3 Keys to a Successful Photoshoot with Little Ones
Recently I took my ladies over to Gulf Beach in Milford, CT to tag along while I checked the place out. I brought along my camera with the intentions of snapping a few pics of my youngest for her 2nd bday. Little did I know that I would get a whole boat load of shots that I am absolutely in love with!
Now to figure out what wall I'm going to make a gallery out of.
Anyway, it got me thinking about why this particular session was so successful. I believe it's due to one main ingredient, but there are 2 others that I think played into it as well. I wanted to share for anyone out there that likes the outcome of this gallery too, and may want similar images of their own kids.
Key Ingredient #1: Chose a location where your kids can explore and have fun! I think this was the differentiator right here. My girls had so much fun here! Not once did someone whine or cry. They both had huge smiles on their faces, screamed at the top of their lungs when they wanted to, and ran from here to there. First I got them to explore around the lifeguard chair. Then my oldest was off and running up and down the beach to chase after the birds. Then she wanted to touch the water, which soon led into them playing in the sand. When it was time to leave, I quickly got them to come back over to the lifeguard stand one last time, and then we were off. Success!
You will notice, never are they standing next to each other perfectly looking at the camera with a smile on their face. It's just not happening with a 2 and a 4 year old, but I love these images so much more! It's them! They are so happy!! They aren't stressed, and angry. By the lifeguard chair, I did give them a little direction, but nothing more than getting my oldest to stand in a certain spot for me for one pic, encouraging the girls to peak around the corner so I could grab a shot, and enticing them to continue screeching and screaming to prolong something they started doing on their own. It's something my youngest does often, and I wanted to document that. Other than that, the rest of the shoot was them doing what they wanted to do, even the hug at the end. I just tagged along and tried to capture what they were doing from different angles, along with grabbing shots of their toes and hands to forever remember how little they currently are.
Ingredient #2: Styling! Styling really makes a difference. I purposefully put the girls in outfits that day that were muted in color because I knew I wanted to take their picture. For this trip I stayed clear of their hot pink outfits and t-shirts with characters such as Poppy from Trolls. These outfits worked for me because of the color, and also because the girls are comfortable in them. They could run around, and get dirty if they wanted to, which they did, and a bath most definitely necessary when we got home! I really LOVE LOVE LOVE how earthy tones photograph as well, and I definitely need to get more of that into their wardrobe for sure!
Ingredient #3: This final ingredient is out of our control, but it's the weather. Weather plays a big part in the outcome of how pictures come out, but probably not in the way you would think. Typically, we are all praying for bright sunny days, but when a shoot is coming up, I'm actually praying for clouds! The more, the better!!!! I got so lucky this particular morning because the sky was COMPLETELY covered with clouds, AND without a threat of rain. It just doesn't get any better than that!!! Bright sunny days + a location with no open shade = challenges. Harsh sun creates really harsh shadowing. I have to be much more strategic about where and how I shoot in those conditions. You just don't get the free range to run around anywhere you want. If you are having a photoshoot on a bright sunny day, I would recommend choosing a location that has a lot of shade to work with. Somewhere that is covered with trees or has big buildings that cast nice big shadows to play in or plan to have the shoot at golden hour, the hour before sunset, or bright and early in the morning. I'm talking really early in the morning, around an hour after sunrise, which right now is about 6am. In fact it's 6am as I write this, and the light is perfect outside right now!!!!
So when I mixed the 3 ingredients above, below were my results. Do you like? I am in love!!!!
