Skip to main content

We've taken our Naturals Range to our Playgroups & Nurseries

I surprised myself with just how much I love doing this sort of portraiture when I spent the day at a local playgroup. It was such a joy to spend the day with a group of pre-school children. I felt no pressure to get an image in a confined space of time. I had not issues of trying to get the children to sit where I want or to smile when I want. I simply wandered about their environment watching them do their thing and then I photographed them. I was both relaxed and inspired.

First I would like to point out that this style, many photographers refer to as ‘Lifestyle’, is becoming all the rage within photographic circles. People more and more are asking for natural portraits taken in familiar surroundings. So this is something I thought I would bring to my nurseries and playgroups, where it is even more important to see the children as they are throughout a day that is spent away from the family. My aim was to capture the children in a way that truly represents their character at this stage of their development.

Some may regard these as merely snapshots. Although I could use that term in the sense that they are a snapshot of this time in their lives, I can assure you that the skill and effort that goes into these images make them far from snapshots. Careful attention is given to each image to insure that the faces are correctly exposed, rather than the overall scene which is why many images have rather dark backgrounds. This is very intentional as I want the child to stand out from the background, not get lost in it. The very shallow depth of field has also helped here which I have achieved using professional lenses that allow me to have only a small portion of the image in perfect focus. Again, this was intentional. Shallow depth of field can turn a cluttered environment into a pleasing and often exciting background.

I have also insured that the correct colour balance has been achieved. Often snapshots can take on various shades of colour depending on the colour of the room or the blinds on the windows or if outside the colour of the grass or leaves from the trees above. Making skin look like skin is not as easy as it sounds. I regard this as an essential skill that I call upon in all of my portraiture.


None of this is something that a compact camera can achieve. Images such as these take skill and the appropriate equipment. I know this because I too have a compact camera which I carry around with me when I don’t want to lug the good stuff around. I have never even come close to the images I can produce using the professional equipment.


Finally, I have taken time in Photoshop to enhance the images even further to create a portrait with substance. I crop appropriately. I sharpen where necessary to bring out features such as the eyes. And I improve the overall colours and tones of the images to give them a sort of punch which makes the portraits look even more exciting.


This type of portraiture has other advantages too. Not having large, intimidating lights or space and time constraints has helped the children to relax and become comfortable with me being around. I was able to get down on their level and interact with them. They soon either forgot about the camera or began playing up to the camera as if it were a game. It definitely made my job much easier. I loved this exerience. The kids were lovely and the natural light spilling in from the windows lit the children's faces so beautifully that I felt excited with every click of the shutter. In fact this has been the most enjoyable form of portraiture I have taken on since I began my career. I sincerely hope I am lucky enough to carry this on for a long time to come.


And as if getting great images wasn't good enough, I was lucky enough to have been greated with a kiss and a cuddle from one of the lovely little boys who came to say good bye to me as I waved goodbye to all of them. It is often said that one should never work with children or animals. They can be bring the worst of times but it is at times like these when they really are the best.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Burbage Carnival 2009

For the past few years my husband and I have been attending the Burbage Carnival and remarking to ourselves at how much better it could be. The carnival seemed to be declining in recent years. Earlier this year I met someone (Harvey) who mentioned that he joined the committe. When I asked him why he said he had been remarking that the carnival could do with some improvements. The response he received was rather than complain why don't you join the committee and do something about it. Its hard to argue with that. The following week I found myself, along with my husband, at the Burbage Carnival meeting. And we've been attending (most meetings) ever since. With this being our first year we didn't want to dive in head first. We contributed where we felt we could but it was great to see that what little we were able to offer still made a difference on the day. We're now very much looking forward to seeing just how much of a difference we can make next year. I just hope it ...

Limited Edition Storybook Portrait Sessions

Well in the end I didn't take this promotion as seriously as was required in so much as I didn't allocate any budget for advertising.  I relied only on the few posts on Facebook and as such I only did 2 sessions, which to be perfectly honest, was all I could handle this year given that I'd not properly planned for these sessions in an already busy time of year.  However, what I did do proved to me that this is something that deserves proper attention and a concerted effort to push this promotion forward.  I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it, from shopping for props, to the sessions and then the editing.  I really love the fun that these sessions provide and the look of the finished images.  Spring will see a second go at this special collection with plenty of advertising in the run up to our event.  I will get another chance at shopping for additional props and tools to run this limited edition promotion and I can't w...

Wellies, Wellies and More Wellies

Over the past couple of years I've been photographing Jileon Ltd's wellies for their website. And over the last couple of months I have had quite a bit to do for them. Jileon is a great client of ours, giving us regular work that I can undertake in my own time and in my own way. It makes for such a relaxing change from having to make small children smile in a short span of time. Particularly since they can't get up and walk away just at the moment when all elements of the perfect image come together. The only real challenge in photographing wellies for me seems to be the dreaded reflection that is unavoidable when photographing shiny objects using flash. But without this challenge where would be the fun? Jileon Ltd is a Hinckley based distributor of mainly wellington boots. They do also distribute other things but typically it is just their wellies that I photograph. If you wish to order a pair please vi...

Family Photos with Flair - Vanity Fair Style Family Portraits

This style of portrait continues to be the eye catching success I had always hoped it would be. Once again I created a beautiful family portrait that I am really proud of and I know this family loves too. Over the years I have developed this style through influences such as Vanity Fair and the many photographers I follow, though I hope that there is something in here that is entirely my own. Having my work easily identified as my own was a goal of mine from the start. Getting to the point where people will want not just a portrait but a Christina Lauder portrait is where I've always wanted to be and I'm hoping I'm on way. These portraits were created for the family of two professional photographers who wanted some portraits of their own. Family portraits isn't really something one can do of oneself, at least not easily. So they needed the services of another and I was honoured to be chosen for the job. They chose me not just for my style but also for my ab...

A Most Wonderful Portrait Session with 3 Lovely Ladies

This was a dream session for me. Not only did I have 3 beautiful young ladies, but they also brought with them a fantastic wardrobe and their very own hair stylist too (mum owns her own salon). So all the elements for beautiful portraits were there. And I was thrilled to get this opportunity. Its easy to think of having portraits when you have a new baby or when you get married or have a special family occasion where you get the entire family portrait done. But its less often that people think of having their growing children photographed. After all I suppose, they are photographed at school. I even do some of those school photographs. However, those portraits are made in less than a minute per child and they are assembly line style portraits while they are wearing their school uniform. They are never going to be as special as what can be created with unlimited time and outfit changes in the comfort of a private studio. Its in this environment that I can take the time to...