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ISBN: 1-58428-092-1 |
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8.5 X 11 |
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128 pages and glossary |
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Over 100 full color photos |
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Published February 2003 |
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Free U.S. Shipping |
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Personally Signed |
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Only $24.95
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BEST OF CHILDREN'S PORTRAITURE,
Techniques and Images from the Pros
Working with babies, small children and seniors can be the most exasperating profession on earth. Even if you do everything perfectly—beautiful posing and lighting, animated expressions, a wide selection of different images to choose from—the parents might say something like, “Wow, that just doesn’t look like our little Travis.” That’s because little Travis doesn’t look like their mental image of him anymore.
Parents have idealized mental images of their kids and when they see them in pictures, they sometimes don’t emotionally relate to the child in the photograph. What they see in their minds’ eye is their perfect child, not necessarily the same child who was just photographed.
That’s just one pitfall in the world of children’s portraiture. Kids, especially little ones, are easily frightened, so extra care must be taken to provide a safe, fun working environment. And the photographic experience must, by itself, be fun for the child.
George Eastman, the great grandfather of the Eastman Kodak Company, once said that there are about 160 things that can go wrong in the taking of a picture. He wasn’t talking about child’s portraiture because there are easily double that number of things that can go wrong in the typical child’s sitting.
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| If you look closely at the grain structure of this lovely image, you will see that it is truly a pointillistic grain, much like the Impressionist masters used in their paintings. Master portrait photographer Robert Love created this image using very fast film, push processed to accentuate the grain. The very soft contrast is also reminiscent of the Impressionists. |
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But if children’s portraiture were that impossible, then there wouldn’t be so many children’s photographers in the world. There are many rewards for excelling at this special skill. One successful children’s photographer says that photographing children gives him an opportunity to be a kid himself, almost as if the process were an extension of his not yet being grown up. There is no doubt that repeated exposure to the innocence of children is appealing.
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Award-winning portrait photographer Norman Phillips created this happy portrait by flooding the white background. As the reflected light passes through the draped white curtains it is further diffused, wrapping around the profiles of the tiny dancers. Frontal fill was accomplished by bouncing light off the back walls of the studio.
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Children’s portraiture has also become highly specialized. Whereas, many parents opt for having the kids photographed at the local department store, most discriminating customers realize that they don’t get much for their money or efforts when they go that route. Many studios, while offering a variety of photographic services, such as fine portraits or weddings, also offer fine children’s portraiture. Some photographers like Tammy Loya-Hauser photograph only children. It has become her life’s work and she is exceedingly good at it, treating each new client like a preferred customer.
While children’s portraiture takes unending amounts of patience and skill, it also takes an extraordinary amount of timing and teamwork. If you pursue this specialty, you will eventually come to the conclusion that one pair of eyes and hands is not enough—that it takes a team to effectively photograph children. I recently visited the studio of Ira and Sandy Ellis, two award-winning Southern California photographers, on a day when they were photographing a six-month old baby boy. With Sandy on the floor entertaining the infant, Ira was behind the Hasselblad, patiently waiting to get but a single frame here and there. The baby’s mother was there and she was doing an amazing job at keeping the baby happy. Posed in a giant clamshell, the baby, who could not yet sit up by himself, was plopped gently into position, his hair straightened, his chin wiped and then the entertainment started—Ira, Sandy and mom all trying to get baby to look up and smile. I watched over Ira’s shoulder and just as the baby looked at the camera and smiled, he also threw up—all over himself and the clamshell. And when Sandy picked up the baby, he threw up on Sandy too! The Ellises take moments like this in stride. Ira told me he was on frame 11, “coming up on the frame 12 meltdown.” Every prop imaginable was on hand from a squeeky bear to the bubble bottle to baby-hand-sized sea shells (part of the set), which the little one loved.
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| Well known portrait and wedding specialist Anthony Cava created this beautiful window light portrait of a young girl with her shoes off. Anthony used a silver reflector to kick light back into the shadow side of the portrait. The soft window lighting enhances the relaxed mood of the portrait. |
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As the session progressed, no pictures were being made. Baby would sometimes slide down in the shell or topple over and they’d have to start from scratch. At one point, Ira decided to try a change of pace and totally rearranged the set, turning the giant clamshell upside down, quickly adding some wedding veil material on top and promptly placed baby down on the upside down shell on his tummy. By now Sandy was behind the camera and they were well beyond the frame 12 meltdown. As I watched, I saw baby start to raise his head and kick his feet and in a fraction of a second the moment was gone. And just at that fleeting instant, Sandy squeezed the shutter. Session over—amidst applause and hugs and general satisfaction over another good job.
Like many highly successful photographers, Sandy and Ira Ellis are patient and thorough. The experience of watching them work brought home the insight that to be a successful children’s portrait photographer, one must be part magician, part psychologist, part circus clown and part coach and have the timing of a jewel thief.
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