Pageant Photography Photo Session that got results
Evee’s grandmother called me asking if I would go to Los Lunas, New Mexico (about 30 minutes away) to make pageant portraits of the precocious 4-year old. I am always straight forward with potential clients about my experience in a certain area of photography, and even though I had not made pageant photos before, I am experienced with off camera flash outdoors, which is the kind of out of the box pageant photos Kim wanted for Evee. Most pageant photos are made in studio, so these photos I made for Evee in her own backyard have already helped her move on to nationals! Fun fact about Evee, if she had $10 million what would she want? Watermelon. Thank you Kim for choosing me as your photographer and for Evee taking a break, occasionally, from being a ham, to let me make these pageant portraits of her. I should really do an outtakes post from the shoot because Evee can make some serious fish faces!
As a top three rated commercial photographer in Albuquerque, I mostly have business clients. However, I do enjoy having lifestyle photoshoots when people contact me like Indu did to make photos of her son as he turns 1 year old. We met in Altura Park (a location I have been using more and more) to make candid photos of her son. Since a 1 year old does not really ever sit still, it is my photography philosophy that it is best to just let the baby do what he/she wants and let me make candids that capture the baby’s personality. Maybe the smile will not be perfect, maybe the baby will almost never once even look directly into the camera, but the photos 20 years from now I really believe will make the parents smile more than a posed photo attempting perfection.
Elle and her dad came over to the JCP Home Studio in Albuquerque New Mexico for a social media portrait session. She is going to have her own YouTube Channel in the near future and wanted a variety of different photos for showcasing in social media. We went through five different outfit changes and thus five totally different scenarios! Taekwondo is above!
When having portraits made with your kids, why do things suddenly turn so serious? Do you ever stand bolt upright next to your kids on non-portrait days? That's why I like to makecandids even when using my portable studio portrait setup in Cape Coral, Florida like I did for these photos. These photos will make you smile and show your family's true personality and character more than standing side-by-side looking straight at the camera. I happen to know the people in this post just a little as it turns out, as it's my brother and niece and nephew!
Full-time professional photographer Jason Collin makes the best kids portraits in the St. Petersburg, Tampa and Wesley Chapel areas using unique lighting techniques and years of shooting experience. The results are strikingly vivid images that capture your kid's character, spirit and personality. Reserve your kid's experience today.
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 IslandFlorida 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.
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!
