- afternoon
- Kids
- Soft Light
- running
- Rule of thirds
- Playful
- Overcast
- Outdoor
- Natural Light
- Movement
- holding hands
- Center Framed
- hold dress
- High Angle
- grass
- games
- Fun
- Fields
- Family
- Energetic
- Cloudy
- Walking
The story behind the image
As we all know by now, kids are not always the easiest to work with, but that shouldn’t ever stop you. Just be yourself and remember that kids get bored quite quickly. This can work to your advantage since you could start off with having them in for some shots, add in a lot of fun energy and get them excited right up until you know you’ve got some great shots and can then let them go back to the party.
Directions
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
We had our family hold hands and then run towards us in the field. While running, we asked them to look at each other and to even try and pull the kid a little bit – sort of teasing him. The whole focus here was on getting the kid to have a great time since his parents were totally having fun too!
What did you say?
Alright guys, all 3 hold hands and run towards us! There you go! Run! run! Run! Look at each other! Pull (kid) with you – he’s slow! He’s too slow!
Composition
We chose to use our wide angle lens for this shot since we could capture their whole running motion without fearing that we would end up being too close to our family. We also had our camera slightly higher than eye-level just so we could make sure we included the kid in the frame without cutting his legs off.
framing
Center Framed
Focusing
Describe how you spoke to your subject(s)
When moving the camera away from your eye and shooting it’s always a good idea to switch to live view (or flip out your LCD screen if it does that) so you can see what you’re composing and whether your focus is locking. If you don’t have a decent autofocus in live view -switch to multi focus points and try your luck with that. If it didn’t work, you could always ask them to run again :)
Focus Mode
Single Shot Autofocus
Focus POints
Single Point
Focused on
The kids face
Equipment &
Exif
Camera
Lens
Flash
Filter
1/4000 @ f/1.6 ISO250 WB-Auto
The way the EXIF is written out follows the common photographic method (with the inclusion of White Balance at the end). Here it is broken down:
Shutter Speed @ Aperture ISO White Balance.
Light & Weather
Fortunately for everyone, we had a relatively overcast day which meant we were able to shoot out in the open field without worrying too much about how harsh the light was going to be. The sun was just behind our backs in this shot, and while we didn’t pay too much attention to where it was, it was quite nice how it still lit the front of our family up nicely through the clouds.
Light Type
Natural Light
Time of day
Afternoon
Weather
Editing Workflow
How did you edit this image?
The edits are made to be warmer with a big focus on skin tones and light play with shadows and highlights. A few minor local adjustments were made (Gradient and Brush) as well as finishing off with a fine layer of grain. The whites are not blown out nor are the blacks 100% crunched.
Editing Software
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Preset Used
Challenges
Working with kids can be hella good fun but can also be challenging. Keeping them entertained and motivated does require extra effort.
Solutions
We came up with a solution that worked pretty well – and that was to take all the pictures with the kiddo first so that after we were done, he could head back to the party and play with his friends – leaving us with the couple to finish off.
Location
Location Name
Marburg
Location aDDRESS
marburg, Germany
Loation Type
Private Home / AirBnB / Apartment
Country
Germany
Try to bring the kids along with you for your couple shoot. They can really add in a lot of fun to the whole thing and will mean the world to your couple.
Remember that kids can get bored quite quickly, so it’s best to photograph them first and then send them on their way or to hang out somewhere while you do the rest with your couple.
