One day I innocently asked a 3-year-old what she wanted to be when she grew up. Her reply of “I want to be an entomologist” sent me running for a dictionary to learn the definition of this twelve-letter-word. Since that day, 3-and-4-year-olds have absolutely been my favourite childhood age group to hang out with. They have legions of character, they can talk a million words per second, and they know things about this world—or more aptly—they know everything there is to know about this world.
So it was my delight to discover that a member of my most recent family portrait shoot was a freshly minted 4-year-old. While the adults were busy cooking in the kitchen, she dragged me to her bookcase and read me a section of her favourite book. We pulled out her collection of My Little Pony and I was told every highlight of this fantastical world. It turns out she has a camera too, so I took pictures of her taking pictures of me taking pictures. My favourite moment of the day came when she suddenly said, “I took a picture of a ghost”. Unbelievably curious, I asked her to show me the photo. Sure enough, by capturing a shot of her knee covered in white stocking, it appeared as though she had taken a photo of a ghost! This 4-year-old had mastered the art of abstract photography, and it blew my mind!
Every photo shoot with a large group of people requires a little set up and posing to make sure that everyone is visible to the lens and simultaneously looking at the camera. But by hanging out with this family over the course of several hours in the home of one member of the family, I was also able to capture some natural shots of people talking, of a gargantuan bear hug from grandma, and of the kids playing in the backyard with a miniature toy horse. As usual, my aim was to capture the balance between the posed and the casual.
Tech Specs
Location: Toronto, ON
Date: October 18, 2015
Equipment: Canon 5diii, Canon 24-105mm, Canon 35mm, Canon 85mm
Up Next
Next week I share a couples photography session with Peter and Asha.
This Life by Selena Photography blog post about family photography was produced by Montreal photographer Selena Phillips-Boyle. The Biziaev family was photographed in Edmonton. Selena often travels to Edmonton for photographic projects and accepts commissions worldwide. You can see more of Selena's family photography by heading over to this Montreal family photo session with the Duffin-Neuman family or this Toronto family photo session. This post was edited by Montreal communications professional Max Baru.
Cet article de blogue sur la photographie de famille Life by Selena était produit par Selena Phillips-Boyle, photographe montréalaise. Les photos de la famille Biziaev était pris en Edmonton. Selena voyage souvent à Edmonton pour des projets photographiques et elle accepte des contrats dans le monde entier. Cet article de blogue fut révisé par Max Baru, spécialiste de communication à Montréal.