cooper. As he was starting to wind down, we quickly added Max to finish up.Editing
I really didn't do too much to this picture. The Christmas lights had a yellow tint to them. I didn't like how they looked so I changed the picture to black and white. After that I lighten up my dogs face a bit, which I wish I would have done a little more of.In my camera bag
I always pack my Nikon D7100 with my newly purchased 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 lens. It is the best of both worlds and I am prepared to take pictures at any distance with it. Next I pack my Nikon D5500 and I either pack my 55-300 mm or my 18-55mm kit lens for it. My trusty D5100 is also there just in case I need a back up back up.Feedback
Practice, practice, practice and patience, patience, patience. When I set up Max and Cooper on the floor I quickly realized you need to have patience and a sense of humor for these photos. Kids have a mind of their own, especially if they are 5 months old. Cooper would move around a lot, crawl either to me or away from me, and would try to eat the lights. It was the funniest thing ever. Have fun taking pictures. Don't suck the fun out of it!
