Children's Portraiture

I am a big fan and proponent of prints.  The most stable form of any image is a well-made print.  It will be around for hundreds of years.  I have a couple thirty year old prints on my wall that still look good.  I have a twenty year old print that was produced by my own lab and has been on continuous display.  It looks great, vivid.

You can’t say that about digital files or even Continue reading “Prints or digital files”

What parent hasn’t been embarrassed by their child? But do we think about how many times we embarrass our child?  A common way is to say something about them to other people in front of them.

One of the oldest jokes in children’s photography business is the mother who brings in their child and says: “I hope you can do something with him.  Whenever he gets his picture taken he screws up his face and Continue reading “Oops! Did I say that?”

When asked which children are the easiest to photograph a photographer once replied, “Orphans!”

If you are trying to sell pictures, like I am, this presents an obvious problem.  We need the parents to bring us the children and to pay for the pictures.  Without the parents there would be no children.  The question is how to work with the parents?

I prefer to have the parents tell me what they want.  Then, sit back, do Continue reading “Parent Participation”

Younger infants (under six months old) are my favorite subjects. As with everyone else, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression.  Meeting and introducing yourself is important.

When the mother approaches you with the child, make eye contact with the baby and speak softly.

Don’t get too close. Like the rest of us, babies each have their own comfort zone.  Getting too close to a baby is like getting too close to an adult.  They will be uncomfortable.  If the baby is not making eye contact, Continue reading “Introduce Yourself to a Baby”

Nobody ever won an argument

 

An old and true adage is nobody ever won an argument. As soon as you encounter some resistance.  Stop!  Any effort to convince someone against their will is doomed to failure.  Change the subject to something you both find agreeable. This is true with both subjects and customers, friends and family.  If there is a point of disagreement, such as a child resisting going to the posing table, don’t push it.   You can get there eventually, Continue reading “Arguments”

My role as a portrait photographer is to engage the subject. Elicit an expression.  Then capture it.  Yes, all of the other stuff is important, but that is the heart of the matter.

The lighting, exposure and composition are worth nothing if you don’t get the expression you and the customer want. You can learn the technical part from a book, website, class or even a brief seminar.  It takes time and Continue reading “Engage the Subject”

Traditional, Classic and Timeless.  That’s how I describe my style, pictures you can share with your grandparents and grandchildren.   The infant at the top of this post is a good example of this principle.  Her father had similar poses done of him at this age and the posing will look good when she shows these to her grandchildren.  These have been standard poses for an infant her age for generations.  The child is alert, engaged, and looks like a real person.  She is.   Continue reading “Traditional, Classic, Timeless”