Mother and Son Family Photographer | Orange County Children’s Photographer

Jack & Jena | Orange County Family Photographer

 
Photographing boys especially in the 5-7 age range is so different than photographing girls in the same age range.  Boy have a very different energy shooting out of every part of them.  Jack was a mass of energy and expression.  Instead of trying to coral his energy I just went with it.  Sometimes when I’m on location being an Orange County children’s photographer its fun watching what evolves.  I’m always critical of my photographs but always end up amazing photographs for the families that commission me.  I often think that being a children’s photographer I have two clients.  The obvious is the family that commissions me and the other person I always have to satisfy is myself and my artistic vision.  If I’m not happy with my children’s photography on any particular day, I don’t think that my client will be either.  And, in Jack’s case, he really didn’t want to listen to me and that’s okay.  However, I’m really satisfied and pleased with their portraits.
When I’m on location, i rarely use artificial light.  The reason is kids move around allot.  If I try to coral them in one place their emotion vanishes.  Imagine for a second that you are a kid, your in a beautiful park with wide open spaces to run and play,  and your told that you have to stay in one place and not to move.   Do you think you’d be happy?  Instead I talk with them allot, tell stories and ask lots of silly quetions and move from location to location looking for light first and background second.  My go to lens is both a 50 1.2 for the close up below photographed at 1000th/sec | 800 iso | f3.2  The two other portraits below with both photographed with a 70-200 2.8 USM | IS |L  lens.  I bring along a 24-70 L 2.8 but rarely use it.  Everything is shot on manual.  It makes it easy to do the post in Adobe Lightroom 3.
BTW:  As funky as the first image looks, both Mom and Grandma ended up purchasing a print as well as the to others below.
These just happen to by my favorites too!