Clearly I’m not a believer in the old motto ‘never work with kids’.
Why would you not work with them when there’s so much fun to be had.
The thing about photographing kids of any age is to realise that they generally won’t do what you want – they’ll do what they want. Which is only a problem if you want them to ‘sit still and smile’.
But if you want them to go out and be themselves, doing what they want is all you can wish for.
You just have to be able to capture it in all a photograph!
So May is here and we’re looking forward to Summer. We’ve already started the Outdoor Sessions and had a lot of fun picking bluebells and running free in the Forests of Cork.
Lots of lovely images I’d love to share so ‘stay tuned’ and I’ll try and get them up here in the next few days.
Also keep an eye out for a special deal on these sessions coming up for the Summer Hols…
As I mentioned in a previous post, the Gallery Sessions last year were a big hit: a convienient way to get a great range of pictures of a whole family at a reasonable cost (and with no initial outlay).
But me, being me, couldn’t help messing with the format a bit.
It’s no news that I’m not a fan of flat backgrounds. I started a blog post about that very subject and it turned into a small essay – so we’ll have to work out where to go with that one at some stage.
But these are studio sessions and we need a background. So we chose something less ‘photographery’ and flat with more texture and deliberately set it up so it wasn’t smooth. The to help I tilted it to give some depth.
But at times the purple backdrop came up very dark and a bit flat last year – even when I started lighting it independently. So we looked at other options: more depth, more options for posing full length, better lit and more space for larger groups.
My motto would always to ‘use what you have’ first and by turning everything around and incorporating the Gallery partion we hit on something new and way more interesting. Moreover shooting into the angle adds more depth.
It’s deeper, brighter and gives options for leaning against the partion. You get good separation with darker clothes and taller people in the group and we have extra seats, stools and other props this year to make more interesting group setups.
Just to finally add those links to the Communion information:
Communion and Confirmation Sessions
Communion and Confirmation Packages
With the Easter Holidays approching and Spring definitely here, it’s time to get out in the local parks and forests and take some pictures!
People always love our Forest Sessions and to encourage you to get out there this Easter break we’re offering a special promotional offer.
For €50 you get:
The offer applies to Outdoor Sessions taken between 31st March and 15th April 2012 (no sessions available on Easter Sunday 8th April). Other products can be purchased using session images at our normal pricing.
So now’s your chance to get that Forest Session done over the school holidays.
Call us now to make your booking – 021 429 3714
St Patrick’s Weekend meant two things for us this year: both girls in the Parade; and the chance for three lie-ins in a row.
It’s been a busy few weeks for all of us and we definitely needed some time to re-charge the batteries.
Thankfully our kids are now old enough to get themselves up and get started at the weekends, which leaves us an extra few zzz’s.
And on Monday morning I woke to find an Angel at the bottom of my bed:
Middle Child has been somewhat absent from these pages lately. Don’t worry, you’ll see much more of her as her Communion approaches…
One of my favourite quotes relating to what I do has to be:
If you want to photograph a man spinning, give some thought to why he spins. Understanding for a photographer is as important as the equipment he uses. – Margaret Bourke-White, Portrait of Myself by Margaret Bourke-White
This comment resonated with me before I really understood it.
The more I look and try to understand truely great photographs and how they were created, the more I see that the level of understanding in your subject is key.
The difference between a ‘Portrait’ and a simple picture is that a Portrait captures an essence of character and in so doing stimulates an emotional response in the viewer – whether it’s an empathy or a more negative reaction.
Generating that response, creating a rappor and engaging your subject creating a Portrait requires more than just camera skills. In fact many of the greats of portraiture weren’t great camera operators but their personalities and creative vision allowed them to create some astonishing portraits.
And I don’t think that this is limited to portraiture. Looking at Landscape work and stuff like Thom Hogan’s wildlife courses and many other fields it’s clear that a fundamental understanding of your subject and how it tends to behave gives you an advantage in being in the right place at the right time in good light to capture that decisive moment.
So, I’ll add a more recent quote from Thom: ‘Frankly, planning, preparation, and patience tend to gain me more than what the camera makers are gaining in their latest tweaks.’
Following the success of last year’s Studio sessions in the Gallery on Communion Days, we’re offering the same packages again this year.
These sessions are designed to be a convienient way to drop in to the Gallery on the day of your child’s First Communion. They last around 10 minutes and there is no session fee.
Ten minutes doesn’t sound like a lot but you’ll get a range of images of everyone you bring into the Gallery that day. Of course we’ll get a range of solo portraits of your son or daughter on their day. But there is also time to get pictures with their siblings, grandparent, godparents and don’t forget the parents of course.
There are only a number of 10 minute slots available on each Saturday in May so it’s best to enquire as early as possible if this is something that would suit you and your family.
The panel below gives a good idea of the range of images from a session last year. I’ve also posted more information about the different kinds of sessions and the package prices but feel free to call in to get more info.
Gallery sessions will also be available for Confirmation sessions in most of the local schools. Contact us for more.
Monday’s special Valentine’s edition of RTÉ’s Nationwide programme carried a piece on Lesley Stothers and her Love Spoons.
I’ve photographed Lesley’s amazing work a few times over the years and a number of my pics were used on the show to illustrate her story.
Well done Lesley, the whole thing came across really well – and my pics looked great on TV!
The show is available on the RTÉ player http://www.rte.ie/player/#!v=1135775 Lesley is 8:20 into the show.
I’m also helping Lesley put together a blog to show off more of her work and keep her growing band of fans up to date on where her work is available on show: lesleystothers.wordpress.com
Just back from Glorious West Cork. There really is no place like it. This kids spent 5 hours on the beach yesterday digging holes and playing Flags.
On a photographic note (this is my business blog afterall). I left the usual kit behind and took almost everything else: I did a portrait session with the Mrs on the Hasselblad; I shot a roll of 35mm on the F4 with the 50f.12 and 16f3.5 fisheye; I filled a 4GB card on the Panasonic LX5 (including the above). Lots of good stuff from all these – although I’ll need to wait for the films to be processed – how very 20th century!
We’re taking a couple of days out over the mid term so the Gallery will be closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week (13th to 15th Feb).
I will be available on the mobile for anything urgent but otherwise feel free to drop me an email and I’ll get back to you on Thursday.
