just kids

1. DSC_0505, 2. “As happens sometimes, a moment settled and hovered and remained for much more than a moment. And sound stopped and movement stopped for much, much more than a moment.”, 3. upside down, 4. Day 345 of 365, 5. Just For Fun, 6. untitled-1028-2

This is a small selection of gorgeous kids shots from our Shutter Sisters Flickr Pool. Beautiful images that let little ones reveal themselves with an overwhelming sense of authenticity and truth, and remind us to be mindfully present and playful, always.

Today capture the silly, the cute and messy, the innocent and hilarious of childhood, and share your photos with us in the comment section below.

ps: The April session of the Simple Soulful Photography workshop starts next week April 4th! Join me and featured guests including Marianne Elliott, Karen Walrond and Amanda Gilligan for the four-week online course and explore the connection between creativity and self-care, learn basics but essential techniques on composition and lighting, and embrace, cultivate and express your most authentic self in a supportive community.

Get Closer

One of my favorite documentary photographers, Robert Capa, once said "If your pictures aren't good enough, you aren't close enough." It's true. And it's not just about the positioning of your feet or your lens. It's about tightening the distance of your relationship with your subject. The best way to improve your documentary photography skills with people is to focus first (and frequently) on the people closest to you. Watch them move. Study their gestures. Get comfortable creeping in close with a wide angle lens. Be silent. Move your body to craft the composition without disrupting your subject. Wait. Remain alert. Working in this way will teach you how to anticipate action and be quick with your click.

Sequence of Steps Before the Click: I propped my elbows on the bed and used my Nikon D3s with a 24-70mm f/2.8 lens on it's widest 24mm setting and set the aperture to f/4.5 to let in a fair amount of light while retaining enough detail for elements in the field. I fired an external mount flash (Nikon SB900) tilted behind me at a 45 degree angle (and slightly off to the left) to soften the light. To capture the best quality image, I make every effort to shoot on the lowest possible ISO setting (200 in this case). After making an initial image or two with my f/4.5 aperture setting (with the default shutter speed designated by aperture priority mode), I moved to full manual mode and adjusted my shutter speed a bit to compensate for light. This image is one of 33 shot in that sequence. I knew, at some point, she'd lean in close.

My Home

We're thrilled to welcome today's guest post from 16-year-old Suzanna Hodges, budding photographer and niece of Shutter Sister Stephanie Roberts.

Hand-me-down cheerleading uniforms from the nineties craftily adjusted with safety pins. Late night milkshake runs and relished school night sleepovers. Playing online solitaire on outdated computers in Technology class. Rubbery chicken nuggets and soggy french fries. A reserved table at Waffle House where hot chocolate and raisin toast are passed from person to person. Sitting on the roof with my three best friends and sharing our biggest secrets and dreams about the future. Dissecting frogs in Chemistry and gossip sessions in the girls' bathroom about the cute new basketball coach. Packing a car full of girls in a vehicle driven by a newly licensed driver heading to celebrate. Being in a class full of the people you finger-painted with, the people you solved long division with, and the people with whom you will graduate.

I am a high school student who has anticipated leaving the mold of my small town since seventh grade. I’m just a girl who has dreamt of finally meeting new friends.  A girl who is tired of the close-minded views and too conservative values of my southern town. I am the girl who has always been a little different from the rest of my classmates who plan to attend a close-to-home college and come right back home when they are finished. I’m the girl who gets crazy looks from my peers when I share my love for the city, my dreams of traveling, or my tolerance for certain practices or beliefs. I’m the strange girl who loves to write and take pictures – expressing my angst of growing up and capturing the essence of the life around me.

But I am also a high school student who is beginning to realize that the longing I have had since early adolescence is slowly being replaced by dread. Dread of leaving my Mama's reassuring arms and my Daddy's protective gaze. Dread of stepping outside my sheltered neighborhood and the tendencies of leaving back doors unlocked and windows cracked open. Dread of never again walking down the halls of the school that has guided me through every year of my life since kindergarten. Dread of leaving the overshadowed charm, class, and hospitality of a town I truly love. Dread of never seeing some of my twenty-six classmates after they don their caps and gowns and head out on their own paths into the future. Dread that is making me realize some of the same factors that push me to leave so badly are the same ones that call me to come right back home.

High school... sometimes it's all I can do to stop myself from packing my bags and leaving everything behind me. But whether I like to admit it or not, high school and my life here are a very big part of who I am. A part of me that I love with all my heart…

a part of me that will always be home.

* * *

Do you have a young Shutter Sister in your life? Please introduce them to us in the comments so we can get a glimpse of life through their eyes and embrace them in our sisterhood.

the world through a child’s eye

I had the pleasure of a photo walk with my eldest son at the weekend, just us, as the sun was getting ready to dip behind the trees.

He lead us around the familiar setting of our local park, I wanted to give him the freedom to explore and let him be creative.

As followed him, I watched as he photographed items familiar to us both, even things I had photographed before. He was seeing them differently, through fresh eyes, it wasn’t the “same” or “boring”, just because he’d seen it many times before. Looking through the lens excited him and seeing his composition or framing of a familiar site, was thrilling to him.

I don’t think you have to have children, to know that the way they see the world is different. Everything is new to them, they have fresh perspective and a different view point.

Take a chance today, open your eyes and play with your camera, try spotting and noticing different view of the world, even in a familiar place. I'd love to see your world through "a child’s eye". 

my best friend from kindergarden

"She's the one I call to whine about the extra fat around my waist, update my portfolio, or when I am faced with the decision of whether or not to let my boys meet my long estranged father. The one I've been through puberty, hair disasters, and the breastmilk vs. formula debate with. After nearly 30 years she's still the one I like to embarrass in public places, disagree with on many things yet very few important matters, and whose couch I love to fall asleep in.

She's my running partner, the wind beneath my wings, my best friend from kindergarten."

Today, show us the ones who wholeheartedly laugh at your silly jokes, always give a hand, and listen quietly. The ones who "get" you, shake their heads in disagreement, let you borrow shoes and faith, love you for who you are and somehow make you a better person. Today, share with us images of your friends.

----

And remember, submit your best Daddy shots before midnight PST over in our OWP Flickr pool and on this post for a chance to win a canvas from Hello Canvas. And Happy Father's Day!