Let's just look at some images to have some fun. What are we talking about as far as what type of photographs that at least I try to make. And as we get into this, right now it's just a little bit more of show, but as the promise of this course is, it's I wanna show you how you can do this and I wanna show you how you can do this without a lot of excessive and expensive gear, how you can do it without an immense amount of technique, and how you can accomplish this right away. And that by the end of this class, you'll be able to start capturing memorable, meaningful, authentic photographs like these. And that is our goal, it's to get you there. The path that I'll show you is obviously my own, but it's one that you can adopt and adapt to your own, and that's one of the things which is unique about my approach. What you'll find in this approach is that it will be refreshing, kind of enlivening, and it may even kind of unlock the door. What I mean by that is, just this week, I was opening ...

up our kitchen door which has a lock on it which is sticking and I was fighting the door and banging it back and forth, and my daughter walked up and just turned the deadbolt, and I was like, "Oh, of course." I assumed that this door was stuck, but really, if you're feeling stuck, if you're feeling frustrated, I hope, my deepest hope, is that this course will feel like that. "Oh my gosh, this is unlocked." I hope it feels like this image right here. My favorite comment that was posted on social media with this one was someone wrote that this is how I feel when vegan ice cream goes on sale. (laughs) I just love the personality of the shot. And so for me, whenever I see someone else's photographs, I always think wow or fun or enjoy, there's emotional response, but then the next thing is how. How in the world do we do that thing, right? And how do we go from this? 'Cause this is what happened. The kids running on the beach and she's just having fun and you're trying to chase her down but it doesn't work. And then you take another shot and it's even worse. How do we go from this right here to something like that? That's the goal. Or maybe it's your own kid. This is my little Annie and she's on the bed, and how do I go from this and literally just 10 seconds later, to that? Or the family standing there a little bit awkward, not quite connected, to something which has different emotion? Or you're at a birthday party with your kid and she's lost in the shuffle 'cause she's the littlest one there. You want a picture where she's more of the star of the show. Or you're out apple picking and you see this scene and the guy's handing out free apples. You know your daughter's gonna walk up to get one and you wanna capture an image which is a little bit more iconic about her than about what you're doing there, right? It says enough, but not too much. Or maybe you're at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Any of you been there? Wonderful aquarium. And you're just excited 'cause your daughter's excited and you capture the image, but really, it makes no sense, right? There's a black wall right here, I don't know, but you want this. You want that wide-eyed wonder just a moment later. Or you're down in Costa Rica with one of your best friends and his son, and they're looking out at the surf. And it's okay, but we wanna go to something I think like this. And this picture, at least for me, is one which transcends or goes beyond the genre family photography. It's not necessarily about Martin and Dylan. It's about father and son. And in any type of photography, if you can get someone to like the image that doesn't like the content, if you photograph dogs and a non-dog lover loves the shot, you've arrived, you've achieved something. And that's what we're trying to do here is create connection when people don't know the people, right? Of course he likes the picture, but I want you to like it as well. How do we go from this where the family's on the beach, the kid in the front, look at her right here. She's just like, "I'm outta here!" How do we go from that to this? Connected, engaged, cohesive whole. Let me just jump back for a second. This is kind of how family feels sometimes, right? If you're a parent, you know what I mean. But you also know that this sight's there. And so, this class is a little bit about both of those things.

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Chris Orwig

Chris Orwig is a photographer, author and teacher based in Santa Barbara, California. He is a best-selling author and he has created over 70 online courses on the topics of Photoshop, Lightroom and photography. His most recent book, The CreativeFight

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topics covered in this class

Family & Lifestyle Portrait Photography Digital Photography

Ratings and Reviews

Meredith Zinner Photography

Chris is a FANTASTIC teacher (and photographer). He is so very very authentic, warm, REAL, talented, knowledgeable, honest, open and true to his wonderful self. This class, in addition to endless nuggets of knowledge and insights, highlights how being true to your own self makes you a better photographer- emphasizing connection, authenticity, fun and easy relaxed simple joy. A refreshing take on children's photography for sure! Thank you Chris and CreativeLive!

Neeraj Arora

Oh my god!!!! What a class. I couldn't stop watching. Chris you are an inspiration, loved every word you said, loved how you said it. I am in the process of getting a plan together for doing photography professionally on the side, on top of my research career, and you just hit a home run in getting me motivated and excited in taking the plunge. My photography of people gives me a lot of satisfaction and meaning and you just validated what I have been thinking of doing lately. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

lisa james

Wow, I have been in search of my style. I've been reading and researching and listening to inspiring speakers and from each one I've gathered pieces of information that help guide me. This class, however, has been the most successful for me. Chris's approach to teaching and his material that he provides is Spot On for me. Thank you, Chris. I am so inspired and eager to move forward now that I can see my vision more clearly. I highly recommend this class.

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The Foundation of Family and Kid Photography

The Foundation of Family and Kid Photography

Lesson Info

2. The Foundation of Family and Kid Photography

Lessons

Class Introduction