One of the things that I have gotten away from on this blog is to talk about why I like the images that I post up here. This is the second post from day two of our Cherry Blossom Mini Sessions, which were held on Sunday down at the Tidal Basin. It rained/drizzled/ (in guatemala, they call drizzle chipi-chipi – which i think is a much better word, but i digress) misted and was plain old cloudy and cold all morning. I got to the basin around 7am, and home around 11am. After warming up and drying off, I went outside, and it was 60 degrees and brilliantly sunny. Go figure.

So back to the pictures. I love this picture because of the rain drops on the cherry blossoms, and the fading off Jefferson Memorial in the background. The light on the subjects faces is stronger than that of their bodies, so that draws my eye right to them, which is where I want it to be. And on a personal note, I love the way dad is holding son. There is a similar picture of my dad holding my sister that hangs on our wall, and I have always just felt a sense of safety seeing his big hand support her tiny little legs.

This next photo is a quiet moment. Kids have a stong response to the camera. They either ham it up, or quiet down. But it takes a long time for them to be themselves. In this shot, she doesn’t know I’m there, and is probably patiently waiting for me to get my act together and get this thing over with. Thankfully, in this shot my flash didn’t go off, so it’s just the soft light (very soft, with 17 miles of thick clouds above) reflecting off of the water that is lighting her. By the way, she was working here for a Cinderella pez dispenser. Clearly, she drives a hard bargain.

I just like this portrait. Here skin is soft and delicate, balanced by the shallow depth of field. And those pretty eyes just pop out.
On to the next family, Savanna and her big brother. This picture I love because it is an everyday moment at the Tidal Basin. Feeding the ducks. But the proportion of the large trees, framing dad and son gives it a sense of solitude and timelessness. I can hear it … in 15 years, as he is graduating high school…looking at this picture and saying “remember when we lived in DC? look how tiny I was?!” The other thing that makes this image successful, in my eyes, is the sharp texture of the blossoms. The detail in the natural elements is so prevalent because the day was so overcast.

Savanna and Mom engrossed with each other and surrounded with Cherry Blossoms. I love the soft rim light on Savanna’s forehead.

Sweetie Savanna – with a classic vignette. Not for everyone, but for an almost Victorian image as this one, I thought it was called for.

And this series was just so cute that I thought it needed something to contain it. So I built this template for the pictures. If any parents out there like it, let me know and we can customize something for your images. I didn’t think that any one of these images could stand on their own, but in a series, it seems to me to capture thier relationship. It is remarkable how different these images look with the bright red/orange hair, blue jackets and pink blossoms as the dominant colors. A totally different look then our linen-clad kiddos. Oh, and I know that these are Big Boys – but the pink border on this little frame was the only way to go 🙂

I’m really looking forward to this weekend – I have two more mini-sessions, in which I’ll have the assistance of a great local shooter, Cory Brodinski. But before that I have a full family session at the Tidal Basin, and some pre-Batmitzva portraits. Sandwiched somewhere in between I am also shooting a Batmitzva party out in Bethesda. A full weekend for sure. So stay tuned.
more to come…
-sv

Thanks to the rains yesterday, we had gorgeous morning light for our first Mini Session this morning! Such fun and adventurous personalities showed up and shone for the camera. Family photography is a blast for me because every shoot is different from the next. As I was saying in an earlier post, portraits are about people and great light. As you can see below, although each family was only photographed for 20 minutes, and in the exact same spot as the next, the results could not be more distinct. That’s because of changing light, and changing personalities.

Lydia as the sun is coming higher – 8:30am

Ari at 9 am

Shannon and Justin at 9:30

Adriana and Nicolas at 9:50

Sam at 10:10

and John and Maggie at 10:30

Thanks to all the families who came out today, and for being so flexible with a flooded riverbank and muddy grass. It was a ton of fun regardless! I’m really looking forward to our next Mini Session on Sunday…stay tuned.
-sv