the one with the Cannon Family in Kingsgate

My friend, Carri lives in Kingsgate.  In fact, she's a block from this family.  I've walked past this house before, I think.  We used to walk together in the mornings back in July.  

I try and learn something with every session I photograph.  In this case, time and lighting were working against me.  But I know a big time, magazine journalists, they don't have the luxury of scheduling a client when they get a project.  They just have a deadline and the client typically only gives them a few minutes of their time.  

When I contacted this family, a good time with busy families is Sunday afternoon.  Not the BEST time of day for lighting, but the photographs still need to be made and the deadline still needs to be met.  So, I made it work.  You look for the open shade, the clean backgrounds, the space for everyone to connect and be together.  

This family had a great backyard and a super cute new addition, the puppy you see above. 

The photograph above is a cute moment between the family . One of those where I said, "Pick your favorite family member and laugh at them".  It cracked me up that each and everyone looked at the youngest.  He must be quite a charachter!  LOL.   But the lighting?  It's not even.  There's a brighter side to the photo and it's shining on mom's face.  

So I moved them into the yard and put them in the shade of a tree.  Now the lighting is even and despite a few branches, with the right depth of field, I can make a pleasing photograph.  

I still have some light coming through the trees causing a few issues, but for the most part?  Nice photo.

A part of this "resident neighbor" part is putting a face to a home.  The goal is to help you get familiar with your neighbors and form a bond in your community.  I like to take the family on their front porch for several reasons.  One, like I mentioned, it puts a face to the neirborhood, or home you may recognize, plus, for families with kids, years from now, they will love seeing the home where they gre up.  I do the same thing with my childhood photos.  I look for things I recognize.  Carpet, trees, cars parked in driveways, etc.  Anything to job a memory and help me remember that time.  I love that about still images!

It's also important to photograph Mom + Dad alone but together.  I love having photos of my parents, and I know they will appreciate it as well.

I needed their session with a quick hug on the driveway.  I did this for a couple of reasons.  It got them close and in better lighting then the front porch.  The driveway is a natural reflector and I had more space to pull back with a long lens and add a pretty depth of field to the image.  LOVE this series with them!

If you live in the Kingsgate area, contact me and we can make pretty photos of your driveway and front porch.  LOL. 

Love does,
Kristin