Lifestyle Modeling Portaits: Sophia
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I just completed a baby-modeling shoot! It was a bit different than normal portraits because of certain limitations but overall it was a great shoot! If you didn’t know when I’m not capturing images as a photographer I’m usually working with children. Kids are great because they usually feed off the energy that you come with so it’s great for me because I tend to be fairly energetic. The key to capturing great images is patience and timing. I’m not a fan of the spray and pray method; you take tons of images and hope you get a few good ones. If you want to improve your skills keep focusing and waiting for your shot.
Another thing that I notice can be difficult are when you are shooting outside you have to keep an eye on the quality of light. If the light is too harsh you’ll have deep shadows and your subjects can become over exposed which will bleach out your subject. Looking for diffused light, and shaded areas that I can have a better gauge on tones and contrast, while keeping a more even spread of light on the subject. Once you have your lighting down the next part is to focus on the subject.
Working with younger children you will find that posing them can be fairly difficult. I don’t suggest a typical pose where you would try to get them to sit a certain way and adjust their posture, and give them directions. Depending on their competence and age you will most likely want them to hopefully sit still and smile. Some children are more comfortable in front of the camera than others. This shouldn’t alarm you it just means you’ll want to work a bit harder to get them to feel less rigid and more relaxed. Keep the parents nearby and use them to your advantage. Have the parents play peek-a-boo or other games and cutesy things they do with their children so that they can smile naturally. I don’t really like a parent telling their kid to say cheese. Sometimes you can’t tell but for me there’s usually more life and detail in an image where happiness is generated from a subject organically. For me the younger they are the sillier I get to be. Most importantly, don’t forget to have fun!
