One of our favorite tips when working with small children has to do with getting them off of their feet. Remember, when on their feet, THEY WILL RUN! And, unlike their parents, we don’t believe they ever “run out their energy.” Personally, we have never seen a child get tired of running around the camera room, the sit down and say “Now I’m ready to be photographed and I will listen to every word you say!”

So, how do we do it? The first step happens in the Design Appointment when we talk to the parents about this issue. We ask them to bring their child/children into the studio on the day of their session in their arms. In other words, carry your child/children into the studio and go all the way to the dressing room with them in your arms. Then we ask them to not let them out of the dressing room until they are again ready to bring them out in their arms. Feet do not touch the ground for as long as we can hold it off.

This is the time we get the most intimate portraits of children with their parents and this first tip applies to those portraits that include the parent(s) which is usually our Relationship Black and White imagery. Now, we all know that the child will start to squirm after a time because they want to get down, but by the time that happens, we have our beautiful and intimate shots complete. After they are put on the floor, we do more interactive and funny shots. Caution: after kids are put down, they are NOT going to want to be picked up again, so make sure you are done with those poses before you allow it!

What if the parent is not part of the portrait? Well, we follow the same principal; we want to either get them  seated on a chair that is full size so they are up off of the ground OR…this is the best tip of the day here!!! If they are standing, we put them up off of the floor on a short stool or a Hanson Fong block. What does this do? It keeps them from RUNNING and MOVING around as they are now a little unsure of what is going on. They are standing on a 12×12 block that is 6” off the ground which keeps them in one place, lowers the wiggle factor and takes their mind off of moving (and it is not dangerously high). This is also a nice placement of their body in most backgrounds as the sweet spot is painted at about our waist level. This is not to say you can take a lot of time to do your job, but it gives you a few, quick minutes to get beautiful portraits without chasing children all over the camera room. We have seen this “trick” work so many times…try it for yourself and enjoy the results!

P.S. When we place children up on anything, we ALWAYS keep a parent close as a spotter and we also have an assistant watching. The safety of our client’s children is our priority!

P.S.S. This was written for Arkansas where we will be teaching this summer. The dates are  7-18-2010 through 7-21-2010. If you are in the area, come by and see us!

Have a great week!  Bev

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I thought I would squeeze a photography topic in today, and since most of you are familiar with our Relationship Black and White work, I wanted to introduce you to Walden Color Studies.

First of all, our Color Studies are intended to show clients are their best. Beautifully dressed in simple but elegant clothing, we style it richly and the images are more “posed” than our Black and White imagery which can be more interactive at times. The background choices (Maheu backgrounds) (Photo Showcase) are classic and we also use our window which is very popular and beautiful for a creamy, ivory set.

Second, we keep it simple. Simplicity is the key element at Walden’s and always has been. Props are used, but with discretion and usually have the purpose of positioning our clients in certain ways. We do use flowers in hands to keep them still, especially in small children and it works very well.

Posing needs to be elegant, elongating and graceful. With children, we often look for a bit of whimsy as well such as toes turned in or a funny mannerism with their hands. We like the more formal pose mixed with that bit of whimsy! We also work for angled lines in the bodies, not straight up and down. Remember too that the “S” curve is a very fluid and graceful line for females!

So remember…timeless, graceful, elegant, rich and simple are all attributes of Walden Color Studies. Next Monday, I want to share what Walden’s Studio B Color work looks like. You will see a big difference in each brand which is vital to clarity in the marketplace! Until then, have a great week!

Bev

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For those of you who don’t know what I am talking about here, Tim takes one day a month to do a session of his choosing. He invites a “model” in and then lets his creativity flow. We both used to do this a lot more often, but lately, we have not taken the time to re-fill ourselves this way. Since I am not active in the camera room right now, I encouraged Tim to start making time again for himself to do these shoots. What is nice is there is no money exchanged nor is there any expectation or stress to produce something for the client-this is solely a growing experience and a chance to use new backgrounds, props, lights, cameras, photoshop techniques, etc.

Some of you may wonder why I am not actively shooting right now-I stopped when I took over the Sales full-time and could not do both. I must say that I am enjoying myself in the Sales room and feel it is really creative as well. If I get the itch to shoot, I enjoy doing “travel” shots and I am trying to shoot more snaps of us as we go places to visit and teach.

I would advise each of you to do something that makes you feel free creatively, whether it be an experimental session or going through magazines and studying photos there and then going out to shoot. I have been watching America’s Next Top Model (ANTM) and although it is pretty strange in parts, the photographic ideas are enlightening. We can learn from many sources, huh?! Also, if there is a guild or small group of photographers that get together in your area, join! Everyone needs others with similar vision to bounce ideas off of and be inspired by!

I am posting four of Tim’s images from his latest Portfolio shoot-enjoy!

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For this week, I wanted to do a re-cap of my best and most commented on blog articles, so I have titled this Best of Bev’s Blogs on Portrait Photography. Since I have gained so many new readers, I wanted to point them to what I feel are the best and most helpful blog posts for both the seasoned portrait photographer as well as the photographers just getting started. So, here they are.

I think the most helpful blog to set the stage for a successful portrait photography session is the two-part article on Design Appointments. Please read through carefully, watch the shows and read the PDF form that we send to our clients. You may also want to go to our website at www.waldensphotography.com and look at the information there. Feel free to use any of our wording on your own materials-we are in this profession to help each other:-)

The second one I would recommend is Tips on Photographing Children, Part 1 and 2. I promise you will get your money’s worth out of this one! Especially if you are just starting out, be sure to note the tips on engaging the mind by having a sense of urgency and keeping their feet off the ground; my two favorite tips!

Finally, I love the blog post on Simplicity which is so hard for photographers sometimes, but if you want to sell significant wall sizes, you must keep it simple, timeless, and not too faddish.

Bev

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In the entire history of Walden’s Photography and the styles we have carved out over nearly three decades, one word continues to describe our portraiture and that word is SIMPLICITY. Simplicity is what makes portraiture timeless, and when your portraiture is timeless, it is more likely to be purchased in wall sizes as art pieces for the home and it carries a high value.

As an image-maker, you must learn how to create depth of expression, feeling and lighting without making your portrait look too cute, novel or faddish. When you combine simplicity i your imagery with a timeless style, you add value. The viewer puts a higher value on your portraiture when they look at your images and see the people they love and the relationships they are celebrating rather than “things” in the portrait.

Learn to use less props on your sets and concentrate instead on the subjects that are before you. When you do use props, use them sparingly and with purpose, not as a crutch. Think about what you are using and make it appropriate to the image, much like a set designer for a Hollywodd studio. Study home decor magazines for color combinations and fabrics that look rich and ageless. Notice how rooms are put together; work on your “designer” eye for details.

Think about props that would be considered timeless such as antique chairs or benches, teddy bears, small flower bouquets, ribbon, pearls, elegant fabrics and so on. In our Relationship Black and White work, we use only a bar stool and a set of nesting stools of different heights to arrange people and their heights, not to show in the images. This is ultimate simplicity!  Nothing show but the people themselves, and very rarely, the bar stool back in the shadows. This is how we scripted the Relationship portraits from the beginning.  Along with the stools, the background we use in a simple, mottled background from David Maheu called “Harvest Gold”.  See the link in Friends and Links. What is not a great look is a black, flat paper background as it has no dimension. We then throw a background light onto the background, often on the shadow side, so it is pitched off center a bit.

So, keep it simple, beautiful and timeless!

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At Walden’s and now all over the world, if you hear the word Relationship Photography, you understand exactly what it is as we have branded it so tightly.  It is always a black and white fine art portrait involving more than one person, reflecting an intimate relationship and it is mostly in deep tones. In 1994, we decided to add this style of black and white portraiture back into our studio, but we wanted to structure it in a different way than we ever did anything before. Since we are a second generation studio, Tim’s father had done black and white work for many years before color photography came into being in late 60’s. Basically, all photography was black and white when we were teenagers and Tim first started working for his dad. However, we wanted to portray a very different style that involved a higher level of emotion; a style that captured people’s hearts as they looked at these images and saw moments frozen in time. We also wanted the clothing be solid black and very simple, and very little else was used in these portraits (ie: props). Parents became our props as infants and toddlers held onto their hands, fingers, pants, or whatever and we cropped in much closer than we used to in order to see the child’s face, hands or body parts.

We decided to charge a premium price for the Relationship Portraits as we entered into this new venture. We lifted it up as our “trophy style” while we kept doing color portraiture the way we had always done it. We knew it was risky, but, at this point, did not have any business in black and white anyway, so why not?! We set about doing prototypes and marketing our “Relationship” portraiture and for about three years, saw slow growth, but we were encouraged that our clients liked it. As the fourth year began, we noticed we were busier, and it was because of the Relationship portraits. That year began a decade of unprecedented growth at Walden’s, taking us on a ride we had never experienced before. Finally, our finances became stable and it set our course for a successful future.

We began teaching Relationship style portraiture and the principles we learned through our experiences, and now we see this style being used all over the world. It has made such a huge difference in our business, and as we have grown with it, we have used the same philosophies to elevate our color work as well. Even after all these years, Relationship photography is still 60-70% of the portraits that are created at Walden’s.

Let’s look at the main points used in Relationship Portraiture…

 Simplicity: Black clothing, no patterns, very little jewelry and no props are the keystones of this style of photography.  We want all attention drawn to the faces and hands, much like a mime.

More interactive and sensitive to the moment: Tim stated once that he is more interested in his ability to see than his ability to create.  Learn to see with the eyes of your heart! We also learn our client’s stories so we can portray it correctly.  It makes us become better photographers and challenges us to look at things differently. Meet with your clients for a Design Appointment and learn their stories.  Then, when you go into the camera room, you can portray their story through your photography.

Body language is more important than posing structure:  In this style of portraiture, the little nuances of the body help tell the story. Maybe it is a tighter squeeze or a light kiss on the forehead-look for these special moments.

Look for different angles and perspectives: More than likely, the best image of your shoot has not been taken yet.  Learn to walk around your subject and see with new eyes.

We use parents as props: This has several advantages, the first and most important being a higher level of intimacy between parent and child and/or family members. Second, it allows us a way to control moving, upset or tentative children because they get to stay in the parent’s arms. Finally, it adds to the compositional interest when you add more people.

Using primary and secondary figures add interest and dimension: We do this two different ways. The first way is to actually separate by distance a primary and secondary figure.  This will cause the secondary figure (in the back) to go a little out of focus and a little darker, thereby making them the less important subject in the image.  The other way is to use light and shadow contrast by turning the head of the secondary figure away from the Key Light and building up more shadow, making them a secondary figure. We add to this by closing the eyes and often, having their head down while the primary subject is lit and looking directly into the camera.

Closed eyes add intimacy: We do this on almost every session. When a mom is leaning into her child or kissing the top of their head, closed eyes really add to the emotion and emotion is the name of the game.

Be on the lookout for new products on this topic and many other camera room tips-we want this website to be an integral part of your knowledge base. I hope this mini lesson has helped you understand the Relationship Style of portraiture better-have a great 2009!

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Ok, enough preaching! Here are a few more tips. If we are dealing with a toddler, we keep their feet off of the ground. When they come in, we ask mom or dad to come out of the dressing room holding them and keep them up in their arms until we are done if possible. We pose with stools of different heights, so we will stand them on a stool with mom or dad wrapping arms around them. Never let their feet touch the ground! Have you heard the saying, “Oh, let them run for a minute so they can get rid of that energy.” IT NEVER HAPPENS! Once they are on the ground, it is very hard for parents to pick them back up. They don’t want to be restrained at this point; they want to keep running. In these cases, our sessions become much more candid and interactive. So we work very fast in the beginning when the children are in arms or on posing stools with parents holding them. Then, if for some reason, they get down, we have what we want and we shoot a more loose style for awhile.

If you have a short stool and need to photograph a small (and moving) child without parents being involved, standing the child on a short, padded stool works wonders. The padding causes the child to wobble a bit or feel a little unsure of their footing which gives you a little more time to get what you need. What we want to do in this situation is to catch them “off balance” just for a few minutes to photograph them, but we don’t ever want them in danger of getting hurt, so we use the parents as “spotters.” Even with 5 and 6 year olds who can’t seem to stand still for a second, this idea works wonders! See the link to Hanson Fong, go to his website and look at his posing blocks. They are very usuable, lightweight, strong and economical and you will not regret purchasing them!  Since they are not so high off of the ground, they do the job of getting children’s feet off the ground, but they are not so tall that they create a dangerous situation!

This brings up another point and that is some of our best “One Hour” sessions last fifteen minutes. We don’t promise we will spend an hour per session, we just tell our clients we have set aside up to an hour if we need it. Sometimes we do need it and sometimes not.

A final point is this. Children will mirror you, so if you want a crazy, silly and spontaneous session, you must be crazy and silly. If you want a controlled session, you must be quiet, quick and intense to engage a child’s mind quickly. We usually don’t get toys out unless we cannot get the response we want. Then, and only then, do we get a little silly or get a toy out.

You must find out what pushes each child’s “button.” It is your personality which will make or break each session. It is my hope that in reading this entry, you will grab the ideas that you like and use them to create beautiful portraits for your studio.

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For this blog entry, I thought I would pass along some valuable information that has helped us successfully photograph children for nearly three decades.  I can remember less than 10 times we have had to re-shoot any children’s sessions because we always worked at getting what we needed the first time.

First of all, I believe the base of all great children’s portraiture is a  genuine love of children.  I always said we weren’t really good at this until we had our own children and realized the great love moms and dads have for their own children.  If you don’t genuinely love to photograph children, it will show and you will be very unhappy.  I would suggest finding a photographer who does love children if you want your studio to pursue it or do another type of photography.

The second most important thing we ever learned was while listening to a friend teach on a cruise ship.  His name is Drake Busath and he runs a very successful studio in Salt Lake, Utah. What he said is both simple and profound.  He said “To successfully photograph children, you must engage their minds.” Wow! That hit home with us.  It is not enough to get a “camera” smile, but the expression must come through the eyes, the windows to the soul.  Their little minds must be engaged!  How do you do that?   

Well, one way we do it is through playing simple games and asking questions.  The games I am talking about are not ultra silly, but they require the subjects to pay attention.  For example, if the children are old enough, we hold up our hands and ask them “How many fingers am I holding up?”   Of course, most answer very quickly, so we say “OK, you are too smart!  Here is a harder one!” Then we get faster or use both hands and they must add the fingers.  The idea is to get their mind off of the camera and onto the game.

A game with younger children who may not know their numbers yet involves the photographer not knowing their animal sounds (wink wink)!  We say “Do you know what a cow says?” and before they can answer, we say “Wait! Don’t say!  Let me guess!”  Then we say “Oink, oink.”  Well, that gets their mind going because they know a cow says “Moo.” So their mind is engaged trying to figure out why any adult would not know what a cow says.  You must be animated when you play these games.  If you are not, most children will lose interest and focus.  However, if your voice is strong and interesting, most young children will play right along and they all love this game! 

Another popular game is the guessing game where the photographer guesses everything from “What is your favorite food?” to “What is your best friend’s name?”  The trick here is to ask the question and then, very quickly, say “No, don’t answer! Let me guess!”  And say it with force!  This keeps them very focused on you to see if you can guess the right answer!  This is a very powerful tool and will keep their minds engaged for a fairly long time. You need to be prepared in your mind with things to ask about.

The third point is this; the trick with anything you try is that you must have INTENSITY, gusto, be a little loud, demand their attention, etc. You cannot be timid and be a photographer (my opinion)!  Even if your personality is timid, you MUST change into a take charge person in the camera room.  We compare it to acting.  In the camera room, you are on stage!  You are IT! You must take control of every situation; this creates comfort in your clients because they trust you know what you are doing. So, learn to change your personality if you need to and you will find doing photography of children to be much more successful.

Stay tuned for Part 2 next.   See you then!

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When we moved into our new facility nearly 4 years ago, Tim challenged me with painting a wall to be the background for a new set in browns and cinnamons.  We had already purchased a couch at a second-hand store that was a cinnamon base and knew the wall needed to coordinate with it. Although I am not a background painter, I had done some faux finishing in our home and felt I could do it.  Hey, it was really not a risk…we could always paint over it if it came out really ugly! So, I bought cinnamon colored paint for the base, walnut glaze for the faux finishing, a bag of rags and some gloves and went to work. After the base had two coats of cinnamon, I worked in small sections applying the glaze and then randomly wiping (or patting) it off. I often stood back to see the whole wall to make sure the pattern was what I wanted-not too even, but more random.  

We taped off where we wanted the cinnamon to end and the cream wall to begin, and I faux painted that wall which is also our corner to shoot into. It actually has an ivory base and the same walnut glaze I used on the cinnamon wall worked with the ivory wall.  If you can, you should have at least one corner in your camera room. It creates a unique look and a depth that is nice for a change. In that small corner, I also painted the floor and baseboard with walnut paint (not the glaze) and rubbed the baseboard down a little to make it look old. 

What we didn’t count on was the line where the cinnamon ends and the cream begins as a viable set in itself. It actually takes on the look of a corner, but it is just shooting down the wall.  Look at the image below to see the effect I am talking about.  We have used this area of our set many times when we want something a little artsy and different. You can center the line or put it off center-either way is pretty stunning. Knowing how well this worked, when we recently painted our red wall, we made sure we created a seam from that wall to the white wall, and we use that seam as well to create beautiful portraits.

It has been the favorite set in our studio.  Tim likes to say it’s the new “black” as it matches everything. We shoot every subject from high school seniors to families and  kids…black and white and color…it is so awesome and flexible.

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