These images are from Tammy’s session with the Van Heyn family, and it opens pleasantly with Ms. Van Heyn posing with the twins. Since all of one son’s previous pictures had shown him in his wheelchair, his mother asked for a session without it. A specialized wheelchair with larger tires that would not get stuck in the sand was essential for getting the son down to the water. Tammy had just received a chaise lounge for her studio and decided its first use would be on location. Tammy’s son helped carry it down to the beach.
Canon EOS 30D with 24–70mm f/2.8L lens. Exposure: 1/200 second at f/11 and ISO 320. Fill light from 580EX II flash.
Mom and her sons sat on the lounge planted in the sand adjacent to the pier, a location Tammy feels delights numerous clients. The twins and mom sat together enjoying surf sounds. Tammy recalls they placed flip-flops under the lounge legs to keep them from sinking into the sand up to the upholstery.
Tammy says she rarely draws an audience while she’s conducting a photo session, but numerous strangers stopped to take photos of her and her subjects. When they moved the chaise lounge under the pier, spectators followed.
Tammy made the most of the session environment and the visual interest the location offered.
In both photos the subjects are the same, but the pier has two distinct personalities. In the first image, the dark wooden supports seem to encompass the family, creating a dramatic feeling. In the second image, the pier delineates the top third of the image and has a softer, more graceful feeling, falling out of focus as it trails away from the subjects. By changing her compositions, Tammy made the most of the session environment and the visual interest the location offered.
These images were shot on an overcast day. The sun was at camera left and was diffused by cloud cover. On-camera flash from Tammy’s Canon 580EX II added fill and improved the lighting on the subjects.
Canon EOS 30D with 24–70mm f/2.8L lens. Exposure: 1/250 second at f/11 and ISO 320. Fill light from 580 EX II flash.