I did not have this shoot planned. I was out taking pictures of sea shells at my local lake for book covers yesterday afternoon. I have been to this lake a million times, but because of the time of year I was able to see this little spot that was so perfect for photos. Usually it must be overgrown with bushes and not visible.
I decided to bring my kids there after dinner for a shoot. My youngest daughter is 7 and LOVES Kin Fables. If you don't know what that is stop reading this dinky little post and youtube it. AMAZING! So she was interested in doing something with that sort of aesthetic. I put my new favorite wig on her, I think she resembles the character Aisling from The Secret of Kells with it on.
especially in this final edit from my previous post: https://steemit.com/photography/@wildempress/how-to-add-wind-blown-hair
Working with a 7 year old can be fun and challenging. Granted my kids have had a camera in their face since they were born so they are comfortable in front of the camera. If you haven't worked with kids before, I highly suggest you try it at least once.
A lot of the poses and ideas are her own. Once she is inspired she basically gets into character and starts playing pretend. I am just there to capture it.
I really love these images, but it's more than that because they are my kids. We experience this together. My youngest is photographed here, but son was helping out as a sort of assistant, and my oldest daughter was modeling in other photos at the same time...the aesthetic was a bit different so I am keeping them separate. We experience this together as a family. I am not just taking pictures, I am making their childhood memories. I always say I hope my kids like their childhood, because I take so many pictures they will not be able to forget it.
I wish I could have done this when I was 7! I remember being a kid and playing pretend, this is what it was like in my head! Now I make it real with photoshop!
The goose and the bunny are Photoshopped in. I don't work with animals. I will take pictures of them in the wild and use them in composite but a shoot trying to wrangle children and animals sounds like a nightmare to me.
