This week I had the pleasureof making a series of child portraits, and in the process decided that foregoing a large, formal production with assistants and lighting rigs might be the best way to approach the work, especially considering the subjects' ages - they were little! That meant a session with only natural light, where I could focus much more on my interaction with the kids as opposed to the technical aspects of the thousands of dollars worth of gear - which can be a bit overwhelming, I assure you.

I love the results when the light works well in your favor, such as with this image of a just-snacked little lady. Outdoors, pupils constrict, irises pop with color, and there's lots of ways to interact with the subjects aside from strict posing "rules" in a studio.

However, as with this next photograph, adding a little light to what's available from Mother Nature can make all the difference. You can point it, direct it, modify it - in a nutshell, control it. You can shape your subject and the composition with the light, and put attention right where you want it. It does take a lot more concentration, and a lot of direction to crew and subject, but in the end you're left with something a client was seeing in their mind's eye, and it's something that could never have existed without the collaboration of the people, gear, and the light itself. We had a lot of fun with this shoot, figuring ways to incorporate the surrounding buildings and debris with the models. . .and in the end, it was all about the light.

Have to be brief this week, prepping for lots of shooting with horses - take a peek next week to see how we did.