Vision Photos » candid

Three ways to take better photos of kids… immediately.

admin — Tue, 03 May 2011 16:00:10 +0000

I take a lot of photos of kids and families. When you have milestones and events to celebrate, you’ll likely want an experienced professional photographer to document the event. That’s what Vision Photos is for. But what about daily life? Everyone still loves to take snapshots of the cool stuff kids get into; they grow up so fast, you practically need photographs to remember last week!

I field a lot of questions from people always wanting to know how they can get better photos with their point-and-shoot cameras in everyday situations. Here are three things I’ve found myself telling people over and over. To illustrate, I’ve included some recent images from our portrait sessions in Charlotte, NC.
(All images are © Kilby/VisionPhotos.com)

1. Use your flash.

Modern cameras are capable of adjusting flash output to keep from overexposing your image. I’ve found that using fill flash in snapshots is crucial… even in daylight situations. Fill flash eliminates harsh shadows, and underexposed faces that you’ll often get when taking pictures outside. Set the flash on your camera to “On”, not “Auto”. Then experiment with a combination of photographs with and without flash and in frontlit and backlit situations. It won’t take long to figure out how your camera interprets scenes, and how you can take better pictures.

2. Fill frame with subject.

Most of the time the reason you’re shooting photos of your kids is to see your kids. So fill the camera’s viewfinder with an adorable face or two, and your snapshots will become dynamic, emotional images. Take a look at the “Pink Hoodie” photo below, and imagine how much LESS of an impact those beautiful eyes would have if they were far away.

3. Don’t force pose.

Take photos while kids are playing or doing something they love. On shoots that we book, we love to let kids be kids. We try to incorporate toys, hobbies and playgrounds so that kids won’t feel like they’re being forced into something lame. Take advantage of the energy and excitement that naturally buzzes around children to create meaningful images. You’ll find photos of pure joy much more enjoyable to look at than pictures of sad and stiff little tikes being forced to sit still.

A year already?

admin — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 02:17:12 +0000

My friends Jake and Nicole have given me the opportunity to follow their journey into parenthood. I initially photographed the couple during Nicole’s pregnancy. Later, I photographed baby Wes *very* soon after he was born and then again at 6 months. No matter how many kids and families I get to shoot photos with, I am always – ALWAYS – amazed at how quickly children grow up. I can’t believe I just shot one year old portraits for my little buddy, Wes. Happy birthday, little man! And thank you to “The Jakes” for letting me have a part in your adventure.

Celebrating one year!

Finally got a grin from the serious fella.

Location Portraits in Baxter Village, Fort Mill

admin — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 01:55:53 +0000

Left and Right Coast

We took advantage of ridiculously awesome fall weather here in the Charlotte area, and set up another outdoor photo session. This is one of many we’ve booked this fall. Two sisters separated by just about every mile across this country got together for a visit, and requested this photoshoot to document the occasion. It is so awesome to be able to capture moments like these in peoples’ lives.

[Show as slideshow]

OBX Family Portrait Outtakes

admin — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:12:36 +0000

Here’s an outtake image from a shoot last week in the Outer Banks. We were in the middle of a portrait session in Nags Head, and had to take advantage of a little shade to touch up some makeup. Doesn’t matter if the photographer gets all grimy during a shoot, but we have to keep the models cool and clean!

Touching up makeup during a family portrait session in Nags Head, NC

Downtown Mooresville Fashion Shoot

admin — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 13:48:01 +0000

I got together with a couple other photographer friends and models for a fashion style shoot in downtown Mooresville. We just wanted to test out some equipment, and see what we could find in terms of interesting settings around town. Turns out, Mooresville offers a lot of good locations for photos. Here is a sneak peek of 1 of the images… I’ll get more posted when I get some time to edit.

Classic Jeans

Andrews Family Portraits

admin — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:23:00 +0000

Beautiful family and awesome friends at Kure Beach, NC.

Engagement Portrait at Sky Meadow, Va.

admin — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:04:00 +0000

We had great weather for a shoot last weekend in Virginia. The clouds were amazing, and added so much good depth to the landscape I tried to work them into a bunch of the shots. Even though it was turning summer, there were a few blooms left for shooting around as well. These shots pretty much came out of the camera like this. I wanted to keep this shoot clean and simple. Sky Meadow is a great place to shoot! I’ll post some more from this venue some time.

Dance Floor Moments

admin — Thu, 07 May 2009 01:51:00 +0000

Shooting a high school spring formal last week I got a couple GREAT moments on the dance floor. It’s well known that when people aren’t paying attention to the camera the photographer captures real personality. I like these. They’re natural, playful and innocent moments between partners. I shot these with a Nikon D300 and a Nikkor 17-35mm f2.8 lens.

Nate & Emilee

admin — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:37:00 +0000

Nate and Emilee wanted to take advantage of one of the best fall days this year, and get some portraits. We shot photos all around Fort Mill, SC, and the 2 of them made for some beautiful images. I like coming away with shots like this that show some interaction between people. Shooting with a small, portable camera kit is key. I need to be able to move quickly and shoot from the hip without worrying about tripping on light stands, or moving reflectors around. For this shoot I used the D1x, a shoe mounted SB28dx with a Lumiquest soft box and a broken Nikkor 18-70mm DX lens.