Special Time
My niece and her daughter. I did the session mostly in black and white. Little Maddie was turning 2 years old and I wanted to capture some lifestyle moments of ...
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My niece and her daughter. I did the session mostly in black and white. Little Maddie was turning 2 years old and I wanted to capture some lifestyle moments of them together. This is my favorite from the entire session.
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Apr, 2016Views
456
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Awards
Hero Award
Member Selection Award
Spring Selection Award
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Top Choice
Top Ranks
Top 30 rankTop 20 rank week 2
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Top 10 rankCategories
karengaither
April 28, 2016
How cool to get the Spring Selection Award. This photo means alot to me personally since this is family.
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at my nieces home in her bedroom. I wanted it to be as real and comfortable as possible so that I could capture the true love between a mother and her child.Time
It was about midday and taken with only natural lighting coming through the bedroom windows. It's always a challenge when working with little ones and their nap times and moods that can change so easily. I find that I really have to listen to any of the mothers I work with because they will know their little ones schedule better than anyone. Catching a child in a good mood is not always possible for sure, but trying to work with mom makes everything go so much smoother and it's her memories you are trying to preserve.Lighting
Natural light....some photographers swear by it and they don't shoot by any other means. I use it if it's good but if not, I also have my alienbees which are self-contained flash units. Lighting is something to study and see how others use it to their benefit.Equipment
My camera is a Canon 5D Mark III. I love my prime lenses the best. My favorite is my 50mm F/1.4 lens, which is what I used for this particular session.Inspiration
My great niece was turning 1 year old and I had been photographing this sweetheart since she was only 2 days old. I wanted to give my niece and her sweet baby girl something that they both could look back on years from now and remember that special bond that children have with their momma's. "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart” ? Helen KellerEditing
My niece loves black and white so I did the entire session with my Canon set to Black and White. I did use Photoshop to up the contrast on some of the photos though. I also love On1 software. It's a plug-in that really allows you to create alot of different looks with just a touch. I use it quite a bit when editing. But the photos I took during this session were meant to really show the feelings of love and tenderness between a mother and her child. As a mother myself, I knew what I wanted to show and the simpler the betterIn my camera bag
I carry probably way more than most photographers because I really never know for sure what I might encounter and how I might want it to look. My main camera is my Canon 5D Mark III. I do have several prime lenses which include a 50mm F/1.4, a 35mm F/1.4, a 100mm F/2.8, and a 135mm F/1.2. Then I have my heaviest lens, a 70-200mm F/2.8 which I use for action shots. This last one pretty much requires the use of a tripod due to the weight of the lens itself. I also have a flash, but I very rarely use it since I can set my ISO on my 5D Mark III very high to compensate for low light without creating excessive noise.Feedback
Start with your family if you want to practice taking portraits or lifestyle photos. If you have your own little ones, visit someone else you know that have little ones so that the children can play together. That will give you the most natural poses and you'll be amazed at what you will catch. Smiles and wonderment as they play and interact with each other. Mom's with little ones just don't have the time or money for professional photographers. Offer your services and hone your skills with your camera. Practice, practice and practice. You will get better. Look for some of the more popular videos regarding photography on Youtube. There is a wealth of info there and since you must be a visual person if you love taking photos, you can learn so much more by watching what someone does instead of just reading about it. Of course that's coming from a person that has probably 50 or more books on how to take photos, the business of it, posing, lighting, etc. There's so much to learn. Make it exciting and do a little each day, whether it's taking photos or learning about photoshop and all the amazing things you can do with it. And remember, art is subjective. There will always be critics if you ask for cc (constructive criticism) in any of the forums on facebook. I think this is why I like viewbug so much. The other photographers on here will give you inspiration just by looking at their work. This is a great community. Take advantage of the LEARN tab then the tutorials available on the website. And enjoy.
