brother and sister

Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida Family Beach Portraits with 8 kids!

in

8 kids on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightVisiting from Ohio, I got a call about a beach portrait session from Jill who wanted portraits on Sunset Beach on Treasure Island Florida of all of her family, which included 8 kids and 12 people total!  As you can see, all the kids were thankfully about the same age and they all got along so it was much easier than I thought to get all 8 kids in multiple shots over our nearly 90-minutues of actual shooting time.

All 8 kids rolling in the sand on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThe family wanted the kids to be the focus of the shoot, so most shots only featured the children.  The kids themselves had plenty of ideas for shots and were willing to get down on the sand, which meant I also had to get on the sand to get to their eye level for the above shot.

Getting a ride from her brother on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightHe and I were both thinking the same thing when I suggested he give his sister a piggy-back ride for their portrait with the tall sea grass as a background.

Mom and her two children on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightWhen mom is willing to get on the sand and let her kids sandwich her, that is making a sacrifice for the photograph!  I was on the sand too and was glad to have a chance to try this more dynamic beach pose.

Dad and his three daughters on Sunset Beach Treasure Island Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/11 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightMy idea for this shot of a father with his three daughters I wanted to show all the girls surrounding their dad and being as close to him as possible.  Dad was set first as the anchor of the group and then each daughter wedged in next to him.  

Redington Beach Florida Family Sunset Portraits

in

Piggy back rides for everyone on Redington Beach Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/100th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame right & SB-600 to frame leftThe Anderson family was visiting from Canada staying at their condo on Redington Beach for the holidays and while the family was all together, wanted candid Florida sunset beach portraits.  Unfortunately, the weather was not very Florida-like as the temperture was pretty low and the strong wind actually made for a tangible wind chill effect.  Nevertheless, we had a good sunset for a background and made some fun portraits together.

One of my trademark shots, the family facing away from the lens toward the sunset - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/200th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightThey had seen my other photographs of families looking away from the camera and out toward the sunset and specifically requested to have one of these trademark shots of mine.  I added a bit of a soft filter to the image this time as I felt the high detail of the original did not match the overall feel of the shot.

Staying close for warmth & the portrait! - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/5.6 ISO 200 1/160th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left and SB-600 behind to frame rightOne thing you may notice in all my sunset portraits is that I always get the people's heads above the horizon as much as possible so the horizon is not unpleasantly bisecting anyone's head.  In order to do that for the family while sitting, I had to lay down on my stomach right on the sand!  Beach portrait photography does require getting messy sometimes.

Brother & sister having fun on Redington Beach Florida at sunset - Nikon D300 Nikkor 80-200mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 to frame left & SB-600 to frame rightI always like to see siblings having fun together, and here brother gives sister a lift with a bright sun setting behind them.  I feel these kinds of shots will have the most impact twenty years from now and hopefully will help remind the siblings of the fun of their childhood, and in these case, teenage years together.

Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Children Kids Portraits with Rivera Family

in

Family Portrait in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly to frame leftI received e-mail from Carlos, a returning client about having a portrait session with his expanding family at Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in Tampa Florida. I knew the park and liked it a lot, but had not had any chances to shoot there yet so I was excited for the opportunity, and was also looking forward to see his family again.  I first photographed his family back in November of 2009 for his daughter's birthday party.

Two sisters and their brother in Curtis Hixon Park Tampa Florida - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly to frame rightNow he has another daughter, a Christmas baby no less!  The sun was strong at the time of the shoot, but using my 43" brolly I was able to manage some strobist shots into the sun.  The biggest challenge, really, was keeping all three kids in the frame and kind of looking in my direction!

Brother & Sister jumping in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park Tampa Florida portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brollyHere you can see the difference in jumping ability between sister and brother!  In the background are some of the downtown Tampa skyscrapers.  I used a single speedlight for this shoot as two speedlights would have been too much to manage in the busy & windy park without an assistant.

Baby girl running in Curtis Hixon Park Tampa Florida kids portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/6.3 ISO 200 1/250th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power to frame rightChristmas baby Juliet on a scamper across the riverwalk area of Curtis Hixon Park.  I got low for this shot to offer a different view of the baby than most adults see of her from their much taller perspectives.  

Siblings in Curtis Hixon Park Tampa Florida kids portraits - Nikon D300 Tamron 17-50mm @ f/8 ISO 200 1/400th - Strobist: SB-800 @ 1/2 power in 43" brolly next to cameraThe University of Tampa is engulfed by the sun in the background of this portrait of sister and brother from one of the unusual platforms in Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park.  I chose black & white processing as the sun was washing out much of the color in the shot anyway.

I really liked the park as a shooting location and was glad to have a chance to make more photographs of Carlos and his family!

DSLR Photography Lesson with Taryn & Scott and a Nikon D5100 & Canon XTi

in

Scott with his Canon XTi and Taryn with her brand new Nikon D5100 - St. Petersburg DSLR Photography LessonThis was my first time to teach a DSLR Photography Lesson to a brother and sister.  Taryn lives in St. Petersburg, but her brother, Scott, now resides in Amsterdam.  So while her brother was back visiting, and since she got a brand new Nikon D5100 as a mother's day present this year, all things fell into place for our lesson this morning, including massive humidity!  Scott had had his Canon XTi for awhile, but still was mostly using it in auto-mode.  Since he lives and travels around Europe so much helping him during the lesson get the most out of his DSLR will hopefully allow him to one day return to the U.S. with a fantastic European photograph portfolio.  

Photographing a great egret in downtown St. Petersburg during our DSLR Photography LessonWhile practicing how to photograph moving subjects and how to make a flash portrait in the shade, Scott used Taryn as a model and vice versa no doubt allowing for numerous outtake photos for each to have a laugh over.  We later came across a great egret that was too busy hunting its lunch (lizards) to be bothered much by the siblings getting some wildlife photography practice.  I instructed them to get down at eye level to the bird and to also remember to use portrait orientation for some shots, especially when its neck was elongated upwards.

It was a very fun and interesting two hours.  While Scott is soon to return to Amsterdam, I may see Taryn again for a future lesson.

  • Reserve your own 1-on-1 DSLR Photography Lesson with Jason today!
  • Learn more about the lessons
  • Browse past lessons with all of my students

    •  

    --Professional Model DSLR Photography Lessons now available!