I've never done a formal photo shoot and I've never been paid to photograph someone. This for me is purely a hobby. But i've been approached by parents of the children in my daycare to take photos of their family and I'm terrified. I have no equipment other than the camera, a flash. the lens that came with the camera and cs4 (which i use like a blind woman groping in the dark). I am paralyzed with fear that I'm not going to do a good job of shooting them so i need help! Shooting indoors is out of the question because of the problems i'd run in without proper lighting but any suggestion is welcome. I was thinking of shooting outdoors, but i need help with that, too. I've never done this before. My photos of the children are usually candid (www.facebook.com/raineepaz). i have no idea how to go about directing people on a shoot and would love some advice from people in this site who have done it amazingly. any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks a lot.
early morning or early evening are the best for lighting conditions....shade is your friend...look for spots with even light - and the shadows aren't harsh. if it is a cloudy day, perfect, anytime will work.
just do the shoot for free, no strings attached, tell them you are practicing, take the pressure off yourself. it can be tricky, especially if there are little ones...the more you do it tho, the better you will get.
another piece of advice...tell the parents upfront to let you do all the talking...kids are typically going to act up, so what, don't let it bother you, and tell the parents not to get upset with them, you are expecting it and you don't expect them to listen to you. if the parents start repeating your directions to the kids, nip that in the butt right away.
thanks, rochelle, especially about being firm with the parents =) and i did tell them it's free. the practice alone is great for me. thanks, too, for the tips on when the best times are to shoot.
I have no experience with this, but I am inclined to think that it might be worth investing in one of those photo reflectors and stands. I was just looking at them the other day and I know that the bounce lighting outside is very flattering and takes away the shadows. Anyone else have any experience with these? http://www.amazon.com/PBL-PHOTO-REFLECTOR-STAND-COLLAPSIBLE/dp/B001CCVJ1E
I think that Rochele just about summed it all up! I would like to just add that it should be fun for you and fun for them as well! Keep patience with both the kiddos and the parents! LOL! Good luck! I know you'll do just fine! Can't wait to hear about the great pics you get!
Rainee, you're almost comical in your self-deprication, as you take some of the most amazing photos of kids I've ever seen--and I look at a lot of stuff from pros. Just do what you do. If you get what you get now by just letting the kids play, then let them do that, and ask the parents to play with them--hug, kiss, whatever. I would guess taking the time to let the parents get comfortable with the camera will be the trickiest part. The few times I have done something like this, I take a minute and talk about "I take my best pictures when . . .", and then I describe what happens when my pictures are ok. Those candid shots will be (and are for you) the best anyway. I can completely understand why you would do this for free to build a portfolio, but for the sake of photography I hope you will move toward setting firm prices for your work. There is some great stuff on the web that describes how to do that and set it all up. You are an amazing photographer with a special gift. You will do great. Can't wait to hear about it.
I also saw a post about reflectors. I use Silver reflectors sometimes. I will also use a Gold reflector to portray a "Sunset" look when it is not sunset (ok, cheating). You can get a 5 way 48" reflector kit from Westcott for less than $40. Also, you will see me tout the Gary Fong Collapsible Lightsphere a lot. It is great for indoor...or outdoor shooting!
Rainee ,
You will do well dont knock urself so much. Go back and look at ur people photos , brillant.
Once you get started it wil all feel natural , its nervous at first but once you get started clicking away they soon go. Ive done a few ( some paying jobs) and i always worried they dont work out , but they do and the familys love them . But im always upfront and say im not professional so please dont expect them to be perfect. Im doing a wedding in september , now thats going to be scarey lol but i will get thru it ..
have fun with it , let everyone else have fun .. do lots of study about positioning ppl in the right spots . think of different body types as well ..
I don't know what sort of photos this famiy's after, but my housemate had a photoshoot with his family recently and he was saying it was just a laugh. The photographer had them doing things like piggyback races across the room while he took photos and just messing around. Sounds like a good idea if you want more relaxed or fun shots rather than juist formal ones. He said it was a lot of fun to do too.
I imagine the parents approached you for a reason and the fact you have 174 Followers on the 365 speaks for itself. Considering your description of your Pshop abilities, I am guessing more than a few people who view your work wish they were as "bad" as you. I think your work of 26 February is genius (I would say eggsellent but I think the gallery would boo me) and your picture titles are some of the most creative I've seen.
As to your shoot, you've obviously had some great advice from people who know what they are talking about. I've no experience so can only recycle a point from magazines about maybe taking a box of props/favourite toys etc for the kids. As the parents asked you, I am guessing they view you as an expert, so act like one whether you think you are or not. In my experience, if you have an SLR camera, most people make assumptions that you are "an expert" even without seeing your images! (Which can be really handy at times). If you have some compliant friends, you might want to consider taking them to the area of your shoot & rattling off some scenarios as a rehearsal to test for light, hornets nests, how the reflector unpacks etc etc. The other thing if you are taking pics for somebody else is to double check your gear. I'm sure you wouldn't, but I personally know people who have not charged their battery, not packed their memory card, left a mostly full but not downloaded card in the camera or not packed spare cards when they have gone on a shoot.
I know there is an eternal debate about not shooting lots of images just because you can, but I'd think about doing just that in such a scenario, especially as with your ability in Pshop you would have a great deal of material to play with (and someone is always looking in the wrong direction, or blinking, or yawning.....)
Finally, if you have time for an experiment, how about a panoramic pic of the kids making different poses/expressions, as they revolve round you? A unique 360 image. Piece of cake in CS4 (Photomerge) but definitely have a practice with your friends if you're not familiar with the overlapping for stitching (about 30% is good).
I'm sure the daycare parents will be very pleased with whatever you do for them.
paul, i would definitely look into the panoramic/photomerge suggestion.
thanks, too, for tips on reflectors and how to "handle" the parents. the children, i have no worries with. it's easy for me to play with them and take a picture at same time. i've never done it with parents so i'm trying to railroad my friend, who has 2 boys, into posing for me one of these days. hopefully, she finds my offer for free babysitting appealing =)
AGAIN, THANKS EVERYONE.
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just do the shoot for free, no strings attached, tell them you are practicing, take the pressure off yourself. it can be tricky, especially if there are little ones...the more you do it tho, the better you will get.
another piece of advice...tell the parents upfront to let you do all the talking...kids are typically going to act up, so what, don't let it bother you, and tell the parents not to get upset with them, you are expecting it and you don't expect them to listen to you. if the parents start repeating your directions to the kids, nip that in the butt right away.
thanks, rochelle, especially about being firm with the parents =) and i did tell them it's free. the practice alone is great for me. thanks, too, for the tips on when the best times are to shoot.
I also saw a post about reflectors. I use Silver reflectors sometimes. I will also use a Gold reflector to portray a "Sunset" look when it is not sunset (ok, cheating). You can get a 5 way 48" reflector kit from Westcott for less than $40. Also, you will see me tout the Gary Fong Collapsible Lightsphere a lot. It is great for indoor...or outdoor shooting!
You will do well dont knock urself so much. Go back and look at ur people photos , brillant.
Once you get started it wil all feel natural , its nervous at first but once you get started clicking away they soon go. Ive done a few ( some paying jobs) and i always worried they dont work out , but they do and the familys love them . But im always upfront and say im not professional so please dont expect them to be perfect. Im doing a wedding in september , now thats going to be scarey lol but i will get thru it ..
have fun with it , let everyone else have fun .. do lots of study about positioning ppl in the right spots . think of different body types as well ..
Be proud and enjoy !!!
As to your shoot, you've obviously had some great advice from people who know what they are talking about. I've no experience so can only recycle a point from magazines about maybe taking a box of props/favourite toys etc for the kids. As the parents asked you, I am guessing they view you as an expert, so act like one whether you think you are or not. In my experience, if you have an SLR camera, most people make assumptions that you are "an expert" even without seeing your images! (Which can be really handy at times). If you have some compliant friends, you might want to consider taking them to the area of your shoot & rattling off some scenarios as a rehearsal to test for light, hornets nests, how the reflector unpacks etc etc. The other thing if you are taking pics for somebody else is to double check your gear. I'm sure you wouldn't, but I personally know people who have not charged their battery, not packed their memory card, left a mostly full but not downloaded card in the camera or not packed spare cards when they have gone on a shoot.
I know there is an eternal debate about not shooting lots of images just because you can, but I'd think about doing just that in such a scenario, especially as with your ability in Pshop you would have a great deal of material to play with (and someone is always looking in the wrong direction, or blinking, or yawning.....)
Finally, if you have time for an experiment, how about a panoramic pic of the kids making different poses/expressions, as they revolve round you? A unique 360 image. Piece of cake in CS4 (Photomerge) but definitely have a practice with your friends if you're not familiar with the overlapping for stitching (about 30% is good).
I'm sure the daycare parents will be very pleased with whatever you do for them.
paul, i would definitely look into the panoramic/photomerge suggestion.
thanks, too, for tips on reflectors and how to "handle" the parents. the children, i have no worries with. it's easy for me to play with them and take a picture at same time. i've never done it with parents so i'm trying to railroad my friend, who has 2 boys, into posing for me one of these days. hopefully, she finds my offer for free babysitting appealing =)
AGAIN, THANKS EVERYONE.