I filed this post under the "strictly business" category rather than the "kids and families" category because it's about making the sale. Parents buy images because they love their kids. They want to see clean, clear images of their cute, happy and smiling kids. So put away that tilt/shift lens.
Leave your 24mm at home.
Don't even think about using that fancy action you're so in love with - you know, the one that uses the high-pass filter and turns people orange.
Stop trying to put vacant, pouty facial expressions on them.
Don't tilt your camera. Don't cut off their heads at the neck like you sometimes do with your brides and grooms. Stop thinking "cool". Stop thinking "cutting edge". Start thinking "cute".
If you want to make good money on child portraiture, then take clean, clear images of happy kids. Even better, take pictures of siblings happy together. Parents are used to their kids fighting. A picture of their kids loving each other will bring tears to their eyes and have them reaching for their wallets. If you're not a parent yourself, then you probably don't understand this - but just trust me on it. To do this you've got to be engaging. Be fun. Be funny. Shoot fast. Capturing happy kids is much more important than having the perfect light or perfect background. Is there a market for blurry b&w images of the backs of kids' heads looking out the window taken with a 45mm tilt/shift? Yes, maybe one set of parents out of a thousand. If you want to target that market then be my guest. Let's review. telephoto lens + happy kids + clean processing = nice sale
Location Lighting 101 Workshop Seattle, WA January 23, 2010 one seat left LK Workshops |
