Light Walk

In Austin there are several groups I belong to as a professional photographer that are very helpful and encouraging and help me to build my skills and keep them current and fresh. Last night I attended the monthly meeting of the Professional Photographers of Austin, or APPA, where we heard from an awesome photographer – Shelby Lane. She is based in Victoria and specializes in babies and children and she talked about her business journey of the past 8-9 years. I love hearing how other photographers approach the business; it’s something that I can never learn enough about it seems. From my perspective she is a very down to earth teacher, giving what amounts to simple clues that can help anyone willing to listen to hard-learned lessons. I learned a lot! This talk was particularly good for me since I have always loved children and creating portraits to celebrate their lives is something that I have a passion for.

Shelby covered the obligatory “here’s the way I work with kids and here’s the equipment I use” stuff but what was most useful was her experience trying different approaches to build life-long relationships with her clients. I love photography precisely because I can have meaningful friendships and connections with real people and can make something with them that they cherish. A couple of things I walked away with in my pocket:

• A lot happens in a child’s first year of life, so an overall plan to capture key milestones during that year is an awesome way remember those changes and provide a wonderful set of memories to the family.
• Very early on in a child’s life (<1 month) is really the best time to successfully photograph them sleeping.
• Expressions are everything with a baby; when he or she is learning them (around 3-4 months old is when it tends to start) is the most fun time to create portraits focused on expression because this is what everyone in the family has been longing for!
• Older babies (12 months) are great for movement and more actual posing since the child can sit and stand and walk and move about.

I plan to bring some of these things into my business practices over the coming months.