Category Archives: Children
Here is a lovely grouping for a 7′ foyer wall…
…and a 36″ x 24″ canvas of some cute kids!
Here’s a quick rendering of the Nelson’s extended family panorama, as printed on a 60 inch x 20 inch Canvas Gallery Wrap. Perfect fireplace complement, don’t you think? Because the completed image is a 250 megapixel panorama, we can achieve this size and still have razor-sharp details. Hooray!
On July 1, I was blessed to be invited out to Holland State Park by The Nelson Family to help document their family reunion. What a heartwarming experience to see so many families all honor their shared legacy by coming together on such a grand scale. This doesn’t happen without there being a real patriarch and matriarch at the head of the family. Well done, Paul & Ruthie!
Now on to the photography…
One of the big hopes for this session was to capture a massive full-family portrait out on the beach near Holland’s lighthouse. But there were some challenges to overcome:
40+ people. Babies, kids and oldies. Full-on sunshine. 90° temps and humidity. Yikes! How in the world do you manage this?
Don’t try this at home.
The typical solution for the mega group shot is to assemble the whole “marching band” into one big clump, try to squeeze in tight, hope not to obscure faces, and live with the fish-eye effect of a wide angle lens. Predictably, these group photos make for lousy wall art and keepsakes. The best you can do is hope that everybody’s eyes are open. Usually, the camera is so far away that you can barely tell anyway. If only there were a better way…
Panorama to the rescue!
Since this was such an important shot, I pulled out a favorite from my bag of tricks. The panorama below is a composite of 23 (!!!) separate exposures, stitched together to get an otherwise-impossible shot:
The resulting image is an amazing 250 megapixels in size (compared to 16 megapixels in a typical single exposure). In addition to a far better composition and the opportunity to select the best photos for each subject, we get a ton more detail. See for yourself in these magnified sections:
Conventional single exposure photo:
Panoramic composite:
Is planning and constructing a panoramic shot like this a lot of extra work? You bet. Is it worth the trouble? Absolutely!
The popular photo site, I Heart Faces is running an “Enjoying Life” photo contest for the month of July. Enjoy this playful and energetic shot of Payton and be sure to visit www.iheartfaces.com to see the rest of the wonderful entries!
Last weekend, I had another opportunity to photograph the adorable little girls from Dreamspun. Korrie (Dreamspun’s extraordinary queen bee) is absolutely incredible. If you get the chance, be sure to stop by her shop in downtown Ada, MI. And thanks to my four little models for being so much fun. You are a delight!
The popular photo site, I Heart Faces is running an “All Boy” photo contest for the month of June. Enjoy this playful and energetic shot of little Stephen and be sure to visit www.iheartfaces.com to see the rest of the wonderful entries!
The popular photo site, I Heart Faces is running a “Hey, Girl!” photo contest for the month of May. I can’t get enough of this beauty’s curls, so I had to share! Check out the rest of her playful session here and be sure to visit www.iheartfaces.com to see the rest of the wonderful entries!
It’s springtime, and the good folks over at Rock The Shot Forum have posted a “flower portrait” challenge for the month of May. How can I resist sharing a shot of my three lovelies playing in the early spring wildflowers? Check out the rest of their playful session here and be sure to visit www.rocktheshotforum.com to see the rest of the wonderful entries!
Last weekend, I had the delightful opportunity to photograph and absolutely adorable trio of little girls as part of a fashion session for the new spring clothing line from Dreamspun. Thank you so much to Korrie (Dreamspun’s extraordinary queen bee) for her spectacular clothes, accessories and on-the-fly styling help. And thanks to my new favorite little models for being so sweet on a cold Saturday morning in Grand Rapids. You all managed to convince me that we were having summer fun in the sun!