::photo shoot and tips::

My adorable nieces were in town and I wanted to get a photo shoot.  A quick, and unscheduled photo shoot.  We actually had Emma that day, which has been a very unfortunately rare event this summer, so I was excited to get pictures of all five of them together.   When I went through these images I think I found some great illustration of things I have learned about photography this summer.  


Disclaimer - I am still very much a intermediate level photographer.  I am learning and improving.  Don't think that me doing a post on photography tips is ego talking.  I just want to share, and try to remember, a few of the things I am learning.     

When I am waiting to get all the people set up I try to squeeze off a few pictures of the older more agreeable kids.  The light on her neck was slightly off so I was trying to get a slightly different angle when I got this...

a bright red max making the background adorable but distracting.  So I had to give up getting the perfect picture of Emma at that second.  I always have to remind myself that with little kids you have to be willing to be flexible and take what you can get.  

So I got them set up for this picture.   I like to do group pictures first while the little guys are happy and still interested.  My sister and brother-in law are sitting behind me making faces and jumping around.  

Then while they are still with me I switch angles.  And I like it better from this angle.  Except for that crazy fencing in the upper right corner.  I am not good enough at photo shop to fix that yet.  Notice that I am starting to loose Max.  

To get them back I made them have a race over to another location.  Baby Sybil got settled first so she got a solo picture.

Then the baby Aryanna was being extra cute.  But all the colors and textures in background was not working.

So I switched it to black and white trying to get rid of the distractions.  The lettering on the shirt is still distracting to me.  

And we end up in this bad pose.  Max's coloring is so different that he is glowing like a beacon and Baby Sybil is too removed from the group.   This is just not working.  A re-set is needed.  So I got them up and moved them, but still never got a very good image.

But I did get a good picture of Max's cute but odd smile.  Eyes closed and screaming CHEESE!

When ever I am getting fake smiles and uninterested kids I have two tricks that can buy me a few more good shots.  I make them make a really grumpy face or really silly faces.  I take the picture of those faces so they think I am silly too.  Sometimes the silly faces are actually very cute.  Then I count to three and you "pop" into a happy face.  

And I end up with this.  A nice (Not fabulous) picture of all four girls.

And as they were getting up, I got this one of Lily, which is my favorite image of the day.