I moved across the country a year ago and am starting business from scratch. I didn't know a soul when I moved here and am only a part-time, seasonal photographer anyway, so that makes it harder. In the meantime, I had a great time getting some portraits for family members at a reunion. These were not the most planned out sessions, and the weather was brutal, but I'm pretty happy that a few came together nicely.
1.) My sister and her husband. They can't have children and adopted a little girl (you can see her under thread, "4-year-old"< and they hope to adopt another ASAP and are hoping that someone is looking for great parents like them.:
2.) My sister and her girls.
3.)
4.)
5.) You can see more of this girl in the People section under my thread, "Snake Charmer."
6.) This is my brother's family. He and his wife have had two children together. One has Down's Syndrome (T-18) and the other has Edward's Syndrome (T-21.) Edward's is much more life-threatening, but their baby is doing remarkably well and I even got some shots of her smiling (which isn't easy to do.) Just lucky. I am so proud of how these parents, not only chose life for their children, but have showered them with love and the best care they could ever hope to receive. They thrive as a result and are huge blessings to the whole family who adores them both.
These are really nice, Kristin! My faves from this set are 2-4.
Greg, Greg ,Greg. The definition of insanity goes something like you keep doing the same thing but expecting different results. In that regard, I think your obsession with Kristin (and others, like myself) photographing people not smiling with open mouths is a little bit insane. Or a lot. Kristin isn't going to suddenly change the way she manages her subjects because "you" think it's "your" (not "ours") job to make them smile with an open mouth showing their putrid, yellow, rotting teeth (or what's left of them). Okay, I joke about that. None of Kristin's subjects have rotting teeth.
But seriously, when are you going to come to terms with the idea that some of us don't like to shoot the open-mouthed smiles. A lot of times, Kristin's subjects dont' even smile!!! And they look amazing that way.
So... hopefully, this doesn't hijack the thread and take away from the commentary on Kristin's beautiful shots here, but had to say something.
Haha, didn't even bother to see who the OP was, but now it all makes sense. I only comment on what I see. The daughters look pretty in this set with closed mouth smiles, but the mom looks the most forced, I guess. When I see *no* pictures of teeth in a series of photos of the same subject, it is all the more glaring. I am guessing that the daughters have beautiful (teeth) smiles - shame none are shown here.
I just call 'em like I see them, whether the OP applies the suggestion is (obviously) totally up to them.
This set isn't nearly as awkward as some of her others, but as I scrolled down thru the images, my skin crawled just a little bit (again, a pet peeve of mine, so it stands out like a sore thumb).
And, yes, I firmly believe that it is up to us to bring out the bright natural smiles of our subjects. One of my biggest thrills is getting a picture of a kid that "doesn't ever smile for photos" with a huge, natural smile. The parents are always SO thankful.
Thanks, everyone! As per the smiling. Yes, bigger, toothier smiles are often desired by parents, but I find that to mostly true of younger children. Teens are NOT as interested and neither are adults. None of that bothers me. You see their natural face when they are not smiling big, yet their expression is usually pleasant (though I like moody ones as well.) I think that people shy away from big smiles because it's not our favorite look for ourselves. I know I don't want any of me that way. (I also have to say that these are the photos that that clients choose most of the time.)
Saying that, there are definitely people in this series who are smiling bigger and showing teeth.
I think as we age, perhaps we are a little bit more self-conscious about our teeth, and like the more reserved look
Beautiful mother and daughters.
Hopefully you got a few more of the baby looking at the camera.
KristinSmall wrote:
Thanks, everyone! As per the smiling. Yes, bigger, toothier smiles are often desired by parents, but I find that to mostly true of younger children. Teens are NOT as interested and neither are adults. None of that bothers me. You see their natural face when they are not smiling big, yet their expression is usually pleasant (though I like moody ones as well.) I think that people shy away from big smiles because it's not our favorite look for ourselves. I know I don't want any of me that way. (I also have to say that these are the photos that that clients choose most of the time.)
Saying that, there are definitely people in this series who are smiling bigger and showing teeth.
I do appreciate the feedback! Thanks, everyone. ...Show more →
I look at every post of yours Kristen as I feel your work reflects your subjects personalities very well. I recall one of your daughter where you even commented she doesn't smile much and you were happy to get one of her smiling. I often assist my daughter who is a lifestyle photographer and her approach is to go with what the people give her. She will ask for smiles but goes with the flow. I did a wedding with her and asked for the Groom's brothers and father to smile and was told "we are not a family that smiles." I said "I have candy" and when they all cracked up I fired off several that everyone liked. Friscoron said it all above.
mullysr wrote:
I look at every post of yours Kristen as I feel your work reflects your subjects personalities very well. I recall one of your daughter where you even commented she doesn't smile much and you were happy to get one of her smiling. I often assist my daughter who is a lifestyle photographer and her approach is to go with what the people give her. She will ask for smiles but goes with the flow. I did a wedding with her and asked for the Groom's brothers and father to smile and was told "we are not a family that smiles." I said "I have candy" and when they all cracked up I fired off several that everyone liked. Friscoron said it all above. ...Show more →
I appreciate your comments so much! Thank you. I do like photos with smiling faces (as most of these are,) but not everyone wants to show their teeth -- especially teen girls and women. It's pretty consistent, though sometimes I get a big smiler (like the mom in the last family shot.) But, yes, sometimes I love a sober look to a photo that is more moody in nature. Teens, especially, go for that. But I have to make sure I get a lot of big smiles with younger kids for the parents, who prefer that. I try little tricks, too. The mom of a 4-year-old very much wanted big smiles in the photos and the little girl WOULD NOT give them to me -- until I finally figured to say, "Now, whatever you do -- DON'T SMILE." I was fake-stern and, of course, she gave me the biggest grins after that.
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adittam wrote:
Great work (as usual), Kristin. I especially love #3.
Thank you! That is probably my favorite, too. Love the connection there.
and they hope to adopt another ASAP and are hoping that someone is looking for great parents like them.:
