Fine Art Portraits of Very Young Girls

Again this is the sort of work I enjoy very much. I love creating beautiful portraits and capturing a special moment that will produce a beautiful piece of art to hang on a wall.

However it doesn't always go to plan. I made burgundy tulle dresses, one for each, which I felt worked well for a Christmas time portrait. I thought it would be wonderful to create a loving sister portrait. But we can't always get what we want, particularly when working with 2 young girls under the age of 3.

First, the youngest was not keen to be wearing the burgundy dress. I understand that though. There were parts that were perhaps a little itchy. I get that, My daughter was the same when it came to dress up clothes. I couldn't even get my daughter in a cute fairy costume or princess dress. A sibling portrait was not to happen in burgundy. So we moved onto my ivory clothes. Now this was better. But getting them to look good next to each other at the same moment just wasn't possible. On this occasion we had to settle for individual portraits only I'm afraid.

I'm letting you know all this because I want clients who book me to be realistic. At the end of the day these are children and to expect them to perform for strangers in strange clothes isn't always going to go as we hope. I suspect next time it will be a whole lot easier as it has been with several of my clients in the past. Just don't stress about it as I always get something good and if it were to go horribly wrong we can reschedule. I don't mind when a session doesn't go perfectly smoothly and don't want my clients worrying about what might go wrong.

All that being said though, I am delighted with what I was able to produce. I got some very happy portraits and some thoughtful portraits which is always what I aim to provide. I like having a mix of both. To me the more serious expressions have impact and satisfy the artistic side of me while the smiles give a beautiful portrait that is sure to warm the hearts of parents and grandparents. And I leave the decisions to them thankfully because sometimes I really just can't choose myself.

If you would like to organise a session like this please get in touch. You can contact us via our website here or via our Facebook page here. You are also welcome to come in for a free consultation to discuss the options and see the studio.

Comments

Male Nude Masterclass at the Societies Convention in London

Here are the results from my masterclass at the convention just over a week ago. During this talk I set out to show 3 different lighting techniques using just 2 lights and a white background. I sometimes use more than 2 lights but I wanted to show that good photos can be produced with the minimum of kit. For the first we used a beauty dish to light our model with a second light for the background to give us a high key result. Had I been in my studio I would have used 2 lights to light my background but for such a tight crop the one light (centralised) was clearly good enough. For the second I used a softbox (strip light) on one side with barn doors on the second light on the other side. In hindsight I wish I had a grid with me to soften the light coming from the barn doors side. Not being in my studio I didn't have all my kit to hand so had to use what was available on the day. I found the bare bulb a little too strong here. Notice how we managed to get the whi

Fine Art Portraits of a Beautiful Young Girl

So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com

Portraits Even a Teenager Boy Loves

Finally I've had the opportunity to photograph a young man in my studio again. And funnily enough this was the second time that week which is absolutely superb. In both cases these young men were just as enthusiastic to be involved as I was, which is something I don't often get when I'm working with very young children, my usual subjects. With young children I find my energy in their cuteness. But with young adults I get energy from their excitement over how the portraits are working out. I get such a buzz from the experience and that can keep me going for hours, often editing the photos straight after the shoot for hours more. Shoots for teenagers is something I've been wanting to focus on for some time. Its not something that I often get asked for though unfortunately. It tends to be parents of very young children who want to capture moments that are slipping through their fingers at lightening speed. Maybe its teenage moodiness that means these moments don&

Family Portraits with Fine Art Flair

I have a love and hate relationship with family portraits. I love the finished piece and creating something that is truly special to the family. I love that in years to come something I made is going to be a cherished and valueable memento for this family. What I struggle with, is getting all members of the group to look their best at exactly the same moment in time. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is, particularly when it comes to 6 children. But I always get there in the end, whether it is the luck of a moment or with the aid of Photoshop. I ensure that everyone in the portrait is looking their best, even the dog. Seeing as this family is actually made up now of two families we also did portraits in their respective groups which I chose to do in different style to their main group. I love adding a bit of style for the overall main group and what you see above is something that is proving popular with my clients. I love adding props and giving a sort of Vani

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

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog