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Location
This photo was taken on my farm. It is always so easy to pick nice natural background when you are photographing children on a farm. I want to reflect the back to nature way of life, and nothing like a tree and bush to do that.
Time
I love mornings and evenings. This photo is in the latter time of day. The sun becomes softer and children are often calmer in the early evenings. The have run and played all day, and are more likely, then not, to pose, and sit and enjoy some quite time. A golden tip on children during the golden hour!
Lighting
Lighting is always everything in photographery. This is the soft light of early evening time. It always reflects a beautiful gold and enhances skin tones. The light takes this beautiful moment where the child is loving on his chicken, and adds just the right tones to evoke the emotions of love and friendship. There is nothing quite like the golden hour of the day to bring feeling and emotion into your shot!
Equipment
I have a work horse of a camera. I own the not so popular PENTAX brands. These camera are rugged and solid. I need that, especially when running around taking photos of little people. I also travel a fair bit and need my camera to stand up to bumps and jolts of the journey. I hand hold my camera for most of my photos, just an old school way. Over the years you develop a studio hand and 100 tricks of the trade to steady your camera. I love the 50mm lens and the 70 100mm lens for shots like this. A soft bokha enhances and draws the eye to the subject, and this is exactly what you want. I use a camera bag, and a camera vest , my camera body and the lens of choice. Thats all. I have amount of equipment.
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Inspiration
This child is my grandson. He loved his rooster, whom he named Eagle. I was, simply put, inspired by the affection he showed to the bird, and how calm the bird was when he held him. I wanted to capture that love, and show the raw beauty that can happen between man and beast, sort of to speak. I was delighted with this shot!
Editing
I do very little post processing on any of my photos. I promise myself often that I will become a master of photo shop.... Yet here I am, with little to no knowledge of it still! I do love Lightroom .... it is place where I can control my lighting, my sharpness and make my photos pop. I take all my photos in RAW, that gives me great control on how far I can correct any photo I take. I always say you can take a good photo and make it great, you can take a great photo and make it stunning, and you can take a stunning photo and turn it into a piece of art! Getting it right in the camera is so, so, so important.
In my camera bag
I have a humble collections. Own a Pentax K1 Mark 11 body. 16- 45mm lens for landscape. 35mm, 50mm, and a 70 200mm for portraits. I own a 70mm lens for Macro. That is it. I own a tripod, but hardly use it!
Feedback
My advice on trying to capture children and animals, is timing. Chose your time a day where both chid and animal are relaxed and happy and well fed! KEEP IT STRESS FREE AND FULL OF JOY. LET THE CHILD LEAD! Be trigger ready, have all your setting all set, have the camera around your neck ready to fire. You can direct the child but do not force a pose. Example. " Johnny, close your eyes and give your rooster a big gentle hug." Instead for putting the rooster in his arms, making him to stand just so..telling him over and over look here...look there... it becomes an overload on the child. Instead of the child moving to get a better angle, you move. attention to the lighting will be a key. You do not need the child to smile and look into the camera. Remember, mom has 1000's of those. Capture the essence of the child, not the small, and you have a piece of art!