Making Magic Happen
I still dream that I live in a fairy tale world. Only I am usually my own hero, sort of like Moana. I still believe in magic, faeries and demi-gods. Whenever I can recreate that magic with my clients it makes me ecstatic. One of my regular clients' daughters was turning one. They wanted to capture a few really stunning "princess pictures" of her. So we pulled out a big puffy pink dress and got to shooting.
This age can be really challenging. The child's attention span is short and they are often bored of you within 15 minutes. Eye contact with the camera at this age can often feel like an impossible task. So even though it may not be easy, it makes for awesome composites. Even though their attention span may be short they usually are hyper focused on what is interesting them. This makes composites believable. So remember to keep a really open perspective. I often am lead by the image in composites, for example a girl reaching for an apple can easily be reaching to hang stars. So with children it is often better to focus on solid images during the session and less so on the final product.
I placed toys around the little princess and let her play and crawl. I had her mom interact making faces, and singing. I love including parents. I want them to have an experience, not just a portrait session. Getting family involved lets the child relax and captures remarkably candid moments. In this shot I had stolen one of the child's toy balls and she was looking at me playing with it, which is why she has such great focus on the fish. I used a black backdrop, some stock photography, and blended them in Photoshop. Believe it or not this picture was taken right in this little girl's bedroom.
The girl is mischievous and curious. These characteristics reminded me of faeries. I always believed faeries wandered through the forest, stealing mushrooms, and playing with the animals. In this image the birthday princess has stumbled upon a little fairy.
Prints available in my Esty store. https://www.etsy.com/shop/HMcIntirePhotography
