sneek peek: kate + luke

Well, technically the "sneek peak" is of Luke only...



holy cuteness.

There is more to come - stay tuned...

And how could I forget this? My daughter's recital is this weekend. Break a leg, sweetie!

Molly

I met Molly for the first time this weekend. Clearly, she wasn't too sure what she thought of me.



But she warmed up to me. Sort of. I love this look - part bewilderment, part curiosity (since I promised I'd show her the picture after I took it).

What a doll!

Taking Better Pics of Your Kids - Look for the "Right" Light

Since last week's lesson was more technical, I thought this week I would keep it simple.

I remember my wedding photographer's rule of thumb: when photographing a wedding, always use flash - when photographing children, NEVER use flash. Of course there are exceptions to the rule, but I admit that my favorite pictures of my girls were taken without flash.

A while back I bought How to Photograph Your Baby by Nick Kelsh. He writes that the "right" light to photograph your children can be found almost anywhere in your home. In a nutshell, you are looking for indirect light - light that pours in a window or an open door. Not the direct sunlight you find in your backyard or at the park in the middle of the day. If you can position your baby (or older one) so that one side of your baby's face is in the lght and the other is in the shadows, voila! You have a (possible) masterpiece.

Some examples of where to find this indirect light:

doorways
front porch
garage
car
window

I know some of these sound strange, but I have taken pictures of my kids in the car in the garage, and it was great light. Here's a couple of examples of getting the "right" light from my own personal photos:

I took this picture of my (now) 3 year old when she first woke up in the morning. I love the morning sun on the side of her face.


This is in an upstairs bedroom in the late afternoon. You can see the light pouring in from the window behind my baby girl. No shadows like the picture above, but I love the softness and the colors.

Taking Better Pics of Your Kids - CHEEEESE!

How to take better pics of your kids is a topic I could spend many weeks on (and probably will, I'm sure). I did have one specific question from one of you out there: how can I get my kids to look at the camera AND smile on cue?

Ahh, if I knew the slam-dunk answer to this I would be the Annie Liebovitz of children's photography. But here are some suggestions (click here for the full discussion on Flickr):

• get down on their level - sit on the ground, lie down - you'll get a much better picture if your kids can connect with you on their level.
• show them the pictures you are taking (this is the one my daughter loves).
• put a stuffed animal on your head and ask your kids to blow it off. Then nod your head and when it falls, (usually?) you'll get a smile.
• take pictures at funny angles (between your legs, over your shoulder) and then alternate with "real" pictures inbetween.
  
• bodily noises or words (burping, farting, "poopy pants," etc. - and don't shoot the messenger if you don't want to encourage these noises, I'm just reporting the facts. Use at your own risk...)

and whatever you do, DON'T ask your kids to say cheese, or you will probably get that terrible smile you HATE.

Let me know if any of these work for you...