The art of children's portrait photography

130 Pages·2009·14.378 MB·English

by  Tamara Lackey

THE ART OF
Children’s Portrait
Photography
TAMARA LACKEY
Amherst Media
®
PUBLISHEROFPHOTOGRAPHYBOOKS

About the Author
Tamara Lackey is an award-winning photographer based in North Carolina
whoseimageshavebeendescribedasexpressive,authentic,andmoving.She
has won multiple awards from WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers
International) and has been selected as a WPPI 16x20 print competition
judgeintwocategories.
Herworkhasappearedinavarietyofmagazines,includingVogue,OMag-
azine, Elle, Town & Country, Martha Stewart Living, Parenting, Food &
Wine,TheKnotWeddings,PremierBaby&Child,andInsideWeddings. She
regularlyshootsthecoverimagesforAdoptiveFamiliesMagazine,Endurance
Magazine, and Carolina Parent. Her photography has been showcased on
theMarthaStewartShowandherstockimagesaresoldworldwide.
Tamara has been featured on several occasions in Rangefinder magazine
and regularly speaks at seminars and photography conventions throughout
thecountry.
Copyright©2009byTamaraLackey.
Allrightsreserved.
Allphotographsbytheauthorunlessotherwisenoted.
Publishedby:
AmherstMedia,Inc.
P.O.Box586
Buffalo,N.Y.14226
Fax:[phone]
www.AmherstMedia.com
Publisher:CraigAlesse
SeniorEditor/ProductionManager:MichellePerkins
AssistantEditor:BarbaraA.Lynch-Johnt
EditorialAssistance:JohnS.Loder,CareyA.Maines
ISBN-13:978-1-58428-240-2
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2008926655
PrintedinKorea.
10987654321
Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,stored,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechani-
cal,photocopied,recordedorotherwise,withoutpriorwrittenconsentfromthepublisher.
NoticeofDisclaimer:Theinformationcontainedinthisbookisbasedontheauthor’sexperienceandopinions.Theau-
thorandpublisherwillnotbeheldliablefortheuseormisuseoftheinformationinthisbook.
Table of Contents
StayCurrentwithKidCulture ...........37
INTRODUCTION
The Spark That Fuels DressCasually .......................38
a Profession ............................7 BePatient! ..........................38
SummaryofBusinessand WatchYourSubject.ALot. .............39
StudioGrowthtoDate ..............8
WhatYouAreAbouttoLearn ...............9 3. Basic Portrait Photography Overview ....40
Equipment .............................40
1. Contemporary Lighting ...............................43
Children’s Photography .................10 LocationLighting ....................43
WhatisContemporaryPhotography? .........10 StudioLighting ......................46
WhatContemporaryPhotographyisNot ......11 SetupA .........................48
WhyTraditionalPortraiture SetupB .........................51
StillMatters.ALot. ................12 SetupC .........................52
AdjustingtheBacklight .............53
2. Working With Children ................14 NightandLow-LightShooting .......54
“You’reSoGoodWithKids!” Composition ...........................57
(HowtoDrawOutEveryChild) .........14 CameraAngle .......................57
ObserveandAskQuestions ................16 LeadingLines .......................57
PersonalityTyping .......................18 Framing ............................58
RecognizingPersonalityTypesandBlends .....19 SubjectPlacement ....................58
ThePerformerorSuperstar .............19 TheRuleofThirds .................58
TheShyOne ........................20 Centering........................59
TheInteractiveOne ...................20 CreativeCropping ....................59
TheOneWhoJustNeedstoWarmUp ....26 Posing ...............................61
The“SpiritedChild” ..................27 SomeSimpleRules ....................62
TheOneWhoisSick,Tired,and/orinthe OrganicDirectivePosing ...............65
MiddleofaFour-HourTantrum ......28 Environment ...........................68
WhyFallinginLoveEasily Outdoors ...........................69
isGoodforThisCareer .............32 TheUrbanSetting .................71
IfItDoesn’tComeNaturally... ...........36 ThePark ........................77
DrawThemIn .......................37 TheHome ..........................78
TableofContents 3
TheStudio ..........................82 ThreePeopleatWork ..................92
ACoolLocationisBest,But... ...........83 CreateanOrganizationChart ...........93
CloseOutJobs,ClearYourHead .........93
4. The Actual Shoot ....................85 DigitalWorkflow ........................93
PreparingtheClient BackingUp .........................93
andLearningWhoTheyAre .........85 EditYourImages .....................95
WhyTheLocationCanMakeaDifference .....85 TheImportanceofInclusiveEditing ...95
Children’sPersonalities ................85 BackupandOrganize ..................96
Parents’Personalities ..................86 PreparetheProofs ....................96
DoaRealityCheck ...................86
GreatPhotography: 6. The Consultative Sales Session
It’sAllinHowYouSeeIt ...........87 and Image Delivery .....................97
BeCareful—It’sCrazyOutThere ...........87 AnAddedServicetoYourClients ............97
MixingArtwithProfit .................97
5. After the Shoot ......................92 SellingActuallyisanArt ................97
HowtoCreateandManage BecomeanEducator ..................97
aSmartBusinessFlow ..............92 IfSalesmanshipDoesn’tComeNaturally ......99
PreparingfortheConsultativeSession .......101
RunningaConsultativeSalesSession
(WithoutSelling) .................102
TheWrap-Up ..........................104
ImageDelivery .........................104
Packaging(It’sMoreThanJustaBox) ....104
TheActualDelivery ..................105
TheEndoftheCycle
isReallyJusttheBeginning .........105
7. Advertising, Marketing,
and Promotion ........................106
Advertising,Marketing,andPromotion ......106
CreatingaMarketingPlan ................106
DecidingontheTypeofClient ............107
ReachingOuttoYourDesiredClient ........107
WordofMouth .....................108
Blogging ..........................108
Advertising .........................108
PrintMedia .....................108
Radio ..........................108
OnlineMedia ....................108
VendorandRetailReferrals ............108
PromotionalMaterials ................109
DirectMail ........................109
Networking ........................109
CharitableMarketing .................109
PublicRelations .....................110
GettingPublished ...................110
YourWebSite ......................110
E-Newsletters .......................111
SponsorshipOpportunities .............111
8. Pricing ............................112
DecidingontheTypeofBusinessYouWant ...112
PerceivedValueintheMarket .............112
UsingSessionFees
asaStudioSchedulingTool .........113
CostofGoodsandCostofTime ...........113
9. To Sum Up .........................115
StaffRelationships:InternalandExternal .....115
External ...........................115
Internal ...........................116
MistakesCanMakeYouStronger
(ButGoAheadand
AvoidTheseSpecificOnes) .........116
TheFamilyReunion
thatI(Nearly)Ruined .............117
TheFamilyPortraitthatIMissed,
Rescheduled,ThenLost ............118
TheRevenueIMissedby
NotMeetingwithClients ..........119
StayingCurrentinan
Ever-ChangingIndustry ............120
KeepingYouAuthentic ...................121
InConclusion .........................122
Thank You ...........................123
Index ...............................124
TableofContents 5
INTRODUCTION
The Spark That Fuels a Profession
spentsiftingthrougholdphotographsatyourgrand-
“It’s never too late to be
mother’sfuneralcancauseyoutounderstandforthe
who you might have been.”
first time how powerful images are, how much they
canliveonasactualmarkersofone’sexistence.
—George Eliot
Theimportantthingisthatsomethinghastohap-
pen next; that spark, however robust it is, has to be
I
love this quote. It is such an incredibly empower- strongenoughtofuelaprofession.
ing statement and, if read with the just the right- Forme,thesparkoccurredwhenIwasparticipat-
sized open mind, it can propel you to motivate ing in a simple exercise that was designed to get you
yourselftowardanygoal,atanytime. tothinkaboutwhatitisthatyouwouldreallyloveto
Some people willtellyouabouthow their earliest dowithyourlife.Theexercisewasasfollows:assume
memoriesinvolvedtoddlingabout,agethree,camera youonlyhaveoneyeartolive.Don’tworryaboutany
inhand,snappingawayateverythingandeverybody, medicalaspectsofthisyear,justconcentrateonlook-
and how to this day they haven’t put that camera ing at the next and final year of your life and decide
down. Others will relate how they always had an ap- exactly what you want to do with it. I was asked to
preciation for art, for creativity, but didn’t discover thinkoftenincrediblyimportantthingsthatIwanted
that their particular medium was through photogra- todobeforeIdied.Reallypayingattentiontothisef-
phyuntiltheytookthatonephotographandsawthe fort was eye-opening for me. Most of the things on
possibilityofwhotheycouldbecome. mylistweregrand,large-scaleambitions(stillramping
Still others had no creative background whatso- up for that marathon in Antarctica!) but one of the
ever,norealappreciationforartactually,buttheyex- tenitemswasaprettysimplelisting.Iwrote:ThePer-
perienced some life event that inspired them to pick fectFamilyPhotograph.
upacamerawithanewappreciationforwhatitcould That one was simple but a bit tricky. I wanted to
capture. An often-heard inspiration is the birth of a havetheperfectfamilyphotographofmyownfamily,
child. Another is a response (be it good or bad) to butIalsoreally,reallywantedtobetheonetoshoot
your own wedding photographs or family portraits. it.Itstruckmethenhowdifficultitwastoachievethe
Another may be a striking realization; an afternoon “perfect” family photograph because of what exactly
6 TheArtofChildren’sPortraitPhotography

thatwordmeanttome.Certainlytheexposurewould I thought about that, the more I realized how much
have to be excellent, the clothing had to work well, I would love to do this for not only my immediate
and the setting was important. Mostly, though, I family, but also my extended family . . . and for my
wanted each person in my family to be authentically friends’families.Iknewthat“comprehensivecapture”
represented. I wanted to see that alluring combina- couldbesomethingalotofpeoplewouldtrulyloveto
tionofgentlenessandstrengthinmyhusband...but own—their perfect family photograph. And it struck
I also wanted his hair to look good. I wanted my methenjusthowmuchItrulylovedthechallengeof
daughter’s nose crinkle to appear when she did that authentic,beautifulphotography.Thatrealizationfu-
full-outbellylaugh,butIwantedherheadtippedfor- eledanewprofession.
wardmoresoIcouldmaximizethecatchlightsinher
huge eyes. I wanted my dog to give me those fantas- Summary of Business
tictongue-outsmilesofhers,butIknewthatIneeded and Studio Growth to Date
tograbtheimagethesecondthatsheleanedintomy Before I realized I was a photographer (!), I had a
husbandwithsuchsweetaffection,sinceitwouldalso wholedifferentlife.IgraduatedfromMiamiUniver-
be just a moment before she would completely flop sity,majoringinmasscommunicationswithaminorin
overonhimanddemandabellyscratch. art history. The good news was that I had graduated
WhatIwantedwasnotjusttheperfectphotograph withthetopofmyclass.ThebadnewswasthatIhad
of their appearances but the perfect moment that atonofstudentloanstorepay—andIdidn’twantto
showedeverythingaboutthemthatIloved.Themore be still paying them more than twenty years later. As
aresult,Ididnotchoosetofollowmypassionforart Thisconceptofutilizingdocumentedprocessesto
and instead accepted an offer with a major manage- worksmarterinsteadofharderwouldmeansomuch
mentconsultingfirm. more to me years down the road. When I started a
By working for Accenture, I ended up receiving a smallbusinessasaphotographer,Ifoundmyselfwad-
greateducationinbusinessfundamentalsasaChange ingintoaprofessionthatwasjustbeggingtobeman-
Management Consultant, primarily focused on the agedbysoundorganization.
peoplesideofbusinesschangewithinmajorcorpora-
tions like AT&T, with whom I worked for several What You Are About to Learn
years. Learning concepts such as the tactics behind Nottotalkthisbookuptoomuch,butIsowishthere
processimprovement(basically,studyingtheseriesof hadbeenaguidebookascomprehensiveasthiswhen
actionsrequiredforaparticulargoalanddetermining I was starting out in photography, especially when I
the most streamlined way to perform it) enabled me wasIwastryingtofigureoutmybasicworkflowasa
to recognize how many organizations rely on an ad- new photographer, and even more so when I was in
hoc approach to managing the same things they do theprocessofbuildingoutmystudio.Thereisjustso
every day. Without giving due attention to exactly much to know—and so much to avoid! You will find
what you are doing and realizing the effect step one this to be an excellent resource for either starting a
hasonstepthree,youcanendupmakingnewrulesas newprofessionorsimplybuildingonanexistingone
you go along or making adjustments to your process tocreateamorefulfillingandsuccessfulbusiness.
flow daily—just on the fly. Putting in place standard-
ized systems for process flow and, more importantly,
The more time you save,
getting people to buy into following prepared pro-
cesses save significant time, effort, stress, and ulti- the more of it you have to spend
matelymoney.
with friends and family.
I learned a lot about savings. I learned that the
moretimeyousave,themoreofityouhavetospend
withfriendsandfamily.Themoreeffortyousave,the Ofcourseitiskeytolearnthebasicsofphotogra-
more energy you experience in your every day life. phy (or to learn to excel at what you already know),
Themorestressyouprevent,themoreyouenjoyyour but I can’t overstate the importance of aligning your
workandthepeoplewithwhomyoucomeintocon- businessinthecorrectfashiontostreamlineallthelit-
tact every day. And the more money you save, the tlethingsthatcanadduptoextrahoursofworkevery
moreyourecognizehigherlevelsofprofit,therebyse- day. Learning exactly how to work smarter versus
curing the future of your profession and increasing harder,withpracticesspecifictothephotographypro-
your self-worth, confidence, and overall happiness fession,cannotonlybeafantasticallyliberatingexpe-
with your work. And every one of those savings— rience,itcanalsohelpyouenjoyyourworkmorenow
time,effort,stress,andmoney—willdirectlytranslate andforyearstocome.
intoadditionalrevenueinyourbusiness.
Introduction 9