Anatomy of a Photo Session

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Any parent who has ever tried to photograph their own children knows that it can be a daunting, frustrating task. I got to experience that frustration firsthand this afternoon when I attempted to do a photo session of my 15mos old. I got the set ready, adjusted my camera settings, dressed Ella, and placed her on the backdrop. She sat for all of a half second before she was off!


Here she is crawling away from the set. She was not going to cooperate AT ALL! Apparently she had better things to do than sit and look pretty!


I tried to bribe her with cookies in hopes that she might sit still...


When that didn't work I decided to stick her in her bumbo seat. Now the whole thing looked silly!


The cookie bribery just managed to make her want more cookies and she would not stop reaching for them.


When I told her no she immediately got mad and then proceded to pitch a fit. That's when I knew the session was over.


I went through the few photos I had taken and selected the best one. Notice how the makeshift flower hairbow is falling out (she kept tugging at it) and how silly the bumbo seat looks with the tutu sticking out.


I knew it was time to cut my losses so I cropped it in close and called it a day! I didn't get the shots I was after but I managed to get a beautiful close-up my little girl.

7 comments:

  1. the mad face one is my fave! Classic Ella! Give her kisses from Aunt Jenn!

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  2. I love the mad face too...and her beautiful eyes!

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  3. I know, the mad face is so her. She does not like to be told "no"...then again, who does?

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  4. I think for a child not wanting to be in the photo you got some great shots. My fav is the last one...

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  5. Oh, I love hearing stories like this from other mommies who use their kids for photoshoots. I blogged about a similar, but far more disatrous shoot with my daughter last week. I got some "okay" shots, but in the end have realized that sometimes it's just not meant to be! However, your close crop is GORGEOUS. If that's the fruit of your labor, it was worth the pickin!

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  6. What beautiful pictures!

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  7. Love the close up--it turned out great! But, yes, photographing little ones is SOOO hard. I try to capture "natural" moments when I get the rare opportunity {like the talcum powder pics}, but I find very small bribes like gummy bears work great--just watch the timing, so you don't get the pic mid chew! ;)

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