child photography
© Tim Pannell
Okay….I’m a commercial photographer that shoots concepts and stories for a living and that’s very different than just shooting your own kids, which is what this blog is about. So why should you worry about shooting a concept or story for that matter when it comes to your own kids?
Well……because I said so. How’s that for sounding like a parent?
It just makes things more interesting. I really don’t think it’s enough to just plop cute little Steven or Julie on the floor and crank out a couple of cards worth of images of them just looking at the camera and smiling. Sure they’re cute and adorable, but your images can be so much more if you just take a little more time to think things out.
© Tim Pannell
When you add a concept behind the image it becomes so much more to look at….not only will little Johnny be cute, but the picture will be saying something as well.
I’m not saying to never shoot “grip and grins” with your kids….for heaven’s sake keep doing those shots to document the stages of your kid’s life at the very least, but every once in a while try to do something more with them.
© Tim Pannell
Pick an activity that your kid enjoys and shoot the build up to it, then the event and then the “post” event or clean up. Why shoot the clean up? Why not shoot the clean up….lots of times cool stuff happens when you least expect it and getting little Tiffany to help with the garbage might be one of those situations.
© Tim Pannell
So….the next time your little guy or gal has a bunch of friends over to go on the slip and slide, shoot the whole thing from start to finish. Don’t grab all the kids and make them sit still and pose with those cheesy glued on smiles they learn how to give because of “school picture” photographers that get some sort of oddball satisfaction from ruining your kid’s perfect natural expression.
Those photographers really cheese my cracker so to speak…….but that’s a different post for a different blog for another time.
Push yourself, expect and demand a little more from yourself and watch your images go to the next level.
© Tim Pannell
My niece is now 24 years old. I remember like it was just yesterday, her performing on the fireplace hearth and bowing to our thunderous applause and shouting “Thank you – Gentlemen!” as she jumped into what she believed to be a mosh pit on the carpet. She was 2 1/2 years old at the time and living in Long Beach…….cuter than crap!
These little kids that we love, nurture, protect, bandage and teach eventually do grow up and leave the nest to start their own life’s journey and adventure…….really cool ride, but it always puts a lump in my throat
© Tim Pannell
She just got married a couple of weeks ago and I took the opportunity to take her and her, then, fiancee out to the Salt Flats to shoot them in their tux and gown.
What a blast we had! I left the house at about 2:30 in the morning to be able to pick them up in Salt Lake and whisk them off to the Salt Flats before sunrise.
© Tim Pannell
We lucked out and had a beautiful day…….temperatures were in the 60′s and no wind. I would have preferred having a few more clouds than we did have, but after living in Utah for almost 7 months now, I’m grateful for any day that isn’t raining or snowing.
They’re a great looking couple and we got a bunch of great shots….they were troopers to get up so early in the morning, but I think they were more than happy with the results we got.
As parents, sometimes we’re guilty of not shooting as many pics of our kids as they get older. Their not quite as cute as they were when they were 2 and 3 so we don’t look for as many opportunities to shoot pictures with them.
© Tim Pannell
The lesson today is to recognize that they’re ALWAYS cute and to shoot them even past their teen years. At least until they start cranking out their own kids and then they’ll have to take a back seat to their own kids as we shoot image after image of the next generation of “little ones”.
Have fun and enjoy the ride…..it’s the best one there is!
Just a side note – If any of you have older kids that are getting married up here in Utah…..one of the gazillion weddings up here every year…..and want great shots of them in their tux and gown just contact me and I’d be happy to set something up. I don’t shoot weddings at all, but I will spend time with couples that want one of a kind gorgeous images….just not on their wedding day. Trust me…it’s worth it. I hope to hear from you soon.
Have a great day!
© Tim Pannell Photography
One of the biggest problems people have shooting kids is expecting them to act, behave and or pose a certain way. Once the shoot starts, many times that sweet little darling kid won’t want anything to do with your preconceived ideas to photograph.
I know what it’s like to have a picture in my head of what I want to get and not being able to get it. At this point, you have two choices….continue beating your head against a rock trying to get your unco-operative subject to pose exactly the way you want…..or to go with the flow and see what the kid will give you.
After being in the business for over 20 years, I can pretty well figure out what’s going to happen within about 5 minutes of working with any child. This is not the time or place to become the ultimate disciplinarian. You can coerce the child into submission, but it comes with a really heavy price. They’ll never want to shoot with you again. They’ll remember you as a bully.
In my opinion, it’s just not worth it to get a picture. I’ve learned that by letting go of the reins and relinquishing “control” I’m more likely to walk away with a great image. It will most likely not look like anything that I envisioned at the beginning of the session, but I can promise you that it’ll be a better shot than the one I’d get by forcing and imposing my will on a kid.
Many times I’ve been pleasantly surprised at the outcome and on several occasions I’ve been rewarded with shots that I am completely in love with. This shot was done of my nephew. He hated having his picture taken, but was so cute I insisted on him letting me photograph him. We got set up and were ready to shoot and he wasn’t going to have any of it. I shot him anyway ….I kidded around with him a little bit and just hung out for a while and I wound up getting this image. To this day it’s my favorite shot I’ve ever taken of Kai.
He’s 10 years older now and has become a great model on top of that. He’s let me do countless shots of him over the years and I’m sure there will be countless more to come.
Just remember to take what the subject gives you. If they can’t smile with teeth showing don’t insist that they smile with their teeth showing. It’s all a give and take….kind of an elaborate dance between subject and photographer. Once you get into a flow you’ll feel it and that’s when the magic happens. Enjoy the ride!
© Tim Pannell Photography
Shoot through stuff guys…..now that’s real technical sounding isn’t it? If any of you have watched the show “24″…..they do it all the time. There is almost always something very out of focus in the foreground of most of their shots.
If gives the image a little bit of mystery, a little bit of depth and a little more interest than just a straight photograph.
I love depth in imagery. I usually want my images to look as 3 dimensional as possible.
For this shot of my neighbor’s daughter I thought it would be much more interesting if I shot the image through the French door rather than on the inside of the room with Jillian.
She’s by far the cutest little girl on the planet….she comes over and visits 4 or 5 times a week to eat “white” cheese and “good” pickles…”not the icky kind.”
When we lived in Arizona we had neighbors with 2 little kids that would come over and visit us as well…..we miss them dearly…..Jillian’s visits have helped us through our “withdrawal” period from Trenten and Cadyn.
As always, when shooting 2 or 3 year olds you can’t get too technical in terms of directions……gently nudging is about all you can do. Let them have fun….see what they naturally come up with……you’ll be surprised what great images you can make just observing what a 2 year old invents on the spot.
The next time you shoot, find some different objects with varying degrees of opacity to set really close to your lens in the foreground. See what happens to your image when you shoot through it. Play around with different things until you find something you like. Shoot through windows……play around with reflections.
If you go too far with something, just dial it back a little. Experiment with different depths or distances from your lens. Try different f-stops……typically wide open, or close to wide open works best, but try stopping for a few if only just to see what it does.
Most of all…..just have fun playing around with your photos. The beauty of digital is that it costs you nothing but your time to experiment.
Good luck!
© Tim Pannell Photography
One of the best photography tips I can think of is to not over think your shots.
Over thinking leads to overproducing.
Overproducing leads to frustration.
You don’t have to make a big production every time you go to take pictures of your kids.
You do, however want to control the things that you can control.
Just don’t try too hard to control your “subjects.”
Picture a scenario….the less contrived the better.
Pick good angles to shoot from so your background doesn’t detract from your images.
Be sure to shoot when the light is pretty – morning, late afternoon, open shade.
Have your kids and anyone else in the shots wear nice co-ordinated clothes.
Then, when you’ve got everything ready….go out and play.
Give people a basic idea where you want them and have them do their thing.
© TIm Pannell Photography
If you see something you really like give your kids some feedback and have them continue doing what they’re doing.
If it’s not working, don’t let them know it. Give them encouragement until it starts to look right.
Take your time, let the shot evolve. It doesn’t have to be “perfect” right off the bat.
Be playful, make it fun.
Springtime is coming soon…..even if it is snowing here in Utah…..ridiculous!
There are lots and lots of Springtime activities to shoot – gardening, water fights, picnics, playgrounds, parades, barbecues.
Pick something and shoot away.
© Tim Pannell Photography
Another good photography tip – you don’t have to make people look at the camera to get a great shot.
Shoot your kids interacting.
The kids will have fun no matter what their ages.
I take that back….if they’re 17 they won’t have any fun.
If they’re 17, find a different hobby. lol
© Tim Pannell Photography
Ever have to shoot in the wind?
It sucks!
Well…..technically, it blows.
We’re in that in between stage of weather here in Utah when it doesn’t know if its still winter or Spring.
2 days ago it was almost 70 degrees and yesterday it was cold enough that it started flurrying snow.
I don’t really enjoy this in between time…..either snow a ton or get on with it and bring on the Springtime.
It’s no fun shooting kids in cold weather when there isn’t any snow for them to play with.
I went out and shot a bunch of scenics instead.
My wife called while I was shooting so I turned my back to my tripod (something I never use shooting people) and had a little conversation with her.
The next thing I know is the wind blows my tripod and camera into the back of my head.
I’m glad my head was there to keep the camera from hitting the ground, but it really hurt.
It was extremely windy that day and cold and rainy – sleety.
I don’t know why I was out in it…….low I.Q. I guess.
© Tim Pannell Photography/Corbis
In any case…..it reminded of a much warmer day on assignment in Fort Meyers, Florida.
It was at least 90 degrees out and close to 1oo% humidity with 40-60 mile an hour wind gusts.
It was one of the most miserable days I’ve ever shot in.
I would lay on the beach to shoot and the wind would create these little mini tornadoes of sand that would blow into my nose and eyes.
The sand there is almost pure white, which is nice for providing fill, but causes snow blindness after a full day or working in it.
The other frustrating thing is what that much wind does to hair.
A little breeze is always great for getting hair to flow and move, giving your shots some life.
But that much wind just becomes a giant killer pain in the butt!
What should you do when this happens?
If you were smart and you were just out shooting for yourself, you’d bail out and head inside.
If you were on an assignment like I was or were as dumb as I am, you’d stay out and give it a go.
We pow wowed and decided to turn the day into “hair day”.
Most all of the shots we took that day focused on peoples hair in the wind.
It would have actually been a lot of fun if the wind and the sand hadn’t exfoliated at least 3 layers of skin from by body.
© Tim Pannell Photography
With the exception of the 2 year old we had with us, who had no hair.
She would have normally been my “workhorse” that day, but since she was 2 she ran out of gas pretty quickly.
Who could blame her?
The balloons in this shot with her only lasted for 3 frames anyway before they “Auntie Emmed” there way into the stratosphere.
We failed to explain the whole helium concept to her………ooooops.
It reminded me of all the times at Disneyland when there are always several balloon “escapees” at any given time in the air over the park.
We actually got quite a lot of great images that day in spite of the ridiculous amount of wind.
A couple of the images are still among my favorites.
I guess no matter what, it’s important to learn how to work with what the situation gives you.
In this case, we made the blowing hair the subject and quite trying to fight it.
It worked.
© Tim Pannell Photography
We’re still adjusting to the weather up here in Utah.
I have to admit that I get a little bit homesick when I watch the news and see that it’s 75 degrees back home in Arizona.
February and March were always my favorite months back home……the weather was usually perfect.
It snowed all day long yesterday. Much of the day it snowed with big huge fluffy flajkes.
I was hoping to get shots of the kids making snowmen this morning, but no such luck.
The snow never accumulated at all. It just landed and melted.
This morning there’s a light dusting on the grass, but that’s it.
Snowmen will have to wait.
© Tim Pannell Photography
I did get to shoot some 6th and 7th graders with my son sledding a couple of weeks ago, so I’ve posted a couple of shots from that shoot.
Same story as usual for me. Take your kids, or anybody’s kids for that matter and just get them playing together in the snow.
It just kind of happens. Once you see something that catches your eye, you can massage it a little bit.
Give them a little bit of art direction and then, let them cut loose.
It doesn’t always work as easily as you hope, but it can be a lot of fun, and the pictures that you do get should be wonderful.
For this kind of stuff, it’s really all about the energy.
© Tim Pannell Photography
Get them laughing, yelling, running, falling, sledding, crashing. Just shoot whatever happens and have fun with it.
The other great thing about shooting in the snow is that it acts like a built in reflector.
You don’t have to worry about being overly controlled in your setup.
It’s nice being able to shoot around without being overly worried about lighting, just be sure to watch your backgrounds.
Don’t make the mistake of going into “auto-pilot” mode.
In any case, if you live in the snow….take advantage of it while you can….eventually Spring will arrive.
© Tim Pannell Photography
So you got a new DSLR for Christmas and you’re super excited, but when you’ve used it so far there hasn’t been as much magic in your pictures as you hoped.
It’s not so surprising. Many people think that all you need to take great pictures is a great camera.
They save up their money and buy that great camera with a jillion megapixels, start snapping pictures and experience great disappointment.
Their pictures with the great camera look the same as the pictures they took with their crappy camera………only a little sharper and perhaps with better color.
There are so many variables involved in creating a great photograph….where do you start?
When learning photography………..simplify.
Pick a subject……pick one subject.
Many times people have a hard time deciding what their subject is. Is it your child, is it what your child is wearing, is it the location you’re shooting your child, is it somebody else in the picture with your child, is it their relationship with your child?
My point is this…..great photographs have one subject.
© Tim Pannell Photography
For starters, separate your subject from the background, either with depth of field, color, lens choice or composition.
Simplify your image. Don’t try and do too much with it or put too much information in it.
Take your child to a spot with pretty light, either in your house or outside, it doesn’t matter.
Avoid direct sunlight – it’s too harsh and unless you really know how to use it to your advantage, more often than not it will bite you in the butt.
Don’t be afraid to open up your lens and shoot at F2 or F2.8 even F4 if that’s as open as your lens goes.
See what limits you come up against when shooting at those F-stops.
Do you struggle keeping your subject sharp?
© Tim Pannell Photography
Many people will insist on shooting at F8 or F11 because it’s much easier to keep your subject in focus.
What most of them don’t realize is that they are settling for a less than great image because of that Fstop choice.
At F11 the background of your image will be pretty sharp and will compete with your subject for attention – yielding a very hum drum, boring image.
There are always tradeoffs wherever you set your aperture and shutter speeds.
You have to learn what your individual comfort zone is.
This will also help you discover your weaknesses and strengths.
If you have camera shake when you’re shooting at 1/125th of a second you know you will have to work on that.
If you can’t keep your subject sharp when you’re shooting at F2.8 then you know you need to work on setting the focus sensor a little more precisely.
As with any learned skill, be it musical, sports related or artistic in nature - it takes lots and lots of practice to get good at something, expecially something new.
It takes even more effort and consistent practice to master something.
The wonderful thing about photography is that you’ll get some amazing photographs before you actually master the craft or even before you’re really good at it.
The first time you get an amazing image is an incredible event that you’ll never forget.
Have fun with the learning process. Embrace the mistakes that you’ll make along the way. Learn from them.
Sometimes the best shots you’ll get will be the result of happy little accidents.
Shoot like crazy – it’s digital for crying out loud – it doesn’t cost you a penny to try new techniques.
It’s all about discovery – discovery of your subject as well as discovery of your self.
Enjoy the ride!
© Tim Pannell Photography
Sometimes its easy to forget about your camera once the weather gets cold outside and it starts snowing.
Sure it might be a little bit more inconvenient to shoot, but there are some great images out there just waiting to be taken.
In the interest of full disclosure, now that I’m in my 40′s the snow doesn’t really turn my crank much anymore, but when I was a kid, I couldn’t wait to get outside and hop on the toboggan.
Most likely your kids are the same. There’s nothing better than taking pictures of your kids when they’re actually having a great time.
So what if its cold. So what if its wet. So what if you have a runny nose.
Take advantage of the joy your kids all feel and that you maybe used to feel when you were a kid and there was fresh snow on the ground.
I remember sitting by the radio in the morning with my fingers crossed hoping they would read off the code that would get us out of school for the day.
I remember that once that number was announced we’d call everybody in the neighborhood and within an hour we’d be on the side of our house with sleds, disks and toboggans.
We’d stay outside way past the point of being cold. We would be frozen to the bone. We’d build a fire in the fireplace and sit as close as we could without burning ourselves.
As a kid, I loved everything about that. How weird is that?
As an adult, that doesn’t sound fun at all. Maybe thats because the last time I shot in the snow I was up in Whistler shooting on a lake and I fell through up to my thighs. That was the coldest I’ve ever been in my life.
Fortunately, my assistant helped pull me out and we were close to the house we were renting so I could get warmed up pretty quick.
So……..get your butt outside whether its snowing or not and shoot your kids.
Just stay off of the frozen lake.
© Tim Pannell Photography
I had so much fun shooting the fall colors in Utah 2 weeks ago, that I went back last week to get some more. The color was still incredible.
Cool crisp air, morning frost……orange, red and yellow tones.
A mother, a father, a child, giggling, laughing, running, jumping, playing………being.
I kept the same basic idea in mind this time around as I did the first week…….keep it simple.
© Tim Pannell Photography
Make sure the wardrobe you choose fits with the fall colors. Sweaters, caps, vests……..nice warmer tones.
Sticking to classic styles helps keep your photos from looking dated.
I found a couple of pretty trees and had my mommies (and daddy) just play with their kids.
More than anything else when I’m shooting families I want to capture their connection.
© Tim Pannell Photography
Photographs are about emotions, feelings, brief moments in time.
Capturing in an image what we all crave in our lives….real connections, ties and emotional bonds with those we love.
None of this is rocket science. A photograph doesn’t need to be complicated to be good……in fact, just the opposite.
Whenever in doubt, keep it simple.
