They say in photography that is best to specialize in one area and get really great in that area. Obviously you want to pick the type and style that you love the most. One that leaves you feels exhilarated at the end of the shoot. Not exhausted and stressed. The interesting thing is that for every person that one thing is different. My fellow photo friends laugh at how different we all are. To one, taking pictures of a newborn dressed in angels wings is the perfect shoot while the wedding photographer says “um, yeah no!” to that the idea of even having to do that for a family member let alone a client! What is great about that is there are so many types of photography for every type of person. We all don’t have to shoot the same thing. Although Ben and I choose to focus on weddings as that is what gets our creative juices flowing, I think it’s a great practice to get out there and shoot the uncomfortable. Since we are teaching a 101 Class aimed toward helping parents take better pictures of their kids, I thought it best to get some fresh images of kids. Having to run around a house trying to capture a child’s smile is a monumental task for me. I deal with brides every weekend who can’t wait to get their photo taken. Children on the other hand, well they have more important things to do. It’s taken me long enough to get my own kids to smile for me, let alone someone elses! This past couple weeks I have taken some photos of Harrison and Adelaide’s friends. I decided to approach it like a wedding. There are time limits, get them to talk about themselves to keep them interested, and I had to keep in mind that if I didn’t keep up the pace, the subjects would get bored quickly. The interesting thing is it worked! I asked them to read me their favorite book, give me silly faces and even let them run in the snow. In the end I got some great images of the kids that the moms were happy with and ones that I could use for my workshop. So the moral of this story is: sometimes challenging myself to grow results in seeing that what I feared wasn’t so bad after all!
Now those are some silly faces!
I was told by Hannah, Samuel’s mom that “This one captures “my Samuel” so well, Molly! This is the way we see him so often in day to day life. :)” That is the highest compliment you could give a child photographer!
Ellie, trying to make a funny face. And Samuel showing off his HUGE feet! 🙂
