Christina's Blog

This week’s Family Friday tip:  Get in closer!

The next time you’re photographing your kids anywhere, doing anything, try getting in a little closer – to the action, to their faces.  Whether you simply use the zoom on your camera or you physically move closer, try filling the frame a little more with your subject.  There are times when it’s great to capture the background, especially when you’re traveling or at a special event – in those cases the background can give some relevance to your photo – but many times the only thing that matters is the little faces in front of you, so let them steal the show!

Here’s a little side-by-side comparison as an example – neither of these shots would be considered technically perfect, they were just quick snaps we took on vacation a few years ago, but I love the one on the right because it looks more relaxed and spontaneous  – it captures Jillian and Zander happy together.  These were taken only a second apart, but zooming in made all the difference.  Give it a try!

Enjoy!

Christina

I love playing with word clouds and thought I’d share the cloud made from my “about me” page here on my blog – this is just from the section where I describe my style of photography.  I love it!

Word Cloud designed by Wordle

Reflection has been a recurring theme for me these past few months, you only have to check out my Project 365 photographs to see that, and most-recently I have been reflecting on my own personal image, or rather the image I am projecting through my photography business – it’s “branding” I guess.  Sometimes it’s hard to look at yourself closely in the mirror, especially as the years and birthdays go by and you watch your children wake up every day and take another tiny baby step towards independence and adulthood.  But when I’ve looked up close lately, I’m not looking for lines and wrinkles and gray hairs (hey, I don’t have any yet, by the way!)  What I’m looking for is that little spark of something, happiness maybe… or maybe it’s just the sparkle of living, not just being alive – but LIVING.  Now before you go thinking this is a post about depression or well, just a depressing post, let me explain…

As you may remember from past posts, I met the founder of Striving for More through a random set of events – you can read more about her and those details in a past blog post.  Anyway, I recently volunteered to photograph the Striving for More team at the St. Baldrick’s Foundation event held at Napper Tandy’s in Raleigh.  When I was editing the images, I found myself really captivated by one of the images of Diane, and so I spent some time editing it and doing some of the art work I do for my actual studio portraits.  In fact, I spent a lot of time – not because the image needed it and not because she isn’t already beautiful, but because something about her eyes really spoke to me.  I eventually realized what it was – they sparkle.  Truly.  On their own.  Just off the cuff this may not resonate with you, but I challenge you to try to look for this in the next few days when you are talking to people, or even looking through your own photographs and portraits.  If you don’t know Diane’s story, you can read her blog here, but suffice it to say that she has endured a tragedy that could easily crush the strongest of spirits, and yet she’s managed to find a path for herself that did just the opposite.  I’ve mentioned before that the eyes are what I’m trying most to capture when I take a portrait, and it’s this “sparkle of life” I’m trying to get.  Everyone has it, but I wonder how often it’s bright enough for others to notice.

So I’m looking in the mirror, trying to see my own and be aware of the things that make it shine brighter.  Photography is one of those “things” for me – just ask my husband, he always comments that my face is just glowing with happiness after I’ve had a great session with a client or even spent the day shooting the trees in the park.  Moms have this look when watching their child take their first steps or hit their first home-run.  Children have this look almost every moment of every day – their eyes just shine! So I encourage you all to take a moment to reflect, and figure out the things that really make your eyes light up – and do more of them.  In all sincerity, we could all use a little more sparkle in our lives, and really LIVING your life will have a profound impact on those around you as well – take a little time every week to live like this is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.   Because they all are.