For the image on the facing page, my lighting was designed to feature the little boy, showing off his dramatic eyes. Placing Mom in the shadows as a prop gave this image a feeling of intimacy.
Posing
Because he was very active and moved around a lot, I wanted his feet off the floor. Therefore, I posed him standing on a chair and leaned Mom into him to create a connection. I instructed Mom to wait for when he paused for a moment, then to lean in and let her cheek touch his head, keeping her eyes down because she would be a part of the background.
Long Lens, High Angle
I use a long lens because of what it does for the perspective. However, it is hard to connect with young children because of the distance between us. For this image, I had an assistant close to the child, out of camera range, chatting with him and keeping him in one spot. My assistant distracted him from what was happening, engaged his mind, and evoked real expressions.
Since this portrait was about his big, beautiful eyes, I worked from a high camera angle and had my assistant stand. With the child’s head tipped down just a little bit, he had to look up to see my assistant and I was able to capture those beautiful eyes. Aside from slight adjustments with my lights, at this point I was watching for those magic moments to happen.
Additional images from the same session.
Lighting and Cropping
Cropping Mom’s head off at the top and left side keeps the viewer in the image. Using my lighting, I guided the viewer’s eyes exactly where I wanted them to look. The light on the boy’s face says, “Here is the subject.” As a photographer, lighting is one of the fundamental tools that makes my art speak.
Safety First
Whenever I have a child standing on a chair, I have a parent with right there for security. The parent will be holding onto the child’s waist (or another part of their body), just out of view of the camera. Having them up off the ground allows me to work within a very confined area, but I want to make sure the child does not fall.