Lessons

Lesson Info

Simple Posing: Young Girl

We built this course, basically, I wanted to put together a catalogue of sorts from all the questions I've gotten from children and family photographers, most specifically as it relates to their biggest challenges. So how do we meet this challenges? And over the next three days, we're going to do a lot of shooting ah lot of photographing families in a variety of locations in an urban setting, also in a field in a lake, in a really dark indoor space, all the places that you might find yourself shooting, and we're going to do a lot of covering of lighting, lighting keeps coming up as a struggle for a lot of people, so we're gonna walk through in detail attn least six different lighting types that I can use as simply as possible. That's, michael's howto use them as simply as possible in all those sort of situations, including bright, harsh daylight when you're out in the field and the sun is dropping, but the kids are moving fast and you still want to get it, but you don't have as much av...

ailable light as you had situations like that, and then we're gonna go through business. I love business, and we're gonna be talking in detail through sales were to go through workflow, how to make things faster, better, easier. Cooler but really take a lot of the work load off you'd by being ableto automate things and making them simpler so we're gonna work through that and lastly family the reason we're here I have a huge heart for family not just mine but the idea of family and has a big impact on my works we're gonna work through that a little bit more why it's so significant to look for that belonging with people and bring that out in your work sounds like an amazing class I know we have a lot to get to so thank you so much for being here. Tamara have fun let's get start right so we should just do it yeah, yeah she's just a right over hey, all right um I'll probably start with a camera I think it was right there and then did you know you're going to help me out? Yeah. Everybody say hi to danielle, okay? And I think we're going to start with way have I think about three or four children right now joining us for and we're going to start with one denise and I'm going to basically meet her similar to how anybody would meet a subject with all these chutes were kind of going in blind and setting it up and starting things so denise you want come out out hi, I'm camera hello has a camera and the audience all right, we're gonna do something really simple denise we're going to start out in this really cool open courtyard way have a nice shade which billy thing that you're going to care about is how do you stand and look and be awesome, right? Yes all right, so let's do this I'm going to do this and help you set up I'm going to start with just a long shot kind of an identifying shot and we're going to get her all warmed up they use a simple reflector on this throughout the course of the shooting will be doing like I said we'll bring in strobes will use constant lights, video lights all that's where stuff but right now we're gonna start natural light and when those planes overhead we're going to ten we don't hear him okay, okay let's start really simple for you back up a little bit and then just give me something like easy with this a little bit higher and drop the other hand yet and that's it we're just going to start really easy like that, okay? We're gonna reflect that back and then out here we've got a nice uh, natural light I'm gonna just move these sandboxes real quick I'm gonna be shooting with a really shallow depth of field these guys getting a little work out there again um and that is where the first things I do is I checked the foreground. I checked the background. I look at the whole scene, it's really easy to get caught up in just looking at your model and missing everything else that's going to go on were going to shoot straight this way with probably about an f one eight aperture so that I can really have a lot of distance. Um, guys, you call are you chili? A little bit? Okay, shake it off. Check it. Check it. Check it. Check it. Check it, check it. Check it all right. And then daniel, move around a little bit let's find that light when working with the reflector. Often, if you find yourself moving all the way around it's not always so intuitive that it's across from the light. And here we're in a really shady alley. And having a shady alley means it's actually tougher because you don't have an obvious source of light, right? Is reflecting really well on you right now. So so if you see right here on our model space right away, we're getting that kick. But we want to be able to keep that kick butt back up just a little bit, so we're not in the frame. You see that and then keeping your eye on the catch light those secular highlights in the eyes is the way to kind of maintain that reflector right pause for airplane remember this hallway just yeah exactly good start and we're gonna just set up our tethering all right take one step back with you all right oh great dese you're good you're perfect you're beautiful there we go that's a nice start so what I always do is start with a test shot and see what I've gotten what I want to dio the first thing I'm looking at and hopefully all of you could see that too is that what I'm looking at the frame I see a little bit of interruption with that pedal that I want to avoid on dh then I also see of course I want to shift the pose and such but if you try to do everything at once right of the gate with the first shot it ends up being just too much so we're gonna switch this way do three jumping jacks get warm you six jumping jacks brilliant all right and now give me a step forward like this one foot forward you do this right here loosen the other hand completely yet and they were just gonna kick some light right here so I could go along and then you change the framing of it right here, okay? Beautiful day needs you ready you feel warm you look so good and take two steps back did you sorry today stadio that's a really good tip right there that it overtly got wrong would just start with the name of who you once knew back all right you with me this is it yes she is let your left hand just relax so tired so good beautiful and I love it now spit a little bit and larks get kind of sleepy you know that tires come back to me good alright wait and see if your eyes were closed and open up hey there she is there fine good beautiful so starting long going wide going in the closer I get to her with my long lens the more I'm going to be blowing out that background and as I'm backing up I'm having an effect on that shallow depth of field so as I get closer and closer I'm going to see that shift right there thank you and you're just you and now I just really what that all gone oh we even has lovely hair movement lick your lips, sweetie and should have a bit good very nice excellent. All right let's start moving you around a little bit we have a really cool gate that we're going to drag in here um one of things that I love about every new location and one of the reasons I like to go to a lot of new locations is that I get to find things from there and figure out how to move them in and make them part of the scene so we're going to bring a gate in we're going to bring a little stool and we're going to start really posing her but we wanted to get her used to it get all war I'm up to speed and then we're gonna start actually getting into a lot more in the way of the shots I want to take thank you is that I have years left no right behind her way and that tall stool wei don't need yet we can start with this but that's great all right you're not going to be closed in there paramus okay all right we're going to jump to the silver on the reflector eso couple things I'm noticing getting these shots is that the from a lighting perspective we're getting some pop we're going some balance from the white part of the reflector but it's a little bit of a deeper shade in here than we initially thought and then so by putting on the silver effect or we're going to get a lot more shine we can step back further and get mohr of the shot of our subject and not have to worry so much about the reflector being on the scene and then we can stop worrying about all those details and focus on denise okay ready I'm just making sure there's no uh you know fairy dust on you alright step forward a little bit I'm separating your subject from the background even though it's a super cool background and you want it helps isolate them and allows for it to be more of that portrait look versus them blending into the background great we're gonna bring the silver in yeah you see the difference there it's pretty isn't it all right you're looking good, sweetheart. All right ready step forward towards me go this way stay back there and then one step forward one step to your right those are excellent step when micro step perfect all right and then try this leaving for just like that vera all right, that is lovely give me a little bit more silver pop does she write out yet? That's beautiful just like that way it's still going way go unhinge your jaw like with snakes that you're like eating your prey I hate your job it is to get out of it very good good you don't look like a snake anymore you know it's so pretty ah your charges to these right? Beautiful I love that look um is the pop it up? Okay, perfect. All right I love that look that's fantastic. All right, so we're goingto move you onto a stool one of things I really really appreciate especially with children is to just keep moving to constantly keep moving. If you try to take a child in state a position for a very long time, you're gonna find that it gets static and boring and they leave you emotionally distant emotionally. Gypsy, you have any questions? By the way, as I start moving her into the next thing. Can you grab me? The eighty five one four jump on? I'm here with you. You look amazing. By the way, I do have a question about how much you prepare the child for how much you'll be. He kind of popping them to do jumping jacks or to stay busy. Are you verbally saying that to them or you just doing it? Yeah. That's a great question. So normally when you have a long shoot and my shoots air almost three hours. Okay, times two, two and a half. Um, and I will set up ahead of time and do a little game plan like a little huddle. Okay? And that's, a lot of fun to get every involved. Also normally there's, not so much going on. And so it's a lot easier for kids have always knows that when I photograph children in thank you in more public settings, which is one of the reasons why I love bringing the families and children to a more private location. So if I have an option of choosing a really beautiful park where there's a ton of going on a ton of people, I will always isolate them into the lesser location and just get creative about my shooting so that I could have them with me and that's. Really very externally focused. Okay, do you have have any questions over there? If you let us know, just raise your hand. So just one more note are you? So you started with the longer lens, right? And is this how you always work? Like, starting long and then when there is a dependent upon what? The penis? Yes, very depend on the scene. Typically what I'm thinking is I know it's kind of like making waffles. You have to give the first view to the waffle gods, you know, that's true. I know every single time I started shooting, like out of the gate. It's just warm up, okay? You know, so one of the problems I see people have is they'll say, I went out for a shoot and I tried. It was awkward. It was weird we didn't get past this initial stage they say, how long were you shooting? Ten, fifteen minutes, but it's just too weird like that's that's when you're just getting started and so much of that is to be expected it's like trying to go for a run and you can't move for half a mile and then you're feeling amazing well, I have a million metaphor it's like going into the water and it's cold at first but what it really is like that. Okay, well, let's keep going. All right, let's do it so I'm switching to the eighty five one for this is my favorite portrait lens and denise why don't you scooch on the very edge of your chair? Yes, and can you put your feet on this little stool? Yeah, and cross your legs uh at the top on the knees yeah, and we're gonna do some fun like this and you're just gonna lean forward without falling hold yourself and then clean for the waist a little bit more have you got girl scooch back and then you could lean forward a little bit yeah, you want to try crossing at the nero quick? Yes, exactly. All right. This is the look I'm going for so I want her on the edge of the chairs like not that nice distant look in terms of aperture but I don't want her falling and I just got you a little bit and put a little bit of an angle in her for the way the pose is that okay and then didn't have the one thing to keep in mind is probably the easiest thing for you to think about it any time you work with assistant danielle is been fantastic as assistant anytime you working the assistant it's really helpful to give us much information is possible even if the assistant is are the parents or a friend or anybody a couple things that'll be really helpful is we talked about the lighting is going back to look at the catch light but another thing that's great is to think about where you are in relation to to my eye line because it's not hard at all to get lost in this and then be doing this and not on purpose though that's a great reflection right there but to think about like where maya can I see what the scope of the lenses because very very often when I'm working with the reflector I see it in my frame and I have to say two three steps back alright good pop it up okay we're gonna jump down to even more shallot denise you are doing so fantastic you look gorgeous that is blown out of the water I jumped down to a one eight and got a pop up my shutter speed and I don't worry about that that's beautiful uh guard all right oh you look so bad you're like it's just my thing I'm loving how this looking I'm just gonna get got all right as I'm getting closer, I'm being very mindful of my aperture because the closer I am getting to her, the less of her will be in focus. So shooting from a one six back there is fantastic. Getting closer and closer and closer means less and less of our faces and focused, and I've got to be more careful of the eyes being sharp. I'm going to jump on in here for a second and ask a question. Tamara? Yes, folks at home are seeing black and white, black and white. Yes, even the worst about you. You're not shooting black and white now. But I think it's great that the internet is so creative. All right, so let us know for sure that that's the way I fixed it. It's, there we go. Thanks to whoever out there said let us know. Okay? They were all black and white the whole time. All right, that is I don't even know you could do that. Alright. Perfect. Were the same thing like that you were doing brilliantly and we're gonna move. You rattle a bit more. Okay, let's, put your knees completely facing that wall. Yeah, and then I like this. We're gonna do this a little bit, and then you're gonna be like this a little bit. Do you mind if I help you out like this? Do you mind? Do you mind? Thank you. Checking, uh, barnett off. I love that. Is that coming through? Okay, do you favor look towards danielle danielle hair just a little bit, yeah, beautiful. Uh, look so good, that's. Wonderful, she's, shivering a little bit. So why don't we let you jump up, take a little break, you're gonna come back, we'll take more photographs, but let's, say you get up and put a little little sweater on, and then we're gonna come back out with a different outfit and a new change of clothes.