Tag Archives: child

Documenting Your Family

Documenting Your Family | Photo Tips | It’s Your Frame, Use It

Little girl swinging at the park
 
Little girl swinging at the park - distracting background.
Probably the most famous documentary photographer of all time was Henri Cartier-Bresson. He was best know for images that capture the “decisive moment” (a phrase that he coined). And while his images certainly embody this idea, I think there is another aspect of his work that is too often overlooked – his conscious choice about every element that was included in (or excluded from) his frame. He typically worked with a Leica rangefinder camera, meaning he was not looking through the picture taking lens, but he was still able to beautifully frame his photographs. Neither leaving in extraneous elements or omitting important aspects of the image.

When you are out making pictures of your family, it is important that you be conscious of what is in your frame. Notice that I wrote making pictures, as opposed to taking pictures. That is what you are doing, you are making the decisions about what you include in your frame. Include elements that add to the story or give context, exclude elements that are unnecessary or distracting.

In the two pictures above, you will notice that one works and one doesn’t. The person walking through the background in the second image is distracting and really should not be there. For these shots, I had made the conscious choice to stop the bottom of the frame on the black rubber of the swing and not include Molly’s legs. This did a few things, it helped center her face in the frame, it allowed me to add a lot of the chains to help explain what is going on, and it shows a lot of the climbing wall in the background, adding context to the image. Now it takes a lot longer to write (or read) all of that than it does to actually come to the decision. After you start thinking in this way, it becomes pretty instinctual.

So what went wrong with that second frame? After I had made my decisions and framed the shot, I could only shoot one frame every time Molly swung into the proper position. In the first frame it worked perfectly – Molly swung into frame, I clicked the shutter – bang! – properly framed and focused image. Immediately after I made this image, a woman walked into frame from camera right. I was so busy concentrating on Molly’s position, I didn’t even notice… Until just after I pressed the shutter. No great loss, it was only one frame and I could even crop it to a square and exclude the background if I wanted to. Also, this was a pretty complicated situation. Normally it is pretty easy to look over your entire frame before clicking the shutter.

The trick to nailing this technique is simply to make it a habit to look around your frame before making the picture. I always start by deciding what is my center of interest (the most important thing in the picture) and then placing it where I want it in the frame (generally NOT dead center). I then let my eye do a clockwise lap of the frame edges. This picks up anything weird going on in the rest of the image. I am especially watchful for things that might be cut-off or jutt into frame.

The above process will seem slow at first, but as you get used to it, you will pick up speed and before long it will become a habit and you won’t even realize you are doing it. This habit should really improve the quality of your pictures, especially if you are using a point-and-shoot digital camera where everything is always in focus.

So give this technique a try and let me know what you think.

P.S. Here is the second image cropped to exclude the distracting background…

Little girl swinging at the park - cropped

Tech Info:
Nikon F100
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Legacy Pro 400 (AKA Fuji Neopan 400)
Richard Photo Lab

Personal Work

Westminster, CO | Documentary Photo | The Kids Are All Wet

Here is a fun documentary photograph to kick off the weekend. Back in September, the family and I went to a free concert at the Westminster Promenade in Westminster, CO. While following Emma around to make sure she didn’t cause too much trouble, I noticed the kids playing in this fountain.

As the sun got lower in the sky the light got better and the scene got more interesting. Also, most of the kids started to clear out, and I was able to get this one frame with a couple of kids in just the right spot. It was really an exercise in anticipation and patience.

Wait for the light to be low enough to back light the water and silhouette the kids – Wait for just a couple of kids doing something interesting – Make sure no one is walking through the background – Anticipate the moment when the water is shooting to its highest point – CLICK! One shot, one good frame is all I was able to get. In the next frame, the bright sunlight was gone and the kids had moved together to make one black blob instead of two distinct silhouettes.

I guess this was one of those times when a snap-shot wasn’t really a snap-shot.

You can click on the image to see it larger. Enjoy…

Kids playing in a fountain

Tech Info:
Nikon F3
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Ilford HP5 Plus
Ilford Ilfotec DD-X (9min @ 20C)

Camera Scan
Sigma SD9
Sigma 50mm f2.8 Macro
Photosolve Xtend-a-Slide

Portrait

Sterling, CO | Documentary Portraits | Bye Bye Summer

Last night, we had our first frost of the season here in the Denver metro area. I thought I would take the opportunity to look back at some fun documentary portraits from the summer. These were photographed at my grandmother’s house in Sterling, CO. The girls wanted to go out and play in the sprinkler and I wanted to get some pictures of them, so it worked out for everybody.

As you can see, they had a great time and I really like the pictures we were able to make. This was a great location for the shoot because I remember doing the same thing in the same location when I was a kid. It has meaning for me, so it adds something special to the images.

We had nice late afternoon light that I was able to use to rim-light the girls and back-light the water droplets. This makes for really interesting light in the images – soft on the skin and faces, but nice and contrasty on the edges and in the background. Also, because I was shooting black and white film, I was able to retain detail in the bright highlights and in the sky. If these same pictures had been shot on a digital camera, there is a good chance all of the highlight detail would have been lost.

The setting, the light, the “props”, the “wardrobe”, it all screams summertime and fun. This is what I go for in my documentary portrait shoots. Capturing a great memory, not just what the kids looked like at a certain moment in time.

You can click on any of the images to see them larger. Enjoy…

Young sisters playing in the sprinkler
A six year old girl jumps over a sprinkler

Documentary portrait of a six year old girl
Documentary portrait of a six year old girl

Tech Info:
Nikon F100
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Legacy Pro 400 (AKA Fuji Neopan 400)
Ilford Ilfotec DD-X Developer (7min @ 20C)

Camera Scan
Sigma SD9
Sigma 50mm f2.8 Macro
Photosolve Xtend-a-Slide

Portrait

Northglenn, CO | Documentary Portraits | Playtime Pictures

Here are some fun documentary portraits from a trip with Molly to E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park in Northglenn, CO.  I really like these pictures because they feel authentic, with great expressions and an interesting environment that adds to the image. The pictures were captured using just the available light, with no posing necessary. I really prefer to work in this way, especially with kids. Interacting and moving around beats sitting and saying “cheese” every time.

To get kids looking at the camera, just wait until they have slowed down to focus on something (like playing the “piano” below) and then say their name. They will look over, and you can snap the picture before they realize what you are doing. Once they realize, they may put on the big fake smile, or look away. It depends on the kid… and the day.

You can click on any of the images to see them larger. Enjoy…

Three year old girl playing a
Three year old girl playing a

Three year old girl playing on the playground
Three year old girl playing on the playground

Tech Info:
Nikon D70s
Nikon 35mm f2
B&W conversion in Adobe Camera Raw 5

Documenting Your Family

Documenting Your Family | Photo Tips | Get Closer

Close-up portrait of a young girl.
“If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” – Photojournalist Robert Capa

Robert Capa was a war photographer who was well known for always being right in the middle of the action. He was killed by a landmine while photographing the First Indochina War, on May 25, 1954. His quote above is a reminder for us to get physically closer and become more intimate with those we are photographing. Capa did not accomplish this through the use of long lenses (not in common use prior to 1954), but through proximity.

Getting closer accomplishes a few things:

It lets us understand what is going on and lets our subjects get used to us being around and having a camera. If you stand on the edges of the action and use a long lens to capture images, this will often draw attention and even suspicion. If you are comfortable and involved, people will start to forget about the camera and you can document truly candid moments. Photographing your own family makes this really easy, you are a supposed to be there, all you have done is add a camera to the mix.

Getting closer and using a wide angle lens will allow you to incorporate background into an otherwise intimate photograph. This gives the image a sense of place and tells the viewer what was going on at the time the picture  was captured. This type of picture is often called an environmental portrait.

If you get close while using a normal or short telephoto lens (the max I routinely use is an 85mm) you are able to remove much of the background or turn it into a pleasing blur. This focuses the viewers attention on your main subject and can make for a powerful photograph.

Getting close and being involved with your subjects gives you far more options in terms of lighting and background/foreground elements. If you are standing back and shooting with a long lens, you are pretty much stuck with whatever light direction and elements happen to line up in your frame at the time the shutter is tripped. If your subjects are comfortable with you, and you can move in among them, you can position yourself so there is attractive light, a cool foreground element in the frame, or nice tones/colors in the background. The choice is yours, it is not being dictated by your location or your long lens.

Finally, a note on cropping. As you can see in the image above, you do not always have to show a person’s whole head in a close up portrait. In this portrait, I was really interested in Emma’s wavy hair and the flower pattern in her shirt. I came in close with a 50mm lens (equal to an 85mm on 35mm film) and only shot the right side of her face and included her hair and her shoulder. What did this technique accomplish?  It brought attention to the elements that I was interested in documenting, it excluded the dark shadows on the left side of her face, and it created a pleasing off center composition. Also, the distracting background was reduced to a soft blur.

I hope you find these tips helpful, give them a try and let me know what you think.

Tech Info:
Sigma SD9
Sigma 50mm f2.8 Macro
1/350 sec, f/3.5, ISO 100
Converted to B&W in Adobe Camera Raw

Portrait

Arvada, CO | Baby Portrait | Smile, It’s A Holiday Weekend!

A baby boy smiles for the camera
Smile everybody, it’s a holiday weekend!

Let’s kick it off with a picture of a happy baby. Check out those new teeth.

This scene was photographed during an at home portrait session in Arvada, CO. All of the light was provided by large windows to camera right, and a smaller window just out of frame above the baby’s right shoulder. Fill light was provided by the window light bouncing off of the rest of the walls in the room. Fast film (ISO 1600) and a fast lens (50mm f1.4) let me grab this shot while keeping motion blur to a minimum.

You can click on the image to see it larger. Enjoy…

Tech Info:
Nikon F100
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Fuji Neopan 1600
Processing and scanning by Richard Photo Lab

Portrait

Yuma, CO | Documentary Portrait Session | Toddler Shoes

When working on a documentary portrait shoot, I always like to keep an eye out for the little details that can add depth to the story and will work nicely with the more traditional images in a session album.

In this case, we have a picture of a little girl’s worn out patent leather Mary Jane’s. You can tell these shoes are well loved and were not jut put on for the portrait session. In other words, they are a real part of this little girl’s life; So even though they may not be pretty and perfect, they are important to document all the same.

Click on the image if you would like to view it larger. Enjoy…

Two year old girl's worn out shoes

Tech Info:
Mamiya 645AF
Mamiya 80mm f2.8 AF
Ilford HP5

Portrait

Yuma, CO | Portrait Of A Young Girl | The Eyes Have It

Portrait of a five year old girl standing against a brick wall. Photographed at a farmhouse in rural eastern Colorado, on a Mamiya 645AF using Ilford HP5 film.
This is what I would call a “quiet portrait”. Soft light, simple background, traditional clothing and hair – all of that simplicity works to reinforce the main point of the photo – the eyes. They really draw you in and hold your attention.

The simplicity also lends an air of timelessness to the picture. Aside from Emma’s ear rings and hair clips, this image could have been made any time in the last 80 years. Shallow depth of field and medium format black and white film also contribute to this feeling.

I really like this image because it is a very traditional portrait, but it doesn’t feel contrived like a studio portrait would.

Click on the image if you would like to see it larger. Enjoy…

Tech Info:
Mamiya 645AF
Mamiya 80mm f2.8 AF
Ilford HP5 film

Portrait

Arvada, CO – At Home Family Portraits – Baking Cookies

Nearly any family activity at the family home can be a great occasion for a documentary photo shoot…

Here we have kids baking cookies with their grandmother. These images were shot in the family kitchen using only the available light. I really like the story that you can piece together with these images. Everyone has a purpose and is in their element. We are capturing a memory, not just recording how these people look at this moment in time.

For this self-assigned shoot, I was testing out a used medium format camera, and though I was not crazy about the camera itself,  I love the medium format “look” of these images. Even an in-use kitchen does not become a distracting background when you shoot with the 80mm lens wide open.

Family portrait of a Grandmother and grandson baking cookies at home in the kitchen. Shot on a medium format camera using black and white film.
 
Documentary portrait of a baby boy with a spoon in his mouth sitting in a walker in the kitchen. Shot on a medium format camera using black and white film.

Documentary portrait of a 5 year old boy frosting cookies at the kitchen table. Shot on a medium format camera using black and white film.
 
Documentary portrait of a 5 year old girl decorating cookies at the kitchen table. Shot on a medium format camera using black and white film.

Tech Info:
Mamiya 645AF
Mamiya 80mm f2.8 AF lens (at F2.8)
Ilford HP5 film

Personal Work

Documentary Portrait – Mother and Children

A mother and children sitting on an airplane.

Here is a fun picture from our recent family vacation. The image has a lot of layers to pull you in. The obvious focal point is Molly’s face, but what is making her smile like that? Pull back just a bit, and you notice the puppet on Julie’s hand. If you look past Molly, you can see the boredom that usually accompanies air travel all over Emma’s face.

Finally, there is the light. You don’t usually associate airplanes with flattering light, but in this case the cabin lights were off and the strong back lighting from the windows gave me great rim light on the girls, and bounced around the cabin enough to fill in the shadows. Of course, the wide dynamic range of medium format black and white film was a major help.

Tech Info:
Fuji GS645S Medium Format Camera with a fixed 60mm f4 Fujinon Lens – Wide Open
Ilford HP5 Film