Christmas Outtakes
Try as I might to get what I thought would be easy portraits done on Christmas, I only got a few. And not all of those were sharp nor were some what I was looking for. Still, I did get a few shots and here they are:
The girl child and her boyfriend. He was very sweet and sat still. She couldn’t sit still to save her life. Granted, it was a bit darker when she sat and I’d changed settings, so it wasn’t entirely her fault. I need to shoot her again. She looked so pretty on Christmas day. Not that she’s not pretty the rest of the time, but, well…you know.
Next up, my younger sister and her husband. This was the major score of the whole day. I can’t remember the last time I saw both of them in the same place at the same time. Needless to say, I was thrilled over this photographic coup.
Special note on that background: I wanted something dark and my sister suggested a towel from the bathroom. I grabbed one and had LD or Mojo standing behind each person as I was shooting (except photos of LD and then it was just the wall). Little did I know that everyone would be wearing exactly the right thing to go with that particular backdrop.
The rest of these photos speak for themselves. What can I say? The kid is a willing model and he knows how to have fun.
Awesome photos! The backdrop, towel or no, was perfect!
I especially love the first one of LD and that last image is hilarious…! :rofl:
Comment by pamibe — 2008/12/28 @ 06:21
Those are all great! The ones of LD are fantastic!
Hope all is well. I’ve been “unplugged” for a while so I’m playing catch-up. Merry Christmas (a few days late)!
Comment by Chris — 2008/12/28 @ 08:35
good to see a little more of your family .. i like the 2nd shot of LD – creative edge. Great work on getting portraits. Me, i just got a lot of candids and a few posed group shots around various Christmas trees. Uploaded … sometime
Comment by Temple Stark — 2008/12/28 @ 11:45
Excellent work, yo.
Comment by Cheri @ Blog This Mom! — 2008/12/29 @ 12:07
Those are awesome. I especially love the one of your sister and her husband. They capture the dimensions of their personalities. (That sounded weird. What I mean is, they’re pictures that hint of who they are as people…and not glossy studio shots that are personality-less and lame.)
Excellent craftsmanship on your part.
Comment by San Diego Momma — 2008/12/29 @ 12:31
Thanks, folks.
I really wanted photos of my family that weren’t typical and super posed. I guess it helped that I had each person sitting either on their knees on a chair or on the arm of the chair. There was the big sliding glass window for light. The towel hanging in the background. And there was that “rush rush, hurry hurry” before we sat down to eat or ran off to do something else. Keeping people off-balance means they can’t get too posed. I also really wanted the faces to sort of seep out of the darkness, but I do like what I got here. Unexpected — for me — and what I did get made me happy.
I wish I’d been able to get everyone, but that just didn’t happen. I have to try again, though. I have to. Because, ultimately, I want to give my mom and dad each a book of our family in photos. Just something small, but something they can look at and smile over.
So the chase begins. Gotta get Mom, Dad, Mojo, Big C, and Unca D’s photos done. And then I have to sit for a portrait, too. I wouldn’t do it for any other reason but for my folks.
Comment by DaGoddess — 2008/12/29 @ 12:45
LD has the most wonderful personality!
Comment by Mrs. Who — 2008/12/29 @ 15:02
I am so not good at shooting people. I keep meaning to try the “burst” method that Derrick Story wrote about in his book. (The Digital Photography Companion… written just for noobs like me
)
Since I have a camera that will do burst mode, taking each portrait as a burst of 3-5 shots. He says most often you will get at least one good one, also people tend to relax after the first “click” of the shutter making the other photos a bit less “posed”.
Me – I’m lucky if I get the entire bits of the people I’m shooting. :rofl:
Comment by Teresa — 2008/12/30 @ 22:07
I rarely shoot in burst mode except during concerts or at events where there’s lots of movement. With family and friends, you just have to remind them this isn’t like going to the doctor for an annual exam — it’s meant to be fun. And most of the time, it is.
With little kids, burst mode is almost a necessity. But with older kids and others, it’s not usually needed. You just have to let the subjects be themselves and get into the spirit of collaborating with you. You know, make them a part of the process. Of course, with strangers, I’m a hell of a lot shyer and tend to be more stutter-y with direction.
Comment by DaGoddess — 2008/12/31 @ 00:09
I sure wouldn’t consider those last three to be outtakes. Great shots of your kid mugging for the camera, particularly the second one.
Comment by diamond dave — 2008/12/31 @ 08:26
He is sort of fun to have around.
Comment by DaGoddess — 2008/12/31 @ 16:02
I saw these over at Flickr before I caught up here. I love the ones of LD! He could be a Peter Pan at Christmas in that second one.
Comment by GW — 2009/01/01 @ 15:29
I know, huh? He did look like he was trying to fly.
Comment by DaGoddess — 2009/01/01 @ 23:10
[…] going to use, but at least I got to spend some time with him. This photo is supposed to go with the ones I took at Christmas. They don’t quite match up, and I doubt I’m going to get any that […]
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