If you frequent this blog, you know that I am a shutterbug. I know, I know… You’re thinking: "gee whiz, what gives that away." My main subjects are my two daughters. (Again, I’m stating the obvious.) If you view their pictures here, it’s really easy to spot how different my 2 models really are in front of the camera.
Katelyn loves to be in front of the camera–always flashing a smile, even when she was a little
toddler. She’s a willing subject, posing for her shutterbug dad without asking. She is easily excitable. And she’s photogenic (well, her dad likes to think so), most of her shots come out great. It’s very easy to shoot Katelyn. She’s a pure joy to shoot.
Now that’s not to say Allison isn’t photogenic or a joy to shoot for me. But she’s 
different. She’s more shy of the two, the serious one. She’s still a bit uncomfortable in front of the camera. She’d pose or smile if I ask her to, but she does it in the most uncomfortable fashion. She’d always lean her head to one side and say "cheese"; and breaking a half-smile once in a while. That’s her pose and it’s her only pose. It’s become a habit too. Now everytime she sees a camera, she breaks into her ackward pose. It’s rather funny. A perfect example is pictured here. Note the contrast of the two poses, the smile on Katelyn and Allison’s signature head tilt?
So I learned to shoot Allison differently. Most of the good shots I got out of her when she isn’t posing. I try to shoot her when she isn’t aware of the camera. Natural shots suit her more. I call these "private shots" because I feel like I’m stealing her private moments with these kind of shots. Now if only she’d smile more frequently, because she usually looks serious in some of these "private" shots. Allison is also a joy to shoot, abeit in a different way.
My daughters provide me the motivation to learn photography. They’ll be my excuses for buying expensive equipments in the future when I become a better photographer. Now, if I can only coax my wife into a willing subject as well. 🙂
Haha, I actually prefer those private shots. I just became an uncle… is that a good enough excuse for me to buy more expensive toys, I mean tools? 😉
Dude, the beauty of not having any kids of your own is that you don’t need justifications like I do for your toys, I mean tools… 🙂
so you have to sneak shots of her when she’s not looking. I notice my niece, at the tender age of 5, has developed a ‘fake’ smile, in response to being asked to pose for all the moments of her life that her doting parents document (which being weekly, is overly frequent!). It’s rather sad, because you can totally tell it’s unnatural, compared to the photos that I’ve taken of her unawares while playing. her smile is more of a obedient response to a parental chore, rather than any indication of fun. (Her younger bro has taken to the Bart model, making funny faces when posing in front of the Xmas tree, etc!) Consequently, all the photos of her we put up on the fridge are the ones we take, like informal candids, because the ones her parents send ( i.e. studio portraits and birthdays) are just too ‘ugh’
Yup… the better shots of Allison are the ones when she is unaware of the camera. She’s definitely more natural that way.
hey sorry about making you take out the fancy editor!