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Before each shoot, I'll pull out a piece of paper and scribble down some inspirations for images. Poses. Compositions. Loose sketches to warm up the noggin and start thinking through a lens. A handful of these ideas will come to fruition during the shoot, but the spontaneity of a session is always king, and it's best to let that energy lead you where it may. This is especially true when photographing the little ones. Preconceived poses? Hah! Tots call the shots. Child runs on sand, I follow. Child runs in water, I follow, too. And while I might be able to negotiate a pause or pose here and there, embracing the unanticipated is what makes these outdoor children's sessions so rewarding.
I met two-year old "C" and her parents at Malaga Cove, Palos Verdes. A short hike down the hill brings you to this cozy nook of a beach, which opens up to an expanse of tidal pools and first class seats to a California sunset. "C" was mesmerized by the ocean, and this session would make for the second time I would return home from a beach shoot with water-logged shoes -- no regrets, but I better start bringing flippers! After some play time on the sand, we graduated to the grassy bluffs above the beach to enjoy the last pinch of sun before it dozed away.
The coming months are going to peppered with engagements and weddings -- including one up in San Francisco in May -- so a big thanks to "C" and family for letting me change gears here and spend the afternoon with you!
People stare at you when you're walking down a pier flanked by twelve in white. And I'm not talking white coats. Just white. And some khaki, too.
Who is He? Who are They?
One of the twelve joked they're my private body guards. [ I can dream ]. Another quipped we're a cult.
But the truth is much richer. These twelve are a posse of close friends [ plus a man's-best-friend -- that's a lot of friends, eh? ] who wanted to create a lasting record of their camaraderie through the eye of an outsider. Nina contacted me with her proposal to synchronize everyone for a late afternoon session on the beaches of Oceanside. I photographed a session with Nina and her cousins down in San Diego a couple years back, but I think this gig might just hold the record for my biggest portrait bonanza yet. In fact, I should have conducted a head-count at the beginning of the session and then again at the end, just to make sure I didn't lose anyone over the side of the jetty into the Pacific. We shot the whole gamut –– from big, bustling groups to quick-fire micro sessions: boyfriend-girlfriend, sister-brother, cousin-cousin, two legged-four legged. The boundary between family and friends was a genuine and wonderful blur.
And as I was shooting, I was reminded of that golden rule of writing; "show, don't tell". It's a great canon for photography, too. When you've got eleven of your best buddies anchoring you down so you don't float away into the upper atmosphere with a grip of balloons, that's a true show of friendship. When you and your gal pals get ambushed by a chilly wave, and pull each other into a tight warming huddle, that's what friends are for, too. These are the moments Dionne, Stevie, and Elton crooned over.
Thanks again, twelve, for welcoming one more into your circle!
Thirteen never felt so lucky.
