Photocation with Kids

Cross-posted from A Monkey & A Magpie ...

My photo buddy, Tricia Spaulding (she is the photographer behind Made You Look Photography, check her out on Facebook!)  and I hijacked the kids for some photo fun ... well, it was fun for us. And isn't that the important thing?! There is a little ramshackle house off of Highway 51. The paint is peeling and there is junk EVERYWHERE ... but man is it an awesome place for pictures.

Honestly, I was raised to stay off of any property that you don't own or weren't invited to visit, so I spent the whole time looking over my shoulder, waiting for the police to come and tell us to leave. I know ... I worry too much, and the cops never came. (On a sidenote: kids these days need to learn that lesson about staying off other people's property, too many bikes and scooters are going missing on our street).

And then I got down to the business of pulling teeth ... at least that is how the kids acted. You would think I was chasing them with a pair of pliers instead of pointing a camera at them. Its not like I asked them to comb their hair ... I wasn't trying to work miracles after all.

Connor definitely wins the How Not To Say CHEESE! Award ...

He was more interested in playing with Alex. I just can't compete with another boy ... and sticks.

I had fun with some actions in Lightroom .. though none are straight actions. I only use them as a jumping off point. Really, if I couldn't scroll through some actions to get an idea of how a picture would look black and white, sepia, saturated, unsaturated, or completely tweaked I would spend so much more time processing pictures. Actions are a great source of inspiration, but use them wisely .. you don't want your pictures to look like everyone else's. And there is my most important advice on photography ... and the reason you probably should not ask me for advice.

I don't know why ... everytime I try to get a picture of Katie with a younger child she tries to choke them into submission. There is a picture of her doing the same thing to her cousin about seven years ago. Oh .. you know I had to look it up ... 12/20/2004

5/26/2011

And here we are going to pretend I asked Connor to blow a kiss ...

And as with all things ... it ended with Katie dissolving into tears. This time it was about having a sleepover. I let her have the sleepover ... and I have this picture to show her later in life when she acts up ... or to show her boyfriend/husband/children.

Tricia in action. At least Alex was a wee bit cooperative for her.

I didn't even ask them to do the Chorus Line kick ... gotta love girls!

They might not have been as cooperative as I had hoped, but then I really didn't have high expectations going in .. I love the pics I got, even though they may not be technically great. I know I am not a posed portrait type photographer. I like to catch the action, the INTERACTION. I want to capture the memory, not just the look. Hoping to find the balance of both ..