Studio Portrait Photography of Children and Babies PDF
Preview Studio Portrait Photography of Children and Babies
STUDIO PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY of CHILDREN AND BABIES Third Edition MARILYN SHOLIN Amherst Media ® PUBLISHEROFPHOTOGRAPHYBOOKS SPECIALTHANKS Specialthankstoallmyclientswholetmeintotheirlivesandhavesharedtheirchil- drenandfamilieswithme.Yourchildrenareallapartofmyfamily. DEDICATION Thisbookisespeciallydedicatedtothemanypeoplewhoarenolongerwithme.Iknow theyareallreadingthebook“upthere”andsmilingdownonme.Ifeeltheirpresence. ThisbookisdedicatedalsotoMichael,withlove.Icouldn’tsurvivewithoutyourlove andlaughtertokeepmesane. Copyright©2008byMarilynSholin. Allphotographsbytheauthorunlessotherwisenoted. Allrightsreserved. Publishedby: AmherstMedia,Inc. P.O.Box586 Buffalo,N.Y.14226 Fax:716-874-4508 www.AmherstMedia.com Publisher:CraigAlesse SeniorEditor/ProductionManager:MichellePerkins AssistantEditor:BarbaraA.Lynch-Johnt EditorialAssistant:ArtieVanderpool EditorialAssistant:CareyMaines ISBN-13:978-1-58428-212-9 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2007926860 PrintedinKorea. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,stored,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,me- chanical,photocopied,recordedorotherwise,withoutpriorwrittenconsentfromthepublisher. Notice of Disclaimer: The information contained in this book is based on the author’s experience and opinions. Theauthorandpublisherwillnotbeheldliablefortheuseormisuseoftheinformationinthisbook. CONTENTS AbouttheAuthor ..........................5 Introduction .............................6 1.THECHILD-FRIENDLYSTUDIO ..............9 FirstImpressions .........................10 YourAppearance .......................10 Toys ................................10 Furnishings ...........................12 OvercomingShyness ....................12 YourCameraRoom ......................13 Conclusion .............................15 2.WHO’STHEBOSSHERE? .................17 NewborntoSixMonths ...................18 SevenMonthstoThirteenMonths ...........23 FourteenMonthstoEighteenMonths ........25 NineteenMonthstoThreeYears .............27 FourYearstoSixYears ....................29 OlderSiblingSyndrome ...................31 AWordAboutMoms .....................32 Conclusion .............................33 3.ATYPICALPORTRAITSITTING .............34 ClothingConsultation ....................34 WhatWorks? ............................36 KeepitSimple ...........................37 MegapixelsandResolution ...............44 TheSession .............................40 BurstRate ............................46 ClothingEvaluation ....................40 ShutterLag ...........................46 Setup ...............................41 CCDvs.CMOSSensors .................46 Full-LengthPortraits ....................41 DigitalStorageMedia ...................49 Close-ups ............................41 ImageFileFormats .......................49 FinalViewingAppointment .................42 TIFF ................................50 Conclusion .............................43 JPEG ...............................50 RAW ................................51 4.CAMERAS ............................44 Lenses .................................51 DigitalCameras .........................44 MinimumCameraandLensRequirements .....51 CONTENTS3 Creativity ..............................76 Conclusion .............................79 8.DIGITALARTISTRYWITHCORELPAINTER ....81 JustAddWater ..........................81 ClonedBackgrounds ......................84 Auto-Painting ...........................85 Conclusion .............................89 9.POPULARPLUG-INS ....................90 Black&WhiteConversionforaSubduedEffect .90 WeirdDreams ...........................94 Conclusion .............................94 10.MARKETINGTHATWORKS ...............96 E-mail .................................98 DirectMail .............................99 Networking .............................99 WordofMouth ..........................99 5.LIGHTING ............................54 Websites ...............................99 Strobes ................................54 GlaringOmissions .....................101 Monolights ...........................57 TheGamePlan .......................101 PowerPacks ..........................57 TargetedMailings .......................103 Built-inandOn-CameraFlash ...............57 Conclusion ............................103 LightModifiers ..........................61 Umbrellas ............................61 11.THEPRESENTATION ..................104 Softboxes ............................61 TraditionalProofs .......................104 Reflectors ............................62 DigitalProofs ..........................104 Grids ................................63 Projection .............................107 MinimumLightingRequirements ............63 Conclusion ............................107 6.EASYANDEFFECTIVELIGHTING ..........66 12.SALES .............................108 Three-LightSetup ........................66 BasicStrategies .........................108 Two-LightSetup .........................66 Add-ons ..............................110 EffectiveBackgroundLighting ..............67 Frames .............................110 HighandLowKey .......................68 PortraitCollections ....................110 LightingPatterns ........................68 PursesandJewelry ....................111 FlatLighting ..........................68 OtherOptions .......................113 ButterflyLighting ......................68 Conclusion ............................114 LoopLighting.........................68 RembrandtLighting ....................69 13.CUSTOMERSERVICEAFTERTHESALE ....115 SplitLighting .........................69 Thank-YouNotes .......................115 ProfileLighting ........................70 Mailings ..............................115 Conclusion .............................70 PhoneCalls ............................116 E-mail ................................118 7.AREYOUAPHOTOGRAPHERORANARTIST? ..71 MakeCustomersforLife ..................118 GamePlanforStyle .......................71 Conclusion ............................118 IdentifyYourStrengths ....................74 Props .................................74 Resources ..............................120 Variety ................................74 Index ................................123 4 STUDIOPORTRAITPHOTOGRAPHYOFCHILDRENANDBABIES ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marilyn’s fascination with the visual arts started when she was a little girl andhertwoolderbrothershadadarkroominthebasement.Shespentmany hourstherewatchingasherbrotherscreated“magic”picturesthatappeared inwhatlookedlikewaterintrays.Herfascinationwiththedarkroomwasen- hanced at Halloween, when its eerie red light made the darkroom the best “funhouse”ontheblock. Onhersixteenthbirthday,theonegiftMarilynwantedmostwasherown camera.Herparentsmadeherwishcometrue,andsincethenshehasnever lookedback.Thecamerawentwithhereverywhere,andthefamilycounted on her to document all the family events. Her friends always knew they wouldbephotographedwhenMarilynwasaround. Eventually, when Marilyn married and had children, she unpacked that oldenlargerherbrothersworkedwithandsetupherowndarkroominher home.Now,itwashersonwhowatchedinamazementastheprintsofhim appeared in the trays of chemicals. She scrimped and saved and sold things atafleamarkettobuyherfirsttop-of-the-line35mmcamera.Withthefirst rolloffilmsheputthroughit,MarilynwonanationalKodakcontestandhad PhotobyMarilynSholin. herpicturepublishedinthenewspapers.Anatural?Goodluck?Maybeyears and years of learning to see and feel what transforms a good image into a greatone. Overtheyears,Marilyn’sartisticstyleofportraiturehasreceivedinterna- tionalacclaim.Heraward-winningphotographshavebeenpublishedinthe ProfessionalPhotographersofAmerica(PPA)LoanBookandintheFlorida ProfessionalPhotographersExcellenceBook.Sheisalsoanationallyrecog- nizedCertifiedProfessionalPhotographerwithaMasterCraftsmandegree, and Corel recognizes her as one of their small select group of Painter Masters. Marilyn is a popular speaker at photographers’ conventions where she presentsprogramsonmanytopics,from“TheArtofCreativity”tocreating innovative family and children’s portraits and turning them into art. Her speakinghastakenherfromcoasttocoastandworldwide.Shealsoconducts workshopswithhands-onexperiencefortheattendees. Marilyn’sphilosophyisthatyoumuststayontopofthephotographicin- dustryandbereadytoinnovatequickly.Keepanopenmindandalwayslook tothefuture.Sheadvisesherseminarattendeesandreaders,“Befearless.” ABOUTTHEAUTHORK5 INTRODUCTION The joy of photographing children is in their innocence and spontaneous expressions.Aglowingfaceorhugfromoneofourlittlepeoplehasbright- enedmanygloomydaysatthestudio.Theirexpressions,capturedinafrac- tion of a second, remain ingrained in our minds. Years later, they make us smile. The culmination of all your work behind the This book is for everyone who wants to learn how to photograph their scenes is a memorable portrait that will be clientsortheirownchildrenbetter,moreeasily,andwithmorepizzazzthan treasuredforyearstocome. Ababydoesn’thavetohaveahugesmiletoshowhe’shappy.Thislittleguyisobviouslycomfortable,andhisexpressionshowsit. before.Inthesepages,thereareanumberoftipsforphotographingchildren and having fun while doing it. After reading this book, you will find that everything about cameras and lighting that once looked so difficult is now clearertoyou.Theexplanationsareallpresentedineasy-to-understandterms thatanyonecanusetoimprovehisorherphotography. Alittlebitofchildpsychologywillhelpyouinpreparingforeachchild’s portraitsession.Youwilllearnwhattoexpectfromeachsession(andyouwill Alittlebitofchildpsychology especially appreciate when you meet the perfect child who goes against the normandfollowsallyourdirectionsperfectly). willhelpyouinpreparingfor Inchapter1therearetipsforsettingupaneffectiveandefficientstudio and camera room. There are ideas for what to do to create a friendly at- eachchild’sportraitsession. mospherethatchildrenwillrespondto,ascreatingkid-friendlyenvironment isimportantforbuildingyourrapportwiththem. Chapter 2 deals with the psychology of each age group that is pho- tographed.Knowingwhattoexpectfromanewbornoratwo-year-oldwill helpyouplantheirportraitsessions.Havingafewage-appropriatetricksup yoursleeveforeachsubjectwillmakethingsgosmoothly. Chapter3walksyouthroughatypicalportraitsitting—fromconducting aneffectiveclothingconsultationtoexactlywhattoexpectduringphotog- INTRODUCTION7 Don’tovelookthepossibilityofshootingafew outdoorportraitstosupplementyourclients’ studioportraits.Withashallowdepthoffield, youcanbluroutalessthanperfectbackground andfocustheviewer’sattentiononthesubject. raphy.Itwillhelptakeawaysomeofthemysterysurroundingwhathappens duringaportraitsession. In chapters 4 and 5, we’ll discuss the right equipment for the job—the kinds of cameras, lenses, lights, and modifiers that are the bare minimum requiredtocreatebeautifulstudioportraits.Inchapter6,you’lllearnsome simplelightingstrategiesthatwillworkwellwithyouryoungclients. No two people see and photograph the same subject the same way. In chapter 7, you’ll learn how to cultivate your personal style in order to set yourworkapartfromthecompetition.Chapter8servesasacrashcoursein usingCorelPaintertoamplifytheartistryofyourimages,andinchapter9, you’ll learn how to use plug-ins to take those painted images to the next level. Chapter 10 will give you insight into determining your target demo- graphic and marketing your products to that select group. You’ll discover simple strategies for developing your client base in little time, with little or Beforeyoufinishthisbook,you nomoney.Itwillsaveyoutimeandmoneybyfocusingonmarketingtech- niquesthatworkquickly.Chapters11and12willshowyouhowtopresent willbeusingitasyourreference yourimagestoclientsandhowtoputonyoursalescaptoensurethebest- possibleprofitsfromeverysession.You’llalsotakealookatsomehotprod- beforeeveryportraitsitting. uctideasthatwillensurethatyourclientspurchasemorethanatraditional framed print. In chapter 13, you’ll learn how to nurture your relationship withclientsoncetheywalkoutofyourstudiosothatyoucanmakeyourcus- tomersclientsforlife. If this sounds like a lot to cover in one book, it is. I can also assure you thatreadingitisworthyourtime.Beforeyouevenfinishthisbook,youwill beusingitasyourreferencebeforeeveryportraitsitting.Whileotherbooks may tell you generalities about photographing children, this book teaches specificskillsyoucanuseimmediately.Asyouconcludeeachchapter,youcan closethebook,andsomethingwillhavebeenlearned. A good place to keep this book is by your camera. Hand in hand, the camera,lights,andinformationherewillmakeabetterphotographerofyou, whetheryouareaprofessionaloramateur. 8 STUDIOPORTRAITPHOTOGRAPHYOFCHILDRENANDBABIES 1. THE CHILD-FRIENDLY STUDIO Children are people. As long as you can remember that, you will be fine. They are people without pretense or arrogance. They will always say what theymeanandaskthemostembarrassingquestionsatthemostinappropri- ate times. They will make you laugh and touch your heart. Their tears will Apricelessexpressionisasurefirebetwhen break your heart. But beware—these little folks can also try your patience, creatingimagesthatcaptureparents’hearts. bring your equipment crashing to the floor, ruin your backgrounds, and Inthisportrait,thesoftbackgroundkeepsthe generallytormentyouduringthetimetheyspendinyourstudio. viewersattentionrightwherewewantit!
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