allisondandrea
FollowViews
428
Likes
Awards
Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Curator's Selection
Judge Favorite
Top Shot Award 21
Legendary Award
Community Choice Award
Peer Choice Award
Contest Finalist in Family In The Holidays Photo Contest
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Top Choice
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
Top Ranks
Categories
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Discover more photos See all
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the backyard of a friend in Catonsville, Maryland. I had grown up knowing the children's parents (and eventually their children) very well so I was blessed to capture a more honest, natural moment with all of them.Time
I remember waking up early that day to scout the area that I had to work with for the photoshoot. We had a variety of photos with the family that day, both indoor and outdoor but that photo will always be my favorite. In this photo the children had just eaten lunch, so their spirits were bright and bellies were full.Lighting
For the outdoor portraits I wanted something more soft and natural, similar to the indoor portraits. Being that it was noon and the sun was high and bright, I had the children lay on a hammock underneath a tree. The leaves worked as a diffuser for the strong light source and also the shadows from the leaves was a nice touch.Equipment
This photo was shot with a Canon 50D with a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 lens.Inspiration
I was looking for something more natural and unposed with the outdoor portraits. The indoor portraits were very posed, as requested and I wanted to show more of the personalities of the children. Since my background is in advertising and commercial photography, I looked at children's fashion ads as inspiration and loved the carefree, innocence portrayed in the majority of them.Editing
Usually I give my clients color portraits and black and white of the same image. For this set of photos, I wanted to accentuate the softness so I softened the shadows for all of the photos and edited the bare minimum to portray the natural honesty of the moments of children and family that day.In my camera bag
No matter the job I always carry my Canon 50D, 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 and 100mm f/2.8 lenses.Feedback
Work with you environment, learn from it. If you have time shoot the lighting situations before the actual shoot. If I am after a specific pose or mood for photo, I always bring references (because explaining may not always work). When working with children, think about the time of day. Will they be hungry or tired? Bring a snack (that is parent approved)! Talk the your models/clients during the shoot, interact with them while shooting to get a more honest, beautiful shot!