Baby Shoes
Aug, 2016Views
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Awards
Member Selection Award
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at Riley's Farm in Oak Glen, California. Oak Glen is very well known for its apple orchards and is frequented by photographers and families, especially during the Fall seasonTime
This photo was taken towards the end of my session with this family. It was a pretty chilly day and the sun was setting fast. We were making our way back to our cars when I spotted this area and was inspired to photograph a few poses here. It was November 28, 2015 at approximately 4:30.Lighting
The lighting was some what of an answered prayer to be honest. Most of the session, up until this photo was taken, had been accompanied with either areas of direct sunlight or none at all. There was no "happy medium". Once the sun started to set, it seemed as though all the beautiful golden rays just exploded through the trees and seemed to focus on this particular area.Equipment
This photo was shot using only my Nikon D3200 and a 50mm (f1.4) lens.Inspiration
Lighting had a lot to do with my decision to take this photo. As I mentioned earlier, lighting had not been on my side during most of my session. When I spotted this area I knew I had to take advantage. My clients had brought a few baby items to personalize their session and I was already in love with the tiny shoes so I decided to focus on them in this shot.Editing
Because I shoot in RAW for all my sessions, I always have to do some post processing on my photos. This one was no different. Once I made all my normal adjustments with exposure and contrast, I also increased the saturation and adjusted the temperature of the image.In my camera bag
I have become very fond of my 50mm lens and I haven't used any other lens for my sessions since the day I first shot with it. I still carry my 2 stock lenses (18-55mm and 55-200mm), but neither of them suit my purpose when photographing portraits.Feedback
Patience and attention to detail are so key for an image like this. You really need to take your time setting up the entire scene starting with your main subject focus. Pay attention to all the details in the surrounding also because you don't want anything drawing away the attention from your intended subject. It honestly took me close to 5 minutes (maybe more) to set up those shoes, along an uneven wood fence post, so they would stay put. I didn't place the family in the background until after I had set up the shoes and found my settings. This allowed them some down time to take in the scenery and talk, as opposed to just standing there while I set up.
