It’s been a number of years since I chased after a two-year-old of my own, and I feel slightly out of practice keeping up with such a fast crowd. My children are so versed in Mommy and her lens that they automatically pause, giving me the .1 second perfect-shot look — a trait highly unusual to find in a child! My best lens (a 70-200 f/2.8 VR) is not necessarily my workhorse lens when shooting children this age. The bokeh on this lens, however, is unbeatable and for this reason I want to use it later this week when I shoot a 2-year-old outside. What I needed was some Real Life practice to get me back in my two-under-two groove, and what better opportunity than the Ward family this weekend, three adorable boys under the age of five.
4 comments
Jennet - Wow! The pictures were gorgeous! I loved every one of them, and I know that is what you’d expect a mom to say, but I really did! You managed to capture their different personalities in the photos; they looked so natural, not stiff and posed. You’d never know that Cole had a raging swimmers ear infection and that Zachary had skipped his nap. It made our life look so beautiful and serene. haha
Thank you so much!
Paul Metzgar - WOW….
I covet your 70-200….
My new toy is the 50mm 1.8
It is my favorite lens so far….
Paul Metzgar - I was scrolling through the archives and found this post again.
I had a quick question concerning the posing.
Is he squatting down, thus letting you get the high view point?
I have tried to get this perspective and just can’t nail it.
Thank you!
christine - this was one of those fluke shots that comes with photographing children. yes, Cole had bent down to pick up something interesting on the ground; right as he looked up, I clicked. I was standing with his parents on a balcony, our two older boys had gone down below us to explore and I was focused (literally) on his younger brothers looking down at them when I saw Cole look up. the catchlights in his eyes are from the sky above us. I would have exploited the background had he stayed still long enough, but it was a one-shot moment.
you raise another interesting observation for me: I remember vividly taking this shot. it’s on my blog because it’s one of my favorites. but how many photos will I take before I can no longer remember the details of how and where it was taken? or where it’s archived? fortunately, I still remember this one and could put my hand on the original file almost immediately. it was shot with my 70-200 at 200mm f/2.8 ISO 100 on a bright day, cloudy white balance, no flash, no shutter speed recorded. I remember it was wood chips they were playing in, which gives the color and texture you see in the background.