Advanced Pro Class: The Power of You - Week 2

  This week in my photography class we have been talking about shot lists, posing guides and exhausting a pose.  I loved these concepts because I feel that my client's time is valuable and I want to move through the session quickly, efficiently and still produce a high quality and variety of images. This is also really important when shooting a young family. For the family of 6 that I photographed for this assignment the 4 kids varied in ages from 9 to 18 months.

What worked: I had a plan and shot list together. I had visited the site the day before. I also knew the age of the kids and tried to plan spots that would work best. For example, for the little 18 month old guy I planned his individual shots on this little bridge that he could walk across. He didn't like holding still so motion within a controlled space worked well. I pulled out a few games with the parents and the kids and they also worked well too. I was able to get some genuine smiles from the parents and a fun family photo with the "run and give Mom and Dad a hug" prompt. 

Challenges: It was sunnier then expected. When I visited the site the day before there were some clouds in the sky which resulted in more even light. The day of the session there wasn't a cloud in sight and I had a lot more sun dabbles to deal with. The age of the kids - short attention span. No matter how well you plan and prepare and want to take a moment to really pose in the most flattering way, scan your view window to avoid mergers ect. When you are shooting a young family you just have to throw some of that out the window and just get the shot.

So My homework: This was a great door that faced east so was in the shade. I actually took a family shot here as well as an individual of one of the boys. I love these two shots of the boys. I think they both send a different message and create a different emotion.

To see more photos from this session click here.