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Eyes of a Child

December 3, 2014 6 Comments

DSC_9530 https://www.weeklyfifty.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/WeeklyFiftyPodcast2014December3EyesOfAChild.mp3

I tell you, one of the coolest things to do as a photographer is to help capture moments in the life of a family that they will have with them for years to come. It’s a humbling thought, really, to know that you are responsible for freezing an image in time of someone’s child that they might look back on decades later and treasure for the rest of their time here on earth. But as a photographer, that is exactly what you get the privilege of doing, and it’s a thought that rattles my nerves probably more than it really should. On a crisp autumn morning I met this family at our agreed-upon location and quickly got to work taking photos before the sun rose too high and their baby started to get fussy. Turns out my fears of the latter were a bit unfounded, as the boy was the picture of happiness all morning long, and we had a fantastic time just walking around and taking photos.

Thanks to lessons I learned on previous photo sessions I knew to shoot most of the morning at f/4, ISO 400, with the 50mm lens on my D7100. This was great for individual shots like this, but even better for group photos of the whole family. Using a much wider aperture might get a tad more background blur, but you run the risk of someone being out of focus thanks to shallow depth of field. Honestly, even though you all know how much I like my 50mm Prime lens, most of the session could probably have been shot with a kit lens, so let that be a lesson to you: you can probably squeeze more out of the gear you already have than you might think.

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Comments

  1. Tom says

    December 3, 2014 at 9:53 am

    “My dazzling blue eyes,” said the little boy, “and my big toothless smile, is probably why the picture taker did not pause long enough to wipe the slobber off my chin! But still, he caught me at one of my more happier moments!”

    Reply
    • Simon says

      December 3, 2014 at 10:12 am

      Hahaha! That’s pretty much how it happened, Tom. And it’s one of the fun parts about photographing kids. You never know what’s going to happen :)

      Reply
  2. Krystina says

    December 4, 2014 at 3:13 pm

    That is one of my favorites! Thanks, again, for the BEAUTIFUL photos. You have an amazing skill!

    Reply
    • Simon says

      December 4, 2014 at 3:15 pm

      You are very welcome, Krystina! I’m glad you like the pictures, and you three were so much fun to work with. Especially that smiling little boy of yours! :)

      Reply
  3. Dave Erho says

    January 24, 2015 at 7:48 am

    That’s a great picture. I just found your website after reading your article on another site. My only prime lense right now is a 50mm, so I am enjoying seeing what you have done with one. Thanks!

    Reply
    • Simon says

      January 26, 2015 at 1:26 pm

      Glad you are enjoying these posts, and good luck with that 50mm lens! Mine has never let me down, and I’m sure you will end up with some fantastic photos as you use yours too.

      Reply

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