Tag Archives: family portrait

Shooting at Eye Level

Want to add more interest to your wildlife, nature, or children’s shots? Shooting at eye level will do it. The alternative is to shoot down on to your subject. While that downward view is the one we see most often with our eye, shooting at your subjects eye level is almost always the more interesting shot. This technique works particularly well with wildlife, children, and flowers. It can take time and effort to get down to your subjects level but it will be worth it for the unique angles and improved shots.

Here are 3 examples.

Shooting at eye level here meant lying on the ground

In this image of a duck paddling across a lake it was tricky to get down to the duck’s eye level. To make this shot I lay face down on the ground to get a “duck’s eye” view. People walking past would have thought I looked a little strange (!) but I achieved a series of interesting wildlife images – all taken from a duck’s eye point of view. It was a calm day and the reflection was a bonus.

In example two, a child on his father’s shoulder, it was much easier to shoot at eye level. For this shot, the father was holding the son on his shoulder trying to calm him down. Rather than being ‘down time’ in our family portrait session, it was a great opportunity to shoot an eye level portrait of the child. And briefly he stared directly at me. Nice one.

Shooting at eye level will add interest to children’s portraits

Example 3 are tulips. Rather than shooting down from above flowers, try getting down very low and using the sky as your background. It eliminates a muddy, dirty background and replaces it with a blue plain background which highlights the color of the flowers. It isn’t strictly ‘shooting at eye level’ but it is a very different angle than shooting down from above. It can be challenging to shoot flowers differently – but getting down very low is a great place to start.

Shooting flowers from a very low angle can create unique images

Shooting at eye level often produces outstanding images. Keep this in mind next time you are shooting wildlife, children or flowers.

Why Photographers Should Keep Great Client Records

This month I have been working with a photographer who is running a successful family portrait business. She has been busy booking and shooting local family portraits very consistently for 18 months. It’s a good news story. She is enjoying creating images for local families and is running a healthy business. Right now she faces a slow down in her bookings, and has asked me to help. It has reminded me again why photographers should keep great client records.

To help her, together we have been working through each aspect of her business reviewing what is working, and what is not. Overall it is a very positive picture. She has been busy for 18 months and has a large group of happy clients.

Thinking about clients? Good record keeping will helps generate new work from past clients.

In our discussion, her first question was ‘I’ve never had a slowdown in bookings before – how do I generate more clients?’ My response was – maybe you don’t need new clients. Maybe you just need to contact your old clients to see if you can help them again.

As an example, one of her first clients had a 4 year old and a new born child. It was the arrival of the baby that prompted the family to have the first portrait shoot. My suggestion was that she re-contact this client. The family’s 4 year old will be just over 5 now and is likely to be starting school – what a great time to do another family portrait session. And then we realized – the photographer hadn’t kept contact details for each client. She didn’t have a way to easily contact the family to explore a second shoot.

So that leads us to, why photographers should keep great client records. I have summarized it into 5 key reasons:

(1) Past clients should be future clients. If a client is happy with your service once, they are more likely to be your client again – but you need to have kept their contact details and relevant information. Only a small percentage of past clients will spontaneously contact you years after the original shoot. Collect relevant client information, so you can use it in future.

(2) Times change, but the photographer doesn’t need to. In family photography there is natural change as children grow up. If you have a client with a new born baby, it won’t be long until there are toddler pictures to shoot, birthday parties, and then shots as the child starts school. This progression continues through primary school and into high school. If you do it really well, you may end up shooting their high school graduation images, on to their wedding, and their own children. Think of your client as a relationship you will nurture, not as a one time ‘job’.

In family photography, there is a natural on going demand for images as the child grows

(3) Clients will send you referrals – make it easy for them. All photographers find that happy clients send them referrals. This is easier for clients if you have kept in touch with them. I sure don’t want a client I worked with saying ‘we’re really happy with the images, but I can’t remember the name of the photographer’. Keeping good records helps you stay in touch. And staying in touch makes it easy for clients to send you referrals.

(4) Past clients are a great source of ‘short notice’ bookings. If you have an opening in your schedule for a shoot next week, past clients offer great potential to fill that gap. Here is the main part of an email I sent to a past client 4 weeks ago “Hi R, I hope you and P are going well. I have had a client cancel their session next Sunday, so I wondered if you would like to do a mini family shoot before the kids go back to school? My normal price is $XXX but as you are my existing client I can offer it to you for $YYY. If you are interested, we can do it in the park near your home. What do you think?” If you have kept your clients email and mobile phone details this is a fast, effective way to fill your calendar.

(5) Happy clients will write testimonials. Social media has made it very easy for word to spread quickly. As photographers offering a service to our clients we need to make the most of this. Keeping good client records makes it easy to ask for testimonials and feedback, which helps to generate more clients.

The photographer who asked for my help now has a system for recording client details and a plan for how and when to contact them. She came to me with a short term business problem, and now has a plan for long term success. I hope this has been helpful to you too, and that you understand why photographers should keep great client records.

Making This Image

I had a canvas print of this image on my studio wall before it went to the client. It drew lots of questions about how it was created. How did I make her hair go like that? How do you get a pure white background? Is that shape real? And lots more. Below I have outlined the steps in making this image.

Unique portraits like this one don’t need to be complex or very time consuming

Step 1 – Plaits. This young lady has very, very long hair. She is tall and it goes all the way down her back. Step 1 was to get her mum to plait it. I didn’t see this part, but it must have taken some time for such long hair!

Step 2 – Studio set up. This shot was taken in studio, against a white background. I have written an earlier post about how to get a pure white background. If you don’t have a studio backdrop you can achieve the same effect with a white wall or nearly white wall. I had two lights with small soft boxes on them positioned on left and right at 45 degrees to the subject. You can see the catch-lights from those in her eyes.

Step 3 – Shaping the hair. In this image, I was aiming for a fun / quirky image. To shape her hair – we improvised! We unwound a wire coat hangar and threaded it through the middle of her plait. That made it possible to create a range of different shapes from her plait. The coat hangar protruded out of her hair. In this image it protruded to the left, where her mother was holding it.

Step 4 – Removing the visible part of the coat hangar. In each of this small series of images, part of the coat hangar was visible. It stuck out from her hair, and out of frame where her mum was holding it. To remove the coat hangar wire from the image required less than 5 minutes in post production, using the stamp tool to replace the wire with pure white from the background.

It does not need a long tedious studio session and hours in post production to make interesting images. This one took about 20 minutes from beginning to end (after her hair was plaited!!) I hope this was helpful to you, and that you understand the process for making this image. Do you have a story to tell about making unique portraits?

Manly Urban

Today we have a guest post from Renate Hechter from Pure Dynamics Photography in Sydney, Australia. Earlier this year Renate launched a new twist on family portraits – a concept called Manly Urban. In this post, she explains Manly Urban.

Thank you again Craig for giving me the opportunity to post on Beyond Here.

I have the privilege of living near one of the most beautiful areas in the world. I do not think anyone that has been to Sydney and more to the point, Manly, would disagree with me. One is surrounded by beautiful expanses of blue ocean, with the heads in the background on one side and Manly beach on the other side. If you have ever been on the Manly ferry, you would agree that it one of the most iconic and picturesque methods of public transport. All in all, to be able to have this view, day in – day out, is not only a blessing, but a calling to a photographer.

Manly Urban. Family portraits with famous Manly backgrounds. Copyright Renate Hechter.

For any photographer, it is important to create a service that is new and different to new and existing clients. I have come up with the ManlyUrban idea, as people not only love to get some photographs of the area they live in, but it also provide a beautiful and modern back-drop for some stunning and different photographs. Manly also has a huge expat community, so it is a great keep-safe of your “home away from home”.

As you walk around and through Manly, you will realise it is a treasure-chest of scenic and urban areas. Here are some of my favourite areas.

Manly Ferry/Heads (in the background)

Manly Urban. Families in context. Copyright Renate Hechter.

The Manly Ferry is a tradition. Since 1855 it is a “must do” for visitors. It is the way Manly locals commute to Sydney. It operates 7 days a week, day and night. It is one of the most picturesque and relaxing commutes in the world. What a wonderful way to include this as a backdrop for a photograph. The same is to be said for the famous Sydney Heads, which is the 2 kilometer-wide entrance to Sydney Harbour. People from all over the world will recognize it and these are some of Sydney’s most iconic landmarks.

Manly Corso

Manly, Sydney, Australia. Copyright Renate Hechter

The Corso is a busy and bustling place. It provides direct access from the Manly Ferry Wharf to Manly beach. It is also the main shopping area of Manly. You get locals, tourists, buskers, mum and babies, school children, toddlers in the playground, retirees, surfers, skateboarders and many more all mixed together and wandering about. Being photographed in the Corso takes some courage, as soon a crowd of people will gather to see what you are up to. (My urban ballerina kept her cool in the Corso, even though she was surrounded by holiday-makers).

Murals

Murals make vibrant backgrounds. Copyright Renate Hechter.

There are a number of murals in different alley-ways in Manly that provide fabulous backdrops for urban photography. Note, Manly Urban are not just for children. My friend, Liz, is a local business owner and a Manly local. As an artist (www.muktiart.com.au) she loved the opportunity to have a photograph taken in her beloved Manly in an area where the photograph could double as a piece of art.

When you visit Sydney again, make sure you get your Manly fix. You may even see me shooting Manly Urban in different locations! Please STOP and say HI!

This Is Why

Why do I shoot family portraits? It’s not for the money, or to win awards, or for fun. It’s because it matters. It’s important. This is why I shoot family portraits.

Below is the story of my most important portraits ever. I will take technically better images, but I will never take a more important series.

I had the good fortune to take portraits of this lady over a period of 18 months. They were impromptu sessions, and I took just a few images each time. They were not in ideal lighting conditions or with any particular preparation. There was no hair and make up done in advance. I had the camera, and she was ok with having her picture taken – briefly.

At the time of this image she was in her mid 70’s and undergoing treatment for cancer. That included several rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Cancer patient. My most important portrait series ever.

She lost her hair early in the chemotherapy treatment. The hair you see is a wig. After she lost her natural hair I didn’t ever see her without a wig or a hat to cover her head.

Sadly she has passed away, after an extended battle with cancer.

This image was used on the card sent to friends and family inviting them to come together to celebrate her life. Another of my images was used on the cover of the order of service. Another, with her husband of 48 years, was on the back cover. The same image was used on thank you cards sent to friends after the funeral.

The family have great memories of this lady – and a small series of portraits to pass down the generations. It matters. It’s important. This is why I shoot family portraits.

The lady in the picture passed away on 6 June 2014, two days short of her seventy sixth birthday.

She is my mum.

It matters. It’s important. This is why.

Portrait Photography Tips Fill The Frame

Do you want to improve your portrait photography? An almost universal rule for taking more compelling portrait images is to fill the frame with your subject. That means getting closer to the subject (or zooming in closer) so that the subject entirely fills the frame.

It doesn’t matter whether the subject is people, animals, or objects – fill the frame with the subject for more interesting images. This can feel a little funny at first, particularly as you move in closer than you normally feel comfortable. Push through the discomfort – it will be worth it and your portrait photography will benefit.

I find the best way to do this is to stand much closer to the subject than you normally would. If you are feeling uncomfortable, like someone is in your personal space, then you are in the right spot.

Why does this work?

Filling the frame with your subject creates more compelling images because:

it focuses the viewer completely on the subject, and
it removes any distracting background elements

Show me an example!

Portait where the subject fills the frame

Here is an example of a children’s portrait.

It was shot indoor, with a large glass window behind me. The window was not in direct sunlight, so it was producing very soft natural light across the subject. The room contained furniture and children’s toys. These are normal elements in a home with children but they have the potential to distract your viewer if you include them in your image.

In this case, although I was using a 24-105mm lens, I didn’t need to use the zoom right to the 105mm end of the range. I was close to the subject and managed to fill the frame completely with the subject. The result – a simple compelling portrait photograph (which doesn’t show the clutter and mess in the room around them.)

This is one of my favorite portrait photography tips.

How do you find standing close to the subject and filling the frame? Do you find it more effective to position yourself close to the subject, or a little further back with some zoom?