Friday Featured Fotos - Shy

Shy – May 2018

Welcome to the first installment of new weekly series that we are dubbing, “Friday Featured Fotos”. This is series dedicated to some of our personal favorite photos and the background stories that lead to their capture.

The young lady in the photo above is the daughter of one of my best friends. I thought, this is going to be great – your dad and I have been friends for 30+ years, you’re going to naturally love me and want me to take your picture!!!

Well… (Play Music – Wah, Wah) this little shy beauty had other plans on how our day would go!

Step #1 – Go and get my gear to try and wow her with the cool camera and lenses

• Result: Not impressed . I mean really NOT impressed. On the verge of tears.

Step #2 – TACTIC CHANGE! Give the camera to her father to take a picture while I leave the room.

• Result: Lots of photos taken – pictures look great – she is smiling.

Step #3 – Take the camera back and prepare to shoot, now that she knows its okay because her dad just took a couple pics.

• Result: Not impressed by the camera or the goofy photographer but ok with taking a few shots

Step #4 – Take photos of her baby brother to show her it’s fun and okay !

• Result: I finally got her to look at me, but it was the “What in the heck do you think you are doing” look that my wife gives our kids. Based on my experience with that look, I immediately put the camera down - time to take a different approach.

Step #5 – Let them PLAY!

• Result: Success!!! Letting this shy little girl relax and play gave me the perfect opportunity to capture that sweet image you see above! Victory!! Oh no, she saw me take the photo – back to crying….

That may be a little more dramatic than the actual events that unfolded, but there is some truth in each of those steps that transpired.

So, my lessons learned from this was to ensure the kids are in an environment where they are comfortable and give it TIME! We understand as Dads that kids come in all shapes, sizes, and personalities! During our sessions with kids we always make it a priority to take our time, let them play, and be there to capture those memories that you will value forever.

Keep Shooting,

KSmith