Working with Kids

I've always had good luck with kids.

Some might argue that I never really grew up myself. That could be part of it. And I've been thinking more about this over the last few days while photographing teens.

I find it interesting that we, for some reason, often separate working with children as something different than our daily interactions with those our own age. But really, my approach is basically the same. Here are a few of the keys to working with kids.

- Ask intelligent questions. If you want a reasonable response, talk straight. You wouldn't think twice about asking an adult how their day is going. Why would it be any different with a teen?

- Watch body language. If you're not hitting the mark, you can read it in their reactions. Try something else.

- Find a common ground. For boys it's often sports. For girls it may be what they're wearing. But it can be the other way around too.

- Don't talk too much. I think kids think adults go on and on about stuff. They're probably right.

And most importantly, show respect for them as a person.

I don't like all kids. I don't like all adults either. But when I approach people openly, I more often like them than not.

I find all of this helpful when it's time to photograph a teen.

But come to think of it... it works with just about anyone.

-Derrick

Day in the Park

We'll be filming outside today in Julliard Park, Santa Rosa, CA.

Based on the yearbooks I've been looking at, many high school students prefer an outdoor setting for their senior portraits. And today's segments will be on how to get great shots outside with minimum fuss.

Personally, I like to work with just reflectors and diffusers, avoiding flash if possible. But you need extra hands to manage those reflectors, so you have to be prepared for flash if necessary. That's why I'll talk about both approaches.

I'm really enjoying working with teenagers on this project. I knew it would be a bit of a wildcard, but so far the decision has really paid off. 

It's one thing to have me talking in front of the camera. It's another to have these spontaneous interactions with students. We're not really sure what's going to happen. We roll the cameras and roll the dice at the same time.

So far... we're cashing in.

-Derrick

Day 2 of Shooting Senior Portraits

We had a day off from shooting yesterday, and today we're back at it.

The focus of our work today is interior portraiture. I'm going to show how to set up a portable studio in just about any space... as long as you have 10-12 feet in both directions.

Then we're going to photograph two high school students. For them, this will be an actual senior portrait shoot. The difference of course, is that there will be a film crew there capturing it all.

One of the segments that I'm looking forward to is where I sit down with the young man, his name is Zach, and we talk about this whole process. I'm going to say things like, "As a photographer, here's what I'm thinking as we start this photo shoot. What kind of things are going through your head?"

I don't know what Zach is going to say. And chances are good that his responses might be different than what I, or the viewing audience, anticipates. And that's why I'm looking forward to that segment.

After we're done filming today, I'm going to take the kids to the Warriors game tonight. They play the Nets, and it should be a good game.

Yeah, it's going to be a long day. And we're filming tomorrow too.

I'll catch up on my sleep next week.

-Derrick

First Day of Filming

The film crew will be here shortly.

We're recording a new title for lynda.com that features techniques for photographing high school senior portraits. I'm going to cover equipment, posing, lighting, and even the business angles.

What's fun about this title for me, is that we're filming in Sonoma County. So you'll see shots of my studio and some of my favorite locations for portraiture. It also means I get to go home after a long day of work.

We'll begin today by sitting around the conference table in the studio and going over the storyboard. We'll discuss the different scenes and how we want to approach them. The producer will make notes, and together we'll craft the best title possible.

Then, in the afternoon, we begin shooting. The first few scenes are always the toughest for me. After that, I'm in the flow and it all becomes very natural. 

I'll keep you posted and publish some behind the scenes stuff on Instagram and Facebook.

But right now, I better go get my voice in shape...

-Derrick

The Lost Years

It's almost like my photography history didn't begin until 2005.

All the available pictures that I have are from that year or later. Those are the images on hard drives in the studio, organized neatly in iPhoto and Aperture libraries.

If I want to pull a photo from the Beijing Olympics in 2008, no problem. But if I want to use a landscape from Scotland in 1992, that ain't so easy.

Why?

Well, I shot the Scotland trip with Contax cameras and slide film. The images are tucked away in archival sleeves, organized in 3-ring binders. It's actually a model of efficiency... for 1992.

Over the years I have experimented with digitizing slides a variety of ways. I have mounted slide duplicators on to DSLRs, invested in cheap standalone units, and sent my work off to India for scanning there.

None of these really hit the mark.

It's funny that the solution that finally stuck involves a favorite Micro Four Thirds camera, my iPhone, and a 1990's slide projector. (Nimble goes archival!) This trio provides the right combination of fun, ease, and quality. I actually like digitizing my slides now. It's become a great break for me when I want to step away from the computer.

You can read about this combo in the article, DIY Slide Digitizer with Olympus OM-D and Leica Projector. I also take more about it on this week's podcast.

My lost years were from 1968 to 2004. I feel like I just got a big piece of my life back.

I'm looking forward to sharing some of those images with you.

-Derrick