“If I teach you the basics on my big fancy camera, will you do a mini shoot with me & your niece???”
“Uhhh….sure…but I don’t shoot people,” he said.
My little brother has taken some of my favorite images of me & the people that I love. He was into photography long before I ever picked up a camera. He’s a beachy, laid back dude who lives the California life. We’re pretty much polar opposites, but we have a lot in common too. One love we share is photography. You can check out his stuff on flickr here.
He came to visit a couple of weeks ago and despite the 95 degree weather, we went out for a mommy & me shoot. I have so few pictures of me & my girl, and I jump at any chance I get to have someone pick up a camera & shoot us. I picked the location and “directed” the shoot, which means I picked the hot spots with good backgrounds, set the manual settings to my liking, kept checking the images for ‘improvements’ and found the right light. And then….we were just us. It was up to him to nail the focus (CHECK). It was up to him to frame the shot (CHECK). As I sat and began culling the images when we got home, I had to fight back tears. These were perfect. I used my styleberry magic in Photoshop & could not be happier. THANK YOU, BROTHER!! I will cherish these forever!!!
This is probably a really good time to talk about photo shoot styling. If your idea of a perfect shoot is wearing all white outfits, then we are *probably* not the right match for each other. Nothing bores me more than BLAHHHHH clothing! A perfect combination of clothes usually involves a pattern worn by one person, with all the outfits coordinating with that pattern. One person could wear a solid or two, another a coordinating stripe. Another person could wear a solid color, but with ruffles or flower texture. The more to look at, the more interesting your images will be. Wear EVERYTHING…and I will help you take accessories on & off as it fits the scene. More options are always better!
Think about what this shoot would look like it I wore all white. And we matched.
[gag]
Coordination is key. Not matchy matchy.
She was waving to the fishies, a skill she just recently picked up!! : )
And, because I needed a post-baby head shot that reflected how I look & feel at this point in my life (everything before this was dark!!) here is me! Adam nailed the focus on my eyes. Well Done!
